The National WIC Association (NWA) has criticized the House of Representatives for unveiling the fiscal year 2024 Agriculture Appropriations bill that the group says would undermine vital benefits in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
According to the association, the proposed bill, which allocates $6 billion in funding, $800 million less than President Joe Biden's proposed budget, “demonstrates a disregard for the health and well-being of our nation’s women and children.” Most notably, the cuts would gut fruit and vegetable benefits by nearly 62%, the association said, substantially decreasing access to nutritious foods for almost 5 million women and kids enrolled in the program.
“The heart of WIC lies in its ability to ensure adequate nutrition for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants and young children,” NWA President and CEO Jamila Taylor said in the release. “By providing a comprehensive food package, WIC plays a crucial role in safeguarding the health and nutrition of millions of Americans. However, this bill’s drastic cuts and rescissions would leave these vulnerable populations without sufficient resources to meet their nutritional needs — quite literally taking food off of kids’ plates.”
The WIC program currently provides children with a cash value benefit (CVB) of $25 for fruits and vegetables.
“If this budget bill is passed, this amount would be reduced to a meager $11, depriving children of the support they deserve,” Taylor said in the release. “Furthermore, pregnant and postpartum women would see their benefits reduced from $44 to a mere $13, while breastfeeding women would face a reduction from $49 to just $15. Such severe cuts put the health of mothers and their infants at great risk and jeopardize their long-term well-being.”
With food inflation high, Taylor said in the release it is “unacceptable” to think that nearly 5 million women and kids would be denied access to purchase a full spectrum of fruits and vegetables. That is especially concerning considering that the cash value benefit is the most redeemed food group for this demographic in the program, she said.
“Similarly, this 62% benefit reduction would also have a startling financial impact on the farmers and retailers that supply these nutritious foods to participants,” Taylor said in the release. “These harsh cuts to essential food assistance for vulnerable populations are the clear consequence of an ill-advised approach to adhering to arbitrary caps on overall federal spending, which ignore the clear and growing need faced by not just WIC but other federal programs aimed at supporting families in need.”
Taylor said the National WIC Association is calling on lawmakers to provide the $6.3 billion in funding needed to serve WIC’s projected increased caseload with the fruit and vegetable benefit left intact.