Review of WIC Food Packages: An Evaluation of White Potatoes in the Cash Value Voucher. Letter Report.

摘要

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are the cornerstone of federal nutrition guidance. The policy document, revised every 5 years, underpins the dietary goals of federal nutrition assistance programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Given that the previous Institute of Medicine (IOM) review of WIC food packages applied the 2005 DGA as a benchmark, and that the 2010 DGA are currently undergoing reevaluation and update, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested that the IOM undertake a review of the WIC food packages to bring the program into alignment with current dietary guidance. This letter report is the first in a series of reports by the IOM Committee to Review WIC Food Packages in response to that request. For this report, the committee was tasked with assessing the impact of the 2009 regulation to allow the purchase of vegetables and fruits, excluding white potatoes, with a cash value voucher (CVV) on food and nutrient intakes of the WIC population and to consider whether white potatoes should be permitted for purchase with the voucher.