FNS Documents & Resources

​​This report supplements FNS administrative data on total food costs by estimating the average monthly food costs for each WIC participant category and food package type. It also estimates total pre- and post-rebate dollars spent on 18 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2018.

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2), also known as the “Feeding My Baby" Study, is the only national study to capture data on caregivers and their children over the first 6 years of the child's life regardless of their continued participation in WIC. Overall, the study examines child-feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children who received WIC around birth. This report, the fifth in the series generated from this study, focuses on the dietary intake patterns and weight status of children during the fourth year of life. The report also examines families' WIC experiences and their perceptions of the program's impact.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (the Act), PL 111-296, established a new reporting requirement for the WIC Program. The Department of Agriculture is now mandated to compile and publish annually, breastfeeding performance measurements based on program participant data on the number of partially and fully breastfed infants for each WIC state and local agency.

WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2018 (PC 2018) summarizes the demographic characteristics of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nationwide in April 2018. It includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants, and describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families.

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2017 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.

The report also provides estimates by region, state, U.S. territory, and race and ethnicity

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2), also known as the “Feeding My Baby” Study, captures data on caregivers and their children over the first 6 years of the child’s life after WIC enrollment to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children receiving WIC. To date, the study has produced three reports: the Intentions to Breastfeed Report (2015); the Infant Year Report (2017); and the Second Year Report (2018). The current report focuses on caregivers’ employment, school, and child care circumstances, as well as the feeding beliefs and practices, dietary intake, and weight status of children from birth through approximately 36 months of age.

In appreciation of breastfeeding mothers and of all the dedicated volunteers, professionals, communities, and organizations who support their efforts, I, Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, do hereby proclaim August 1-7, 2019, as National WIC Breastfeeding Week.

Enrollment for the WIC Program in April 2016 totaled 8,815,472.  Of this total, Whites accounted for 5,168,190 (58.63%), Blacks/African Americans 1,829,374 (20.75%), American Indian/Alaskan Natives 906,698 (10.29%), Multiple Race 508,750 (5.77%), Asians 317,604 (3.60%), Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders 69,882 (0.79%).

Enrollment for the WIC Program in April 2014 totaled 9,303,254.  Of this total, Whites accounted for 5,465,188 (58.74%), Blacks or African Americans 1,892,153 (20.34%), American Indian/Alaskan Natives 1,032,651 (11.10%), Multiple Race 506,270 (5.44%), Asians 309,260 (3.32%), Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders 78,229 (0.84%).