By Tami Luhby, CNN
The US Department of Agriculture is awarding $53 million in grants to beef up outreach efforts, enhance know-how and improve the buying expertise for households receiving the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, often called WIC.
The funding, which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, goals to assist state companies, neighborhood teams and different nonprofits check new methods of reaching out to present and potential WIC contributors.
It can even go to state companies to leverage textual content messaging, cell phone help and appointment-scheduling instruments, in addition to for tasks to assist contributors determine WIC-eligible meals in grocery shops, plan for on-line buying with WIC advantages and practice grocery employees to supply higher providers to beneficiaries.
The effort comes because the Biden administration seeks to bolster meals help and minimize hunger within the US.
WIC gives meals, diet schooling, breastfeeding help and well being care referrals to low-income kids as much as age 5 and to pregnant and postpartum ladies. The American Rescue Plan additionally expanded entry to vegetables and fruit by rising the profit quantity to $35 a month per particular person, a provision that was later modified and prolonged via December of this 12 months.
Some 6.2 million Americans participated in WIC in February, a rise of 1.2% from February 2020, based on a recent report from the Food Research & Action Center, an advocacy group. Participants poured $7 billion in WIC advantages into native economies.
But participation diverse broadly, rising in 21 states and the District of Columbia and reducing or holding regular in the remainder within the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
North Carolina had the biggest enhance in participation at 21%, whereas New Mexico had the best drop at 20%, based on the middle’s report.
Nearly 1.4 million ladies participated in February, a decline of 5.4% over two years. The variety of kids in this system jumped 8.7% to almost 3.4 million, whereas the variety of infants fell 7.7% to 1.4 million.
The-CNN-Wire
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