WIC Turns 50! 

2024 marks 50 years of WIC! WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, officially started in 1974. So how did the program start and how did we get where we are today?  

WIC is a federal program run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The idea started in the 1960s when people started to see that low-income families were underfed, or malnourished. After pressure from the public, the government planned a conference to focus on malnutrition and hunger due to poverty, mainly in pregnant women and pre-school age kids. 

After the conference, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program was created in 1969, providing essential foods to low-income pregnant women, infants, and children up to age 6. As doctors continued to see pregnant women facing food-related issues, they took action. Doctors began setting up food banks next to their clinics, stocking them with food that they could prescribe to the women.  

This idea was the start of WIC! WIC started as a 2-year pilot in 1972. At first, WIC focused on giving food and did not include nutrition education or referrals.   

Finally, in January 1974, the first WIC clinic opened in Kentucky! By the end of that year, 45 states had WIC clinics up and running. In 1975, WIC became an official and lasting program, extending its service to children until they turned 5 years old and non-breastfeeding women for 6 months after birth.  

The program selected specific foods because they had important nutrients including protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C.  

Many changes were made in 1978: nutrition risk was defined; income standards were created; nutrition education and referrals were required; and food had to be lower in fat, sugar, and salt. 

It wasn’t until the late 1980s that there was a stronger focus on promoting and supporting breastfeeding. This shift happened because of the low rates of breastfeeding among WIC mothers. In 2004, the Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program started nationwide and in South Dakota. This program works alongside WIC services to provide peer support to breastfeeding moms.  

Over the past 50 years, WIC has seen many changes, but one thing remains: the goal to improve the health and nutrition of women, infants and children. WIC helps reduce babies born too early, low and very low birth-weight babies, fetal and infant deaths, and low-iron. WIC also boosts women’s intake of iron, protein, calcium, and vitamins A and C, along with increasing immunization rates. WIC improves the overall quality of meals and snacks, and WIC families use healthcare more regularly.  

In South Dakota, WIC serves just under 14,000 participants and the Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program helps about 1,200 pregnant and breastfeeding women. The hope is to reach all eligible families to provide the support that they need through some difficult years of childhood. Check out the SD WIC website to see if you or someone you know might be eligible: https://www.sd.gov/wic?id=wic_eligible_family 

Sources:

https://www.nwica.org/overview-and-history

https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/46648/15834_fanrr27c_1_.pdf