Earlier this spring, USDA finalized changes to the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) supplemental feeding program. The updates – first proposed in December 2007 – became effective in October 2009. Although at this point they were still considered “interim rules,” subject to final comments and tweaks, their provisions for offering more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy foods hit the ground running.

There’s good evidence that the new WIC rules almost immediately made a big difference in increasing the availability of whole grain products in traditional food deserts. Researchers in New Orleans visited small neighborhood stores in that city when the interim rules were introduced, and then a year later. They found that just 3.7% of stores participating in the WIC program carried whole wheat bread or brown rice in 2009, while 70.4% offered whole wheat bread a year later and 92.6% offered brown rice. Most of this change can be attributed to the impact of the WIC program, as only 1.5% of non-WIC participating small stores carried whole wheat bread in 2010, and only 12.1% carried brown rice. These changes in availability can make healthier choices available not just to people in the WIC program, but to everyone in that neighborhood.

Now that the tweaking is over and the WIC updates are final, it’s a good time to spell out how whole grains are being featured in the WIC program, in Q&A format.

Q: How much whole grain do WIC participants get?

A: The new rules authorize two pounds of whole grain bread per month for children 1-4 years old, and one pound of whole grain bread per month for pregnant or breastfeeding women. There may also be additional whole grains in the form of breakfast cereals (see below).

These amounts remind us that WIC is a supplemental feeding program: it’s supposed to help babies get a good start in life by helping their families add  some especially healthy food to whatever they’re already purchasing. It’s not meant to cover all their food needs.

According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, those toddlers are supposed to be having at least 1.5 servings of whole grain a day, or 45 servings of whole grain a month. Two pounds of bread are the equivalent of 32 servings. Their mothers should be enjoying at least 3 whole grain servings a day – 90 per month – of whole grains, but WIC’s only supplying 16 servings of whole grain bread per month to them. But – every bit helps, so yay WIC.

Q: Are there any options other than bread?

A: WIC rules are made on the federal level, but implemented in the individual states, where each state decides which specific products it will authorize for WIC reimbursement, within the federal guidelines. The rules say that “bread must be authorized in every state, but that state agencies can also authorize brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, whole-gain barley, whole wheat macaroni products, or soft corn or whole wheat tortillas on an equal weight basis.”

Here’s where we think things get interesting. If you live in a state that has authorized some of these optional products, you’ll get more whole grain bang for your WIC buck-substitutes. A pound of qualifying bread could contain as little as 232 grams of whole grain – while a pound of  brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, barley, or pasta would contain 453 grams of whole grain.

Due to quirks in the definition of a serving, a pound of bread and a pound of plain grain or pasta are each considered sixteen servings – but the actual whole grain content of the plain grains or pasta is almost double that of the bread (since the bread includes water weight and small amounts of other ingredients, and may also contain some refined grain).

Nothing against bread; it’s also a good choice and may be easier to pack in a lunchbox! WIC recipients may just want to change it up, though, and use their WIC vouchers to try a range of different whole grains. That’s why the WGC encourages all states to offer as many whole grain options as possible under the WIC program. Curious what each one does offer? USDA has a page linking to each state’s offerings.

Q: What about breakfast cereals?

A. The new WIC vouchers also allow for breakfast cereals, in addition to the “bread or other options” allowance. Kids age 1-4 are offered 36 ounces of breakfast cereal each month through WIC, the same amount offered to pregnant, post-partum and nursing moms.

The final rules say at least one half of all breakfast cereals available on each state’s authorized list must be whole grain. Although WIC participants are supposed to be educated and encouraged to choose whole grains, this loophole means that individual stores aren’t required to stock any whole grain cereals for WIC participants, and those participants aren’t required to buy any whole grain cereals – both the stores and the women would be following the rules if they stick only with the refined-grain part of the rules.

It’s fortunate that 70% or more of cereals offered by manufacturers are whole grain cereals – it may simply be difficult for the stores and the WIC moms to avoid whole grain cereals!

A Few Notes for Manufacturers

Since many food manufacturers also read this blog, we’d like to include a few notes to help them produce products that meet the WIC regulations

Q. Can bread-substitutes like English muffins and bagels be purchased through WIC?

A. Nope. Just bread, rolls and buns that meet the FDA standard of identity for whole wheat bread. So no English muffins, no bagels.

Q. It says “whole wheat or whole grain bread.” Does this mean breads made with whole grains other than wheat are okay? Such as gluten-free bread?

A. This is a bit unclear. While the regs say “whole wheat or whole grain bread” they also say that whole grain breads must meet the FDA standard of identity for bread (21 CFR 136.110) in which non-wheat grains must be less than 3 parts by weight of each 100 parts of wheat flour. That said, we noticed that the Minnesota WIC program includes a rye bread and even an Injera bread (usually made with teff).

Q. The regs say “whole wheat macaroni products.”  Does this really mean elbow macaroni only? And what about gluten free pasta?

A. WIC allows all other shapes (spaghetti, penne, rotini, etc.) as long as the pasta meets the FDA standard of identity for whole wheat pasta. So no GF options.

Q. What kinds of tortillas are authorized?

A. Corn tortillas can be made from whole corn or from ground masa flour using traditional methods. These traditional methods (nixtamalization) result in a small loss of bran, but at the same time make many B vitamins more bioavailable. Whole wheat tortillas (with whole wheat as the only flour in the ingredient list) are also okay.

Q. What are the requirements for whole grain cereals?

A. All WIC cereals must be low in sugar (≤6 grams per dry ounce) and iron-fortified. Whole grain cereals must have a whole grain as the first ingredient and must qualify for the moderate-fat version of the whole grain health claim. Both cold (ready to eat) and hot cereals can qualify.

(Cynthia)