U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced $16 million in subgrants for 36 projects to test innovative outreach strategies to increase equity and participation in WIC.
The cooperative agreement with USDA's Food and Nutrition Service and the Food Research and Action Center will help the WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project subgrantees, including state and local agencies and community-based organizations, according to a May 18 news release. The WIC program is also known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
"The Biden-Harris administration is making a difference in the lives of pregnant women, moms, babies and young children by providing proven health interventions through the WIC program," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the news release. "We're pleased to work with such a strong and diverse group of subgrant partners across the nation to ensure everyone eligible for WIC can tap into its incredible benefits."
Funding for the projects will come from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the release reported. Four of the subgrants are led by Tribal Nations or entities.
The WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project works to expand partnerships with community organizations and aims to use data from the community level to create and utilize outreach efforts for the program, according to the release.
Various projects already are underway, the release said. These include placing WIC staff in medical offices and collaborating with Head Start in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. In Michigan, efforts are being made to create culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach materials that target communities with significant Middle Eastern and North African populations.
A project in Mobile County, Ala., focuses on overcoming language, cultural and environmental obstacles to improve retention rates among Black and Latino families when their infants reach the age of one, the release reported.
WIC is described as "one of the most powerful, evidence-based public health programs available" but only about half of all eligible individuals participate, the release reported. That amounts to "a shortfall" of almost 6 million low-income families missing out on WIC's benefits.
"While our efforts to increase participation among eligible groups appear to be taking hold, we have more work to do," Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Stacy Dean said in the news release.
