WIC Adds Fruits and Vegetables To Their List of Approved Foods
August 5, 2006 – 11:52 amFor the the first time in 32 years, the National WIC Association (NWA) has updated their list of approved foods and added fresh fruits and vegetables to their list of choices available to the participants in the Women, Infants and Children program.
WIC is a program that assists women and children with low incomes by providng dietary staples such as milk and cheese.
Other proposed foods include:
* Fresh, processed or combined fruits and vegetables for children and women.
* Baby foods including meats for fully breast-fed infants, and fruits and vegetables to the packages for all infants 6-11 months of age;
* Alternatives to milk including calcium-set tofu, and calcium and vitamin D-rich soy beverages.
* Canned or dried legumes; and canned beans or peas as an alternative to dried legumes.
* Canned salmon and sardines.
* Whole wheat bread or other whole grain options.
“The inclusion of fruits and vegetables and a wider variety of foods to increase cultural acceptability and intakes of nutrients and the inclusion of whole-grain products are the critical tools WIC needs in the Food Packages to reinforce the nutrition education messages we give mothers and children in WIC clinics!” “This proposal brings the WIC Food Packages in line with current dietary science.” said Peggy Lewis, NWA President.
To learn more about the Food Pyramid, please visit United States Department of Agriculture
2 Responses to “WIC Adds Fruits and Vegetables To Their List of Approved Foods”
I think this is a great idea. I remember when my aunt and uncle had WIC and pretty much most of what they got was peanut butter, Cheerios, Juicy Juice and cheese. I mean, yeah, I guess some of that stuff is healthy in moderation, but kids need fruits and veggies too. It’s about time they added them to the WIC list of foods because they are often quite expensive at the store.
By Spectra on Aug 5, 2006
I think so too. A lot about nutrition has changed over the last 32 years, so it’s good to see that WIC will offer more than PB and cheese all these years later.
It’s hard for kids to like vegetables if they never eat them..
By Heather McLaughlin on Aug 9, 2006