Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

DOI

10.3390/nu15020390

Publication Title

Nutrients

Volume

15

Issue

2

Pages

390 (1-16)

Abstract

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is now expected to allow participants to redeem their food benefits online, i.e., via online ordering, rather than only in-store. However, it is unclear how this new benefit redemption model may impact participants’ welfare since vendors may have an asymmetric information advantage compared with WIC customers. The WIC online ordering environment may also change the landscape for WIC vendors, which will eventually affect WIC participants. To protect WIC consumers’ rights in the new online ordering model, policymakers need an appropriate legal and regulatory framework. This narrative review provides that framework by reviewing the literature, legal treatises, and reports on enforceable laws and regulations in the U.S. relevant to digital marketing. The results identify key issues that may arise with adopting WIC online ordering. This paper suggests “privacy, transparency, and fairness” as guiding principles to protect the welfare of WIC participants in WIC online ordering.

Rights

© 2023 by the authors.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Data Availability

Article States: Publicly available

Original Publication Citation

Zhang, Q., Patel, P., & Lowery, C. M. (2023). Protecting low-income consumers in the era of digital grocery shopping: Implications for WIC online ordering. Nutrients, 15(2), 1-16, Article 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020390

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