In King County, WA, food insecurity is pervasive among low-income children and inequitable by race, yet WIC utilization is also low. We propose to evaluate an innovative WIC mobile strategy to be implemented in 2020 to advance nutrition and food security equity. Mobile WIC teams will bring services to non-traditional community settings (e.g., food banks and shelters). Informed by client focus groups and piloted in 2019, this responds to client-identified needs–transportation support, food access, and housing, which have not been met by traditional implementation requiring clients to travel to WIC offices. We hypothesize that mobile WIC teams will facilitate access to and increase utilization of WIC education and food benefits, which will advance health equity by increasing food security and nutrition among clients who are disproportionately people of color. The study sample will be WIC eligible, low-income women and children in King County prior to and after implementation (>200,000 clients, 2017-2021).
Evaluating innovations to overcome barriers to equitable access to and use of federal Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children benefits
Related Research
September 2020
Urban School Food Infrastructure: Current Issues, Challenges, and Solutions
In the next year, an estimated 1 in 4 children will experience food insecurity (up from 1 in 6, pre-pandemic), disproportionately impacting children in low-income households and racial/ethnic minorities. To mediate loss of school meals during closures and reduce COVID-19 exposure, Congress authorized the USDA to permit local education authorities … More
September 2020
Feeding Our Children: Comparing Pandemic EBT and School Meals-to-Go
Food insecurity among households with children under 18 has increased dramatically during the COVID pandemic; from 15% in 2018 to 28% in June 2020. Governments and school districts have rapidly adopted policies to help children facing food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. Two leading policies include the Pandemic-Electronic … More
September 2020
Strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through State Waiver Flexibilities: Perspectives from the National Network of State SNAP Directors
The rapid rise in food insecurity among households with children during COVID-19 has reinforced the critical role SNAP plays in reducing food insecurity and poverty, particularly in low-income communities of color. Waivers and other state program modifications enacted during the pandemic could improve access to SNAP and reduce income and … More