摘要：USDA¡¯s Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC) is designed to improve
the health of low-income, nutritionally
at-risk infants; children; and
pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding
women by providing supplemental
food, nutrition education,
and health care referrals. WIC is
based on the premise that early
intervention during critical times of
growth and development can help
prevent medical and developmental
problems later in life.
WIC is a central component of the
Nation¡¯s food assistance system. In
fiscal 1999, WIC served an average
of 7.3 million participants per
month, half of whom were children.
About half of all infants and almost
one-quarter of all children 1-4 years
of age in the United States now participate
in WIC. Federal program
costs totaled $3.9 billion in fiscal
1999, making WIC the country¡¯s
third-largest food assistance program
in terms of total expenditures,
trailing only the Food Stamp Program
($17.7 billion) and the
National School Lunch Program ($6
billion). WIC accounts for almost 12
percent of total Federal Government
expenditures for food and nutrition
assistance.
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