“WIC helps shape the health of children by reducing food insecurity and encouraging healthy eating,” says Share Our Strength director of early childhood Caron Gremont. “These new findings underscore that this program works.”
Contact: Meredith Jorss at 202.769.5554 or mjorss@strength.org
Washington, D.C. - Obesity rates among children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have fallen in 41 states and territories, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the key findings: obesity rates among more than 12.4 million 2- to 4-year-olds enrolled in WIC dropped from 15.9% in 2010 to 13.9% in 2016. WIC is a federally funded program that provides healthy foods and nutrition education for low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children under the age of five. Last year it served nearly 7 million people, including nearly half of all infants born in the U.S. The following is a statement from Caron Gremont, Share Our Strength’s Director of Early Childhood Nutrition.
“WIC is one of the most important and effective federal nutrition programs and helps shape the health of children by reducing food insecurity and encouraging healthy eating. These new findings underscore that this program works.
Investments like WIC to reduce early childhood adversity have an impact on a child’s physical, mental and economic well-being throughout life.
While these widespread declines in obesity rates are encouraging, they also come alongside steep declines in overall WIC enrollment. Every family and child deserve access to nutritious food, no matter their income level or zip code, and more must be done to help vulnerable Americans do the best they can for their families.
Share Our Strength supports efforts to break down barriers to accessing WIC, reduce stigma and encourage healthy eating through opportunities like aligning benefits with EBT cards, extending benefits to children up to age six, increasing support for postpartum moms and continuing to promote a broad range of healthy food options for families through the WIC food package.
It’s why we provide grant support to several WIC agencies across the country and pilot innovative nutrition education programs through our Cooking Matters campaign.
It’s imperative we continue to prioritize and support evidence-based programs like WIC so children can continue on a path to realize their full potential.”
###
About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 7 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org