Crested Butte Farmers Market
What do soy milk, Honey Bunches of Oats, grape juice and Wonder bread have in common?
They’re all listed among the Women Infants Children (WIC) Program’s allowable foods list. WIC, a federal program whose mission is, “To safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care,” provides supplemental nutrition assistance to over nine million US women1, infants and young children; yet, despite its stated goal, many of the food choices available to WIC participants lack the vital nutrients they ought to provide to those at nutritional risk.
Honey Bunches of Oats, Life cereal and grape juice might fill bellies, it does very little to provide real nutrition to the very people who need it the most.
Moreover, many deeply nutritive foods are simply disallowed. Want organic milk? Think again. What about organic vegetables? Or fresh whole grain breads? Nope. Only Orowheat, Pepperidge Farms, Country Hearth, Sara Lee and Wonder breads make the cut. Juice can’t be purchased in glass containers (plastic containers and canned varieties are fine – the bisphenol A is a bonus). You can purchase peanut butter but not almonds (a source of vitamin E) and if you’re hoping to avoid genetically modified foods, you’re completely out of luck for the purchase of organic items – save fresh bananas – is off limits. And once your kid hits the age of two, they’re cut off from full-fat milk though multiple studies indicate children, especially at such a critical time, need fat for brain development2.
While Honey Bunches of Oats, Life cereal and grape juice might fill bellies, it does very little to provide real nutrition to the very people who need it the most. The program excludes valuable, nutrient-dense foods such as meat, liver, butter, yogurt and similar foods – meaning that recipients are encouraged to fill up on juices, low-fat conventional milk and prepackaged cereals.
Clearly, a better solution is needed.
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Click here to read the rest of Real Food Solutions: How WIC Found Raw Milk & Grass-fed Beef (708 words)
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Post tags: farmers market, supplemental nutritiona assistance, WIC