The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell rightly decries the industry lobbying campaign to add white potatoes to the limited list of foods that the WIC program provides.
As we’ve...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Politics Wins a Round, but the WIC Potato Fight Isn’t Over
February 10, 2014
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack should reject Congress’s recent call to add white potatoes to the limited list of foods that the WIC program provides. The report accompanying the omnibus spending bill that Congress approved last month instructs the Agriculture Department (USDA) to include all kinds...
Making High-Poverty Schools Hunger-Free
October 1, 2013
With nearly 16 million children in households that have trouble affording enough nutritious food at some point during the year, several states are taking advantage of a new federal option to reduce hunger and streamline their school meal programs, as a major new report from CBPP and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)...
If Lunch Isn’t Free, How Much Should It Cost?
June 26, 2013
Many school districts 
don’t charge nearly enough
to cover the cost of “paid lunches” for students whose family incomes are too high to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. As a result, some school districts divert part of the federal subsidies that are supposed to help pay for meals for low-income children to subsidize meals for better-off children, leaving less money to...
House Bill Underfunds WIC and Would Cut Breastfeeding Counseling
June 12, 2013
As we’ve noted previously, the 2014 agriculture appropriations bill moving through the House underfunds WIC, the highly regarded nutrition program for low-income pregnant women, infants, and young children, and as a result could deny WIC benefits and services to eligible women...
House Bill Would Underfund WIC Nutrition Program
June 5, 2013
The 2014 agriculture appropriations bill that a House subcommittee will consider today would underfund WIC, the highly regarded nutrition program for low-income pregnant women, infants, and young children. The bill could result in the denial of WIC benefits and services to...
Science — Not Politics — Should Shape the WIC Food Package
June 4, 2013
With the farm bill and appropriations bills moving through Congress, the potato industry is pushing again to require the WIC program to add white potatoes to the limited list of foods it provides, contrary to what the nation’s leading nutrition experts recommend. Despite such lobbying campaigns in the past, Congress has never dictated the specific foods that WIC should provide — and...
Sequestration Could Deny Nutrition Support to Up to 750,000 At-Risk Low-Income Women and Children
March 5, 2013
Update April 11: The paper this post is based on has been updated and can be found here.
The Office of Management and Budget has now calculated how the “sequestration” budget cuts will affect WIC — the highly effective nutrition program that serves roughly 9 million low-income women and...
It’s Hard to Learn When You’re Hungry
September 6, 2012
Nearly 17 million children live in households that have trouble affording enough nutritious food at some point during the year, according to figures that the Agriculture Department released this week. That’s a powerful reminder of why we must make sure that every child who needs school meals gets them, including low-income children...