Food Program Is Due for a Nutrition Update

A $5.2-billion government food program for low-income pregnant women and young mothers and their children should ramp up on healthful foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains and cut back on items such as juice, whole milk, eggs and cheese, according to a report released Wednesday from the federally chartered Institute of Medicine.

The proposed changes for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, are the most sweeping since the program was created in 1974 and are intended to bring it more in line with nutrition and heath standards.

Currently, WIC offers two fruit and vegetable choices: juice for all participants four months and older, and carrots for new mothers who are exclusively breast-feeding their infants.

“The way that it is done right now does not fit with current nutrition knowledge about fruits and vegetables -- it probably fit better with 1974 nutrition knowledge,” said Suzanne Murphy, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a nutrition professor at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

WIC food packages also have not kept pace with scientific findings on the link between diet and illnesses such as heart disease and cancer, nor with growing concerns about obesity.

The recommendations include:

* Offer a wide range of fruits and vegetables to allow for cultural and personal preferences, including the option of canned and frozen items.

* Reduce the monthly allowance of cheese for most participants from a maximum of 4 pounds per month to no more than 1 pound per month.

* Give participants more choices in getting other foods -- such as yogurt, soy milk or tofu instead of milk.

* Only allow milk with 2% or less fat for women and children 2 years and older.

* Offer only whole-grain cereals; add whole-grain bread or alternatives such as brown rice to certain packages.

* Allow babies six months and older to have fruit and vegetable baby foods, and meat baby foods if they are breast-fed.

“We’re pleased as punch,” said Diane Woloshin, deputy director of the California WIC Assn., a nonprofit organization based in Sacramento comprised of local WIC agencies. “California WIC has been wanting to provide fruits and vegetables for a while, and we’re very excited to see this recommendation.”

WIC, administered by the Department of Agriculture, provides food packages, nutrition counseling, breast-feeding support and health referrals to about 8 million people. In 2000, WIC served 54% of infants in the U.S. and a quarter of children age 1 to 4, and many of their mothers.

Women who are pregnant or with children younger than 5 are eligible to apply, as are children with certain nutritional needs.

Each month, participants are provided with one of seven different food packages, generally obtained at grocery stores in exchange for WIC vouchers or checks.