Making WIC Work Better: Strategies to Reach More Women and Children and Strengthen Benefits Use features a comprehensive set of recommendations to overcome the barriers that have led to a shocking downward trend in participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federally funded program that provides low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children with nutritious foods, nutrition education, and improved access to health care.

In fiscal year 2018, WIC served an average of 6.9 million participants each month, down 23 percent from a high of 9.2 million per month in fiscal year 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. Barriers at national, state, and local levels have contributed to this decline.

Read the report.