The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provides nutritious foods to supplement the diets of low-income women who are pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding, as well as children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. Each month, the program provides healthy food — including dairy products — to 6.7 million Americans. Ensuring these families can choose nutritious dairy products will improve health outcomes for millions of children.
The first five years of a child’s life are critical. By age five, a child’s brain is about 90% of its adult size. Toddlers generally reach half their adult height by age two. If children do not get the nourishment that they need during these important months, it can lead to chronic problems — for Americans, their families, and our communities.
Early malnutrition can lead to physical and cognitive delays for children, along with a host of other lifelong negative outcomes such as high blood pressure, heart diseases, type two diabetes, obesity, and anxiety. This can diminish educational achievement, lead to behavioral challenges, and erode long-term economic productivity. Food insecurity in childhood also raises healthcare costs. An incredible 85% of U.S. healthcare spending is associated with diet-related chronic disease.
Ensuring all American infants and toddlers have access to an array of nutritious dairy products can prevent negative health, social, and economic outcomes.
Unfortunately, millions of American children live in homes that do not have reliable access to nutritional foods. For children age five and younger, WIC is a lifeline. That is why policymakers must ensure families facing food insecurity have access to an adequate array of products, including cheese, yogurt, and various types of milk products, that will support a child’s physical and cognitive development.
Dairy is a superfood, packing 13 essential nutrients that both children and adults need for healthy immune function, hydration, growth and development, and overall wellness. Since 1974, WIC has helped to address malnutrition in a key segment of our population. How? By offering the dairy products Americans trust to build healthy bones and brains. Four-in-five WIC beneficiaries use their program benefits to purchase dairy products, more than any other category.
Policymakers should:
Parents should have the freedom to choose the products that will support their child’s development. Unfortunately, despite the enormous health benefits of dairy products, WIC currently limits what dairy products beneficiaries can purchase through the program.
The bipartisan “Giving Increased Variety to Ensure Milk Into the Lives of Kids (GIVE MILK) Act,” would ease these restrictions by enabling participants over the age of two to receive 2% reduced fat or whole milk. The IDFA supports passage of the GIVE MILK Act.
More generally, USDA and state WIC agencies should provide more options for families to fully redeem their dairy allotment:
A 2024 USDA rule scheduled a reduction in the amount of milk and dairy products pregnant women and new mothers can redeem under WIC to take effect in 2026. This rulemaking ignored the will of Congress. In past legislation, federal lawmakers have made it clear the USDA should not reduce monthly dairy benefits.
IDFA opposes these harmful cuts. Cutting the amount of dairy products available to nutritionally at-risk women and children will reduce the essential nutrients and health benefits provided by dairy. These cuts also are in direct opposition to the recommendations of the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Reducing dairy allowances also could discourage future beneficiaries from leveraging the program to support their family’s health. A Morning Consult/IDFA survey found current or potential WIC participants would be less likely to participate in WIC if they are allowed fewer milk and dairy benefits. The survey of more than 500 WIC participants also found 20% of respondents would not re-enroll in WIC if milk and dairy benefits were cut. Another 34% were unsure if they would stay in the WIC program if the cuts were made.
Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Nutrition
