Government adding fruits and vegetables to WIC list

WASHINGTON — Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are being added to grocery lists for low-income mothers and children under a federal program that helps feed more than half the babies in the U.S.

The foods will be covered by the Women, Infants and Children program under changes proposed Friday.

WIC now pays about $35 monthly for staples such as juice, eggs, cheese and milk, but the program will pay for less of those products to cover the new foods' cost.

The revisions follow the advice of the federally chartered Institute of Medicine, which said the WIC program needs to reflect changes in science and society since it was created 30 years ago.

The addition of fruits, vegetables and whole grain products also tracks changes last year to the government's own dietary guidelines.

"The WIC food package has not been revised or updated since 1980," said Kate Coler, the Agriculture Department deputy undersecretary who oversees the program. "We thought it was a prudent time to have a scientific review of the package."

The department aims to add the new foods without changing the overall cost.

The shopping list has gone largely unchanged since WIC began in the 1970s. In the meantime, food availability has grown, obesity has become a major public health threat and WIC itself has grown dramatically, reaching 8 million people nationwide.

Knowledge about nutrition has also advanced.

That's an impetus for updating the list of WIC foods. The government proposes to add fruits and vegetables and cut the amount of juice by half or more.

Anti-hunger advocates are enthusiastic about the changes.

"Overall, we're really happy about this food package. We think for WIC clients, this is going to make a huge difference," said Geri Henchy, director of early childhood nutrition at the Food Research and Action Center.

"In low-income neighborhoods, those are really nice kind of luxury treats that a mother could bring home through WIC," she said.

Juice makers said the juice reductions are much too severe. Allowing more juice would help ensure kids are getting the vitamin C they need and discourage kids from drinking soda or other sweetened drinks, said Jim Callahan, spokesman for Welch's.

Hunger groups expressed some disappointment over the Agriculture Department's decision to pay for fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended by the institute.