Learning Objectives

After completion of this module students will be able to:

• Describe the purpose of federal food policies, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
• Explore consequences of federal food policies on children’s health.
• Describe the WIC mission, eligibility, and requirements for families.
• Discuss barriers related to preventing obesity and healthy eating habits through federally funded children’s food programs.

Key Concepts - Food Policy:

• The primary goal of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is to alleviate hunger and improve the well-being of low-income people.
  • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issues food stamps to f amilies (via Electronic Benefit Transfer [EBT] cards) which can be used in r etail food outlets.
  • Eligibility is deter mined by a gross-income test, net-income test, and asset test (although the asset test is w aived in many states).
  • Reason some families don’t participate include stigma, transaction costs, and lower benefit levels
• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is expected to have a positive impact on children’s well-being because lunches are provided to children for free or at a reduced cost, and there are guidelines for the types of lunches that should be served:
  • No mor e than 30 percent of calories from fat.
  • Less than 10 per cent from saturated fat.
  • Provide one-third of the RDA of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.
• Eligibility criteria for the NSLP program includes income and the fact that the child attends a school that is involved in the program.
• There are proposals to restrict public assistance based on regulations (e.g., certain foods and drinks that would be prohibited from purchasing with SNAP)
• There may be unintended consequences of the proposed changes (e.g., some policy changes could increase stigma which is already a barrier)

Key Concepts - Women Infants and Children (WIC) Program

• The WIC 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
  • and referrals to health care.
• WIC goals are to:
  • decrease infant mortality and morbidity,
  • Improve pregnancy outcomes,
  • and reduce incidence of prematurity and low birth weight.
• Reach and impact of WIC (Over 50% of all infants in the United States have been served by WIC since 1978, 2/3 WIC mothers breastfeed, and WIC participation has been linked to longer gestation periods, higher birth weights, and lower infant mortality)
• Foods covered by WIC include milk, cereal, whole grains, eggs, fruit, vegetables, juice, beans, and peanut butter

Video Microlectures

• Video: Food Policy: SNAP and NSLP
  Craig Gundersen, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Video: WIC: Women, Infants, and Children Program
  Brandon Meline, Director of Maternal and Child Health, Champaign-Urbana
  Department of Public Health, Champaign County, Illinois

Optional Readings

• Burgstahler, R., Gundersen, C., & Garasky, S. (2012). The supplemental nutrition assistance program, financial stress, and childhood obesity. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 41, 29.
• Rush, D., Sloan, N. L., Leighton, J., Alvir, J. M., Horvitz, D. G., Seaver, W. B., ... & Holt, M. (1988). The National WIC Evaluation: evaluation of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. V. Longitudinal study of pregnant women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 48(2), 439-483.
• Chiasson, M.A., Findley, S. E., Sekhobo, J. P., Scheinmann, R., Edmunds, L. S., Faly, A. S., & McLeod, N. J. (2015). Changing WIC changes what children eat. Obesity, 21, 1423-1429.