FINALLY! Revised USDA Food Program for Women & Kids

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN06646550

USDA revises food program for women and children
By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A popular program that provides food assistance to low-income women and their children received its first overhaul in more than 30 years Thursday with the addition of fruits, vegetables and whole grains to the list of grocery items covered by the U.S. government.

The Agriculture Department said the new list reflects the changing nutritional needs of participants in the Women, Infants and Children food program and will help combat obesity. Created in 1972, the WIC program supplements the diet of 8.5 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers and young children annually.
The revised list of foods that can be purchased with WIC vouchers is the result of a review that was first announced in August 2006. It does not change the value of benefits, about $39 a month, to qualified low-income pregnant women, and children up to the age of 5 who are at nutritional risk.

USDA heard from "WIC agencies, from stakeholders and, of course, the participants themselves to revise (WIC) so it does reflect the latest nutrition, science and dietary recommendations for Americans," said Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner. "We believe this rule will do just that."

The revised program provides women and children with less saturated fat and cholesterol and allows more fiber, fruits and vegetables.
Recipients will be allowed to substitute items -- such as replacing whole wheat bread with soft corn tortillas, or canned, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables in place of their fresh counterparts -- in order to reflect cultural differences and make it easier for people to participate.

The revised WIC program also provides incentives for women to continue breast-feeding by providing less formula to partially breast-fed infants, and giving fruit and vegetable vouchers of $10 to fully breast-feeding women, compared with $8 for all other women.

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Posted By Juliette Aiyana, L.Ac.
Author of Chinese Medicine & Healthy Weight Management An Evidence-Based Integrated Approch.