09/28/2022
๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐
Do you work with people who are pregnant or caring for children under age five? We’d like to hear from them. Please encourage them to take a short five-minute survey (available in English, Spanish, and Chinese). Learn more and share this invitation with partners and families before September 30!
๐ช๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ
WIC waivers and flexibilities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been extended through at least mid-January 2023. WIC agencies may continue to enroll and serve participants remotely via phone, text, or videoconference.
These and other essential WIC flexibilities are tied to the federal public health emergency (PHE). Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra guaranteed 60-daysโ notice before allowing the PHE to expire. Since WICโs waivers are in place for an additional 90 days after expiration of the PHE, WIC providers will have five-monthsโ notice between the announcement that the PHE will expire and the end of COVID-related waiver authorities. Visit the WIC section of our COVID-19 page for information and updates.
Remote issuance of WIC benefits is now permanently allowable.
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐: ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
Our new social media toolkit highlights the many ways WIC supports a participantโs breastfeeding journey. With expert breastfeeding education and support, experienced peer counselors, free pumps and supplies, and resources for partners and others in a support role, WIC helps participants meet their breastfeeding goals. Explore our WIC Breastfeeding Education and Support Toolkit to find social media content you can immediately put to use, including sample language in English and Spanish and a large assortment of high-resolution graphics.
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
The WIC Help New York Resource Center is a one-stop shop for WIC outreach materials. Our latest resources include a new WIC Fact Sheet and series of flyers focused on WICโs health and nutrition benefits for families who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or raising children under age five. Visit to find everything you need to spread the word and connect families to WIC, including tools to promote Wanda, WICโs 24/7 virtual assistant.
๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ #ExtendtheWICBump
Reports show that increases in WIC benefits have led to increased fruit and veggie consumption among WIC-enrolled children and a greater variety of produce purchased by WIC families. Unless funding is extended, participants will lose access to WIC’s enhanced vegetables and fruits after September 30. Please take two minutes to add your voice to this national effort and share it along with #ExtendTheWICBump to support the long-term health of children with early nutrition interventions like the WIC Bump.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ก๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต ๐๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐! ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐!
On September 28, the Biden-Harris Administration will host a conference on hunger, nutrition and health, more than 50 years after the first conference of its kind. The inaugural conference, held in 1969, had a pivotal impact on our nationโs ability to combat hunger and increase access to nutrition, leading to major expansions of SNAP and school meals, and the creation of WIC.
Once again, we have the opportunity to chart a course for the future. As this historic event is livestreamed on September 28, and for the weeks and months after, we are all invited to participate. Learn more about hosting a watch party and priorities from the WIC community. You are also invited to register here to join the National WIC Associationโs watch party, which will be held on September 28, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET.
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ-๐จ๐ฝ
Check out the latest research and resources from our partners around the state and nation.
๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ
The NYHealth Survey of Food and Health presents findings from a statewide survey on food insecurity and describes the connections between food and health for New Yorkers. Key takeaways include:
โข Food-insecure New Yorkers are twice as likely to rate their health as โfairโ or โpoorโ and make health care sacrifices such as delaying or skipping medical care.
โข New Yorkers who participate in nutrition programs such as SNAP and WIC rate them highly, reporting they โstrongly agreeโ or โagreeโ the program is easy to use.
โข Nutrition programs are underutilized, with 13% of food-insecure New Yorkers enrolled in WIC, 45% enrolled in SNAP, and 22% receiving school meals.
โข Ninety-three percent of individuals who participated in WIC during the pandemic want the services made available during this time, such as remote benefit issuance and re-enrollment, to be made permanent.
๐ญ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐
Map the Meal Gap estimates food insecurity for the overall population and children at the local level. In New York State in 2020, 1 in 7 children, or 14.6%, were food insecure, a decrease from 15.6% in 2019. Although 2021 data for NYS is not yet available, recent national data (see below) give hope.
๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ ๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐
Food insecurity among U.S. households with children fell to 12.5% last year โ the lowest rate in over 20 years โ according to USDAโs Household Food Security in the United States in 2021 report. For households with children under age six, food insecurity fell from 15.3% to 12.9%. The progress was made in a year when several pandemic-related social safety net programs and child nutrition program flexibilities were in place to mitigate spikes in hunger caused by the pandemic.
๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐จ ๐พ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ช๐จ ๐ฝ๐ช๐ง๐๐๐ช
Child poverty, calculated by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), fell to its lowest recorded level in 2021, declining 46% from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released this month. Between 2020 and 2021, Black child poverty rates slid by 8.8 percentage points to 8.1%. Similarly, Hispanic child poverty rates fell by 6.3 percentage points to 8.4% in that one year. The new data show the significant impact the expansion of anti-poverty programs during the COVID-19 pandemic had on reducing child poverty.
๐จ๐๐
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐
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๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ โฆ
According to the CDC, obesity affects low-income children more than children from families with higher income. Nearly 90% of WIC participants are from households with income at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. CDC and USDA analyzed data from the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2020 Report and found a decade-long decline in childhood obesity in WIC families, specifically among children aged 2-4. In New York State, the obesity rate dropped from 16.1% in 2010 to 13.8% in 2020. WIC helps reduce these risks by providing nutrition education, promoting healthy eating, and providing families with individually tailored food packages that increase access to healthier food and dietary quality.