Changes in Access to Healthy Foods after Implementation of the WIC Food Package Revisions

Tatiana Andreyeva, Joerg Luedicke, Ann E. Middleton, Michael W. Long and Marlene B. Schwartz

No 292086, Contractor and Cooperator Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: Recent revisions to the food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) added healthy foods and required WIC-authorized stores to make these foods available. This study examined the availability, variety, and prices of healthy foods before and after implementation of the food package revisions in 252 convenience and nonchain grocery stores in Connecticut. The findings provide strong evidence that stores responded to the food package revisions by improving the availability and variety of healthy foods in both urban and suburban settings. Most of these improvements occurred in WIC-authorized convenience and grocery stores, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. Some positive changes in the availability of whole-grain products were also observed in non-WIC convenience and grocery stores. The policy change, which targets WIC participants, improved access to healthy foods for both WIC and non-WIC consumers.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59
Date: 2011-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/292086/files/ccr-66.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uerscc:292086

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.292086

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Contractor and Cooperator Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().