Get Your Products on our WIC List

The federal government has published new guidelines for foods subsidized by the WIC program, and for the first time whole grains are included. Now the ball is in the states' courts, as they all work to create individual lists of specific approved products that meet the federal guidelines.

One resource the WGC has been asked to provide is a list of qualifying whole grain foods. WIC participants are not generally free to buy any qualifying product; they can only choose from a limited subset of specific approved products on each local WIC agency's list. The WGC list will help them create these local lists, so send us a list of your products.

We are constantly updating our list, so send us information about your qualifying products at any time. Thanks to those of you who have already sent us your lists.

Breakfast Cereals for WIC

1. a whole grain must be the first ingredient
2. must have at least 28 mg of iron per 100g
3. must have no more than 21.2g of sugar per 100g (no more than 6g per dry oz)
4. must meet all qualifications for the Whole Grain Health Claim (moderate fat version)
--a. whole grain ingredients must comprise 51% or more of the weight of the product
--b. low in saturated fat (no more than 1g saturated fat per RACC)
--c. low in cholesterol (no more than 20mg cholesterol per RACC)
--d. moderate in total fat (no more than 6.5g total fat per RACC)
--e. bear quantitative trans fat labeling and contain no more than 0.5g trans fat per RACC

RACCs (Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed) for cereals are as follows:

40 g hot cereals, unsweetened, dry
55 g hot cereals, sweetened, dry
15 g RTE cereals weighing less than 20g per cup (e.g., puffed rice)
30 g RTE cereals weighing 20-42g per cup; cereals that are more than 28% fiber
55 g RTE cereals weighing 43g or more per cup; biscuit types

Breads for WIC

1. a whole grain must be the first ingredient
2. it must meet all qualifications for the Whole Grain Health Claim (moderate fat version)
--a. whole grain ingredients must comprise 51% or more of the weight of the product
--b. low in saturated fat (no more than 1g saturated fat per RACC -- the RACC for bread is 50g)
--c. low in cholesterol (no more than 20mg cholesterol per RACC)
--d. moderate in total fat (no more than 6.5g total fat per RACC)
--e. bear quantitative trans fat labeling and contain no more than 0.5g trans fat per RACC

The RACC for bread is 50 grams.

Other Unprocessed Whole Grains for WIC

States have the option of allowing "other unprocessed whole grains" to be substituted for the bread allotment. These must be:

1. Specific whole grains: brown rice, oats, bulgur, whole barley
2. No added fats or oils.
3. No added salt.
4. No added sugars.

Tortillas for WIC

States also have the option of allowing tortillas to be substituted for the bread allotment. These must be:

1. Soft whole corn tortillas or whole wheat tortillas.
2. The first ingredient must be whole grain corn or wheat.

Templates to send us lists of WIC-qualified products

The easiest way to tell us which of your products qualify is to send us the information on one of our Excel templates. Email cynthia@oldwayspt.org and we'll send you the templates.

We will keep an updated copy of the list on our website for the use of state and local WIC organizations, so please tell us whenever you have something to add.