Consumption of the Food Groups with the Revised Benefits in the New WIC Food Package: A Scoping Review

Authors

Qi Zhang, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Priyanka T. Patel, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Bidusha Neupane, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Caitlin M. Lowery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Futun Alkhalifah, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Faezeh Mahdavi, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Esther May Sarino, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversityFollow

ORCID

0000-0002-8513-1573 (Zhang), 0009-0000-8428-6015 (Patel), 0000-0003-2569-4937 (Neupane), 0000-0002-3498-7048 (Alkhalifah)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.3390/nu17050856

Publication Title

Nutrients

Volume

17

Issue

5

Pages

856 (1-17)

Abstract

Background: On 18 April 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the first food package changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in over a decade, which reduced some food benefits (juice, milk, canned fish, and infant fruits and vegetables) and offered substitutes (cash-value vouchers (CVVs) or cash-value benefits (CVBs) to redeem for fruits and vegetables, cheese, soymilk, or other dairy products). Methods: To assess the impact of the changes on the consumption and redemption of these food groups, a systematic search was conducted, identifying 23 peer-reviewed publications between 2010 and 2024. Results: They revealed significant shifts in consumption after the 2009 food package changes; e.g., a decline in 100% juice intake following reductions in juice allowances. Additionally, the review highlighted that the 2009 WIC food package revision was associated with more fruit and vegetable consumption after the increase in CVV allowance. While including milk alternatives like soy-based beverages or lactose-free milk or cheese may improve redemption rates and WIC program satisfaction, the long-term impacts of these proposed changes remain unknown. No research was identified on the consumption of canned fish. Conclusions: This review contributes to understanding the changes in redemption and consumption after the last WIC food package changes, identifies the knowledge gap about prospective impacts, and recommends that the WIC agencies implement appropriate evaluations to promote health and nutrition among vulnerable populations.

Rights

© 2025 by the authors.

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

Original Publication Citation

Zhang, Q., Patel, P. T., Neupane, B., Lowery, C. M., Alkhalifah, F., Mahdavi, F., & Sarino, E. M. (2025). Consumption of the food groups with the revised benefits in the new WIC food package: A scoping review. Nutrients, 17(5), 1-17, Article 856. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050856

Repository Citation

Zhang, Q., Patel, P. T., Neupane, B., Lowery, C. M., Alkhalifah, F., Mahdavi, F., & Sarino, E. M. (2025). Consumption of the food groups with the revised benefits in the new WIC food package: A scoping review. Nutrients, 17(5), 1-17, Article 856. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050856