FNS Documents & Resources

This policy memorandum transmits the 2019-2020 Income Eligibility Guidelines for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) that were published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2019.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection for the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics study.

WIC Policy Memorandum #2017-1, New MIS Guidelines and Revised Procedures for EBT and MIS Grant Funding, dated Oct. 18, 2016, is cancelled.

The Food Plans represent a nutritious diet at four different cost levels. The nutritional bases of the Food Plans are the 1997-2005 Dietary Reference Intakes, 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and 2005 MyPyramid food intake recommendations. In addition to cost, differences among plans are in specific foods and quantities of foods. Another basis of the Food Plans is that all meals and snacks are prepared at home. For specific foods and quantities of foods in the Food Plans, see Thrifty Food Plan, 2006 (2007) and The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, 2007 (2007). All four Food Plans are based on 2001-02 data and updated to current dollars by using the Consumer Price Index for specific food items.

The biennial WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Report describes a census of all participants in WIC. The most recent report (PC 2016) reflects state management information systems data from April 2016, and this Food Package Report is a supplemental analysis of that data. While PC 2016 summarizes participant characteristics, this report summarizes the food packages, or prescriptions, that state agencies issued to these participants.

The WIC Post-Implementation Review Tool consists of two parts: the review tool itself and a functional area spreadsheet.  

This policy memorandum transmits the new Income Eligibility Guidelines for WIC that were published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2018.

WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2016 (PC 2016) summarizes the demographic characteristics of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nationwide in April 2016. It includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants, and describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families. PC 2016 is the most recent in a series of reports generated from WIC state management information system data biennially since 1992.

The Food Plans represent a nutritious diet at four different cost levels. 

This policy memorandum transmits the new Income Eligibility Guidelines (IEGs) for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children that were published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2017.