During the COVID 19 Pandemic, low-income families were hit hard with food insecurity issues, among other problems that had risen from the pandemic. In June 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was passed as a temporary law to increase the Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for families participating in WIC. The increase went from $9-$11 per person/month to $35 per person/month. This research brief calls attention to the positive effects from increasing the CVB from surveyed WIC families, in an effort to make the increase permanent.
Published: June 2022
Publisher: Global Food Research Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Authors: Duffy E, Vest D, Davis C, Hall M, De Marco M, Ng SW, Tallie LS
Keywords: COVID-19, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
State: North Carolina
Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs
Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
Resource Type: Research Brief
Related Research
June 2024
CACFP Family Childcare Home Sponsor Perspectives – Serious Deficiency Challenges
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, commonly known as CACFP, ensures over 4.2 million children, mostly in families with low income, receive nutritious meals and snacks in childcare. However, not all qualifying childcare providers participate in this beneficial program. Research suggests that the serious deficiency process, designed to ensure program integrity, may hinder MoreApril 2024
Mixed methods evaluation of the COVID-19 changes to the WIC cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables
Recent cash-value benefit (CVB) increases are a positive development to help increase WIC participant fruits and vegetables (FV) access. This mixed method study aimed to evaluate (a) the CVB changes’ impact on FV access among WIC child participants measured by CVB redemption rates, (b) facilitators and barriers to CVB changes’ implementation, and (c) differences in MoreMarch 2024