Impacts of Increased Cash-Value Benefit on Inter Tribal Council of Arizona WIC Participants’ Program Utilization and Weight Outcomes

Start Date: June 2023

ID #: 283-5111

Principal Investigator: Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, PhD, RDN

Co-Principal Investigator: Emily Melnick, PhD, MPH

Organization: Arizona State University

Funding Round: ARPA2

See more related research

Share

Systematic evaluations based on objective measures and longitudinal data are needed to demonstrate long-term impacts of the WIC fruit and vegetable cash value benefit (CVB) increases instituted in March 2021, especially among populations disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing high rates of food insecurity and barriers to WIC participation. This study will assess the impacts of increased CVBs on Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) WIC program participant outcomes by examining associations between increased CVBs and participant benefit redemption and engagement, exploring how the increase in CVBs impacted the prevalence of obesity among child participants, and assessing how increased CVBs changed the delivery of nutrition education messages and ITCA WIC participant perceptions of the program.

Race/Ethnicity: American Indian, Latino(a) or Hispanic

States: Arizona, Tribal Nation

Keywords: COVID-19, Equity and disparities, Fruits and vegetables, Healthy weight, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs

Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)

Related Research

September 2025

Food Insecurity-Related Stigma Among Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review

This review aimed to characterize individual- and structural-level stigma associated with government (ie, SNAP, WIC) and emergency food program (ie, food banks, pantries, cupboards, soup kitchens) utilization in the US. 5 databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts) were searched in June 2024. The review included peer-reviewed articles (January 2004 – June 2024), More

August 2025

Lived Experiences of Families Navigating Safety Net Expansions and Retractions During the Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

This study aimed to understand the experiences of families with low income in California with pandemic safety net support expansions and retractions, including barriers to program access. Using open-ended questions, we explored the self-reported experiences of pandemic-era safety net expansions and expirations between January and June 2023 among a group of caregivers of young children More

August 2025

Diet Quality and Weight Status are Predicted by Federal Nutrition Assistance Program Participation, Health, and Demographics

This study investigated whether demographic, social, and economic determinants of health, including length of time participating in safety net programs, are associated with diet quality and weight status in early childhood. Using the WIC infant and toddler feeding practices study-2, classification and regression tree identified the sequence of binary splits that best differentiated the sample More