06/05/2023
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐: ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ก๐๐ฃ, ๐ง๐๐ก๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑโ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ช๐๐
Our latest WIC social media campaign aims to increase awareness around the ease of qualifying through adjunctive eligibility. This means that households with pregnant or breastfeeding individuals and/or children under age five that are already enrolled in SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid can qualify for WIC without providing additional income documentation. Campaign messaging seeks to remove perceived barriers and draw potential participants to WIC with the assurance that signing up for WIC through adjunctive program eligibility is simple and easy.
Explore our new Adjunctive Eligibility toolkit to find social media content you can immediately put to use, including sample language and a large assortment of high-resolution graphics like the images below. Spanish content will be added soon.
๐ช๐๐ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐จ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ: ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ & ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐
Although the COVID-19 federal public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023, WIC remote services will continue. Additional waivers from USDA allows WIC agencies to continue to enroll and serve participants remotely via phone, text, and/or video conference and to continue to provide remote issuance of WIC benefits onto eWIC cards. Starting in August, all WIC applicants and participants will be provided the choice of an in-person or remote appointment.
WIC’s temporary CVB fruit and vegetable benefit bump is extended through September 30, 2023. Temporary CVB amounts are set at 50% of fruit and vegetable consumption recommended in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, resulting in monthly benefits of $25-49 per month each for eligible mothers and children. The benefit boost has improved access to nutritious food for WIC families, leading to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among enrolled children.
Visit the WIC Help New York Resource Center to get updated resources to promote these two vital WIC flexibilities.
๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ๐
The WIC Help New York Resource Center is a one-stop shop for WIC outreach and education materials. Our newest resources include short videos in English and Spanish focused on WICโs breastfeeding education and support, as well as a Ready, Set, Grow with WIC video. Visit the resource center to find everything you need to spread the word and connect families to WIC, including these exciting new videos that you can share on social media, your website, and in other communications.
๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ช๐๐
WIC is a powerful, evidence-based public health program with a long history of improving health and developmental outcomes for children. Given the programโs proven benefits, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is committed to modernizing WIC to maximize its impact throughout participantsโ entire period of eligibility. FNS recently announced several major investments to support innovation and help reach more mothers and young children. These efforts are part of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which is focused on cutting the rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, reducing the disparities in maternal health outcomes, and improving the overall experience of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for people across the country. To learn more, visit the WIC Modernization & Innovation webpage.
๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ข๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ช๐๐
In February, USDA announced proposed changes to allow online ordering in the WIC program. These changes will help to create simpler, more equitable shopping options for families served by WIC. USDA is working to remove regulatory barriers that prevent online shopping and adding other enhancements to streamline and modernize WIC, like allowing states to research and plan for innovative future technologies beyond the WIC electronic benefits transfer card. Part of the effort is meant to make some flexibilities offered during the pandemic available permanently. The proposed rule is also crafted to modernize current regulations that were written for a paper-based system.
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ-๐จ๐ฝ
Hereโs the latest research and resources from our partners around the state and nation.
โข National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)
NASEM released a consensus report, Addressing the Long-term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families, that reviews the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of children and families, and what needs to be done to reduce longer-term negative effects. In its multidisciplinary review of the literature, the committee found that across almost every outcome of well-beingโeducation, social, emotional, physical, mental, and economicโlow-income children and families in racially and ethnically minoritized communities experienced a disproportionately high burden from the pandemic, which is rooted in structural racism, reinforcing long-standing and pervasive inequities.The NASEM committee makes recommendations that provide a roadmap to providing essential supports to children and families to recover from the pandemicโs effects and to rectify the pre-existing inequities that created a disproportionate burden on minoritized and low-income children and families.
โข National WIC Association
The 2023 State of WIC report focuses on infant feeding, economic equity, nutrition security, and modernization of the WIC program. It brings lessons learned in 2022 to the forefront of the conversation on reforms, innovation, and policy. This report assesses the infant formula crisis, USDAโs proposed food package rule, and WICโs role in building a healthier future for all.
โข New York State Comptroller
Approximately one-in-ten, or about 800,000, New York households experienced food insecurity at some point between 2019-2021, according to a report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New Yorkers in Need: Food Security and Nutrition Assistance Programs found that the number of households facing food insecurity declined during the COVID-19 pandemic due to federal relief programs and the expansion of federal food assistance programs. DiNapoli raised the concern that food insecurity may grow as federal benefits lapse. Notably, additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expired on March 1. Among other recommendations, the report urges the federal government to extend temporary benefits for SNAP, WIC and school meal programs until inflation’s impact on food costs subsides and raise eligibility levels for SNAP and WIC to at least 200 percent of the federal poverty level, while calling on states to conduct outreach to increase participation in SNAP and WIC and make it easier to apply and recertify.