By Alexa Spencer
Originally appeared in Word in Black
For the first time in over two decades, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is facing a potential funding gap, putting eligible families at risk of losing access to nutritious foods, nutrition education, and basic health services.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities — a nonpartisan think-tank analyzing the impact of federal and state government budget policies — there’s been a bipartisan commitment for over 25 years to fund WIC and ensure no eligible family is turned away. But the current funding proposals put forth in the House and Senate for fiscal year 2024 fall short of the amount needed to cover all women and children who apply.
Why is the shortfall happening after nearly two decades of full funding? According to the Center, more families are participating than before and rising food costs have made the program more expensive.
Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst on the Center’s food assistance team, says Congress must increase funding by $7 billion in the coming year to cover all eligible families.
“[That’s] about $700 to $800 million more dollars than what was provided in the bipartisan Senate funding bill that passed several weeks ago,” Bergh says. “So, that’s a pretty significant funding gap that we’re looking at.”
If additional funds aren’t allocated to the nutrition program, the Center estimates that 600,000 postpartum parents and young children could be turned away by their states, with Black and Hispanic families most impacted.
Approximately 750,000 Black children and 1.5 million Hispanic children participate in WIC, compared to 2.1 million white children. Though fewer Black and Hispanic children utilize the program than white children, people of color communities are overrepresented because they account for less of the United States population.
“Because of long standing barriers in housing and education and employment opportunities, Black and Hispanic families in particular are more likely to qualify for, and more likely to seek out assistance from WIC, which then means they are more likely to be disproportionately harmed if there’s a funding shortfall that requires waiting lists,” Bergh says.
WIC serves pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding moms. The programs also support children from birth until their 5th birthday — foundational stages of life that influence a child’s future health status.
“Having access to good nutrition, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, referral to health care, and all of those other things that WIC provides, is absolutely critical during this very important window for child development and participants’ health,” Bergh says.
If there isn’t enough funding to cover all eligible families in FY 2024, postpartum mothers who aren’t breastfeeding and children ages three to four are the first to be turned away, according to WIC’s prioritization system.
Bergh expects families who lose access to WIC to rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and local resources.
“We’ve seen strong evidence coming out of the pandemic that when people lose access to one program, they often will turn to the emergency feeding system. They show up at food pantries in their communities and really struggle to meet their food needs,” she says.
It’s unclear if and when full funding for next year will be secured. The next opportunity to add additional funds for WIC will be around January 19, when the current short-term stop gap bill for food and agriculture programs expires.
“Our message to Congress is that it’s absolutely critical for them to fully meet WIC’s funding needs at that point in time,” Bergh says. “They need to provide states and families with the certainty that every low-income person who is eligible for WIC and wants to participate will be able to do so and will receive the full benefit.”