FNS is proposing to amend its regulations to make access and parity improvements within several food distribution programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and USDA Foods disaster response. The proposed provisions use plain language to make them easier to read and understand.
This policy memorandum provides guidance to improve outreach and streamline certification in WIC. It outlines current flexibilities and new policy for certification documentation options and aims to reduce WIC staff and participant burden.
This is a new information collection for WIC and WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program which contains the reporting burden associated with requesting waivers authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the American Baby Formula Act of 2022.
This policy memorandum provides guidance on data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing WIC participation and retention. It expresses USDA FNS support of data sharing, provides an overview of data sharing relevant to WIC, summarizes WIC program guidance on sharing confidential WIC participant data, and lays the groundwork for future guidance and resources to help WIC state agencies expand outreach and streamline the
certification process.
USDA proposes to remove barriers to online ordering and internet-based transactions in WIC through this rulemaking.
On Nov. 8, 2022, FNS published WIC Policy Memorandum #2023-1 Abbott Infant Formula Waiver Expiration Schedule which extended active waivers to Jan. 31, 2023, or 60 days after the end of the Presidentially-declared COVID-19 major disaster declaration in the affected area, whichever is sooner. However, FNS recognizes that WIC state agencies may need additional flexibility to ensure uninterrupted access to infant formula for WIC families even as WIC state agencies transition back to normal operations. The intent of this policy memorandum is to formally describe the timeline for this transition, as previously described in the Dec. 19, 2022 letter to state agencies.
This letter extends the expiration date for certain flexibilities for WIC state agencies following the Abbott Recall and infant formula shortage.
This letter extends the expiration date for certain flexibilities for WIC state agencies following the Abbott Recall and infant formula shortage.
This letter is in response to correspondence from WIC state agencies requesting flexibility with regard to the maximum monthly allowance (MMA) requirements in WIC as a result of the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Abbott recall of certain powder infant formula on the nationwide supply chain leading to both periodic location and product-based WIC infant formula shortages.
This letter is in response to correspondence from WIC state agencies requesting program flexibility with regard to the maximum monthly allowance requirements in WIC as a result of the impact of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic and the 2022 Abbott recall of certain powder infant formula on the nationwide supply chain leading to both periodic location- and product-based WIC infant formula shortages.