The need for WIC food delivery solutions has been recognized as a national policy priority to ensure equitable access to WIC benefits. WIC food ordering and delivery has the potential to significantly WIC benefit redemption and health equity on the Navajo Nation, but infrastructure and other contextual factors must be considered in order to implement a successful delivery system. This project aims to: 1) Conduct a secondary analysis of Navajo Nation WIC data to characterize the landscape of WIC food acquisition; 2) Gather qualitative data through interviews with WIC participants and staff, food store owners, and delivery workers to guide the planning of a WIC food ordering and delivery system; and 3) Test the feasibility of ordering and delivery in one Navajo Nation community. Key partners across the Navajo Nation will participate in formative research, and 30 households served by the Fort Defiance WIC office will participate in the food delivery pilot. Primary outcomes include acceptability, operability, perceived sustainability, preliminary efficacy of the ordering and delivery pilot, as well as changes in WIC benefit redemption among pilot participants.
Start Date: November 2024
ID #: 82563
Principal Investigator: Susan Gross, PhD
Organization: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Funding Round: HER Round 14
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Race/Ethnicity: Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs
Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
State: Tribal Nation
Keyword: Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
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), MoreAugust 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 MoreAugust 2025