“Poor shopping experiences can lead people to drop off WIC or not re-enroll because they feel like the time and frustration isn’t worth it. Better staff training helps a lot, too,” says Lucia Leone, PhD, the study’s lead author.
“The restrictions on the foods that families can buy with WIC make the shopping experience difficult, but there are some things that stores can do to make it easier, such as using product placement and signage. While WIC has been proven to improve children’s health, participation in the program isn’t great, with some reports indicating that as few as 73% of infants, 38% of children and 67% of pregnant and postpartum women eligible for WIC actually participate. WIC provides supplemental foods and nutrition education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women with infants and children up to age 5 whose household incomes are below state-defined thresholds. The team, which includes a researcher from North Carolina State University, published a study in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition that is among the first to examine both barriers to and possible strategies for WIC shopping.
Moreover, they’re working with a Western New York-based supermarket chain on a pilot project aimed at making it easier for WIC customers to find and use eligible products. Add kids in tow and it’s enough for many moms to forego re-enrolling in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC.īut researchers at the University at Buffalo are working on ways to improve the WIC shopping experience so that customers stay in the program. For many people, the need to go grocery shopping is met with a sigh, or an “ugh.” It’s generally not considered to be an enjoyable experience.įor moms who shop using WIC benefits, it can be a downright awful experience, one that’s often made worse by difficulty finding eligible products and dealing with a lengthy checkout process.
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