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THE NOURISHING EFFECT

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WIC agency reaches its maximum caseload, vacancies are filled according to which applicants<br />

are determined to be most at risk nutritionally. 48 WIC has been shown to reduce<br />

the prevalence of child food insecurity by one-third and very low food security by at least<br />

two-thirds. 49 WIC has also been shown to improve birth outcomes. 50 Pregnant women who<br />

experience food insecurity and malnutrition have a much higher risk of preterm birth and<br />

delivering a child with low birth weight. The average medical cost for a premature/low<br />

birth weight baby is $49,033, compared to $4,551 for a baby<br />

In 2010, the Urban<br />

Institute analyzed close<br />

to a decade of data and<br />

found SNAP reduced<br />

food insecurity by<br />

roughly 30 percent and<br />

very low food insecurity<br />

by 20 percent.<br />

born without these complications, 51 while it costs approximately<br />

$743 a year for a pregnant woman to participate in<br />

WIC. 52<br />

Fighting hunger remains primarily the role of the federal<br />

nutrition programs. In recent decades, the mandate has<br />

broadened to include fighting obesity. Let’s Move, the program<br />

developed by First Lady Michelle Obama to fight childhood<br />

obesity, has moved aggressively to improve the quality<br />

of school meals. Changes to foods allowable in WIC occurred<br />

at least partly to fight obesity among low-income preschoolers. Those efforts seem to be<br />

paying off, with childhood obesity levels finally leveling off. The convergence of objectives<br />

around hunger and obesity was inevitable given how much obesity has increased in recent<br />

decades. The problem is that the nutrition programs are carrying a disproportionate share<br />

of the load to fight these twin pandemics.<br />

Figure i.6<br />

WIC Serves More Than 8 Million Low-Income Women, Infants, and Children<br />

CHILDREN<br />

4 years old<br />

3 years old<br />

2 years old<br />

1 year old<br />

INFANTS<br />

WOMEN<br />

Pregnant<br />

Breastfeeding<br />

Other postpartum<br />

Number<br />

of participants<br />

0.7 million<br />

1.0 million<br />

1.1 million<br />

1.5 million<br />

2.0 million<br />

0.8 million<br />

0.6 million<br />

0.6 million<br />

Share of total<br />

participants<br />

9%<br />

12%<br />

13%<br />

18%<br />

24%<br />

10%<br />

7%<br />

7%<br />

Women<br />

2.0 million<br />

(24%)<br />

Infants<br />

2.0 million<br />

(24%)<br />

Children<br />

4.3 million<br />

(52%)<br />

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2015), Policy Basics: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.<br />

22 INTRODUCTION • BREAD FOR <strong>THE</strong> WORLD INSTITUTE

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