USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Vendor Criteria: An Examination of US Administrative Agency Variations

Matthew J. Landry, Kim Phan, Jared T. McGuirt, Alek Ostrander, Lilian Ademu, Mia Seibold, Kathleen McCallops, Tara Tracy, Sheila E. Fleischhacker and Allison Karpyn
Additional contact information
Matthew J. Landry: Stanford Prevention Research Center, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
Kim Phan: Harvard College, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Jared T. McGuirt: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA
Alek Ostrander: School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Lilian Ademu: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Mia Seibold: Center for Research in Education & Social Policy, College of Education & Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Kathleen McCallops: Center for Research in Education & Social Policy, College of Education & Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Tara Tracy: Center for Research in Education & Social Policy, College of Education & Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Sheila E. Fleischhacker: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC 20001, USA
Allison Karpyn: Center for Research in Education & Social Policy, College of Education & Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: The food retail environment has been directly linked to disparities in dietary behaviors and may in part explain racial and ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related deaths. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, is associated with improved healthy food and beverage access due to its requirement for minimum stock of healthy foods and beverages in WIC-eligible stores. The selection and authorization criteria used to authorize WIC vendors varies widely from state to state with little known about the specific variations. This paper reviews and summarizes the differences across 16 of these criteria enacted by 89 WIC administrative agencies: the 50 states, the District of Columbia, five US Territories, and 33 Indian Tribal Organizations. Vendor selection and authorization criteria varied across WIC agencies without any consistent pattern. The wide variations in criteria and policies raise questions about the rational for inconsistency. Some of these variations, in combination, may result in reduced access to WIC-approved foods and beverages by WIC participants. For example, minimum square footage and/or number of cash register criteria may limit vendors to larger retail operations that are not typically located in high-risk, under-resourced communities where WIC vendors are most needed. Results highlight an opportunity to convene WIC stakeholders to review variations, their rationale, and implications thereof especially as this process could result in improved policies to ensure and improve healthy food and beverage access by WIC participants. More work remains to better understand the value of state WIC vendor authorization authority, particularly in states that have provided stronger monitoring requirements. This work might also examine if and how streamlining WIC vendor criteria (or at least certain components of them) across regional areas or across the country could provide an opportunity to advance interstate commerce and promote an equitable supply of food across the food system, while ensuring the protection for local, community-oriented WIC vendors.

Keywords: WIC; women; infants and children; Federal Nutrition Assistance Program; health food access; healthy in-store marketing; food policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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