Applying Racial Equity to U.S. Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs - Flipbook - Page 32
Recommendations: Strengthening Racial Equity in WIC
In addition to offering recommendations to improve racial equity that can be implemented immediately, the Institute
also suggests a longer-term approach that will help in advocating the adoption of these and future recommendations and in
monitoring their implementation. This is to initiate a WIC Racial Equity Team, composed of representatives from the National
WIC Association, USDA, local and state WIC offices, WIC participants, and nutrition research and policy experts of color (some
of whom informed the analysis of this report). Equitable engagement (see page 73) of all members of the team is essential.
The recommendations include:
Recommendation 1
Provide targeted support based on health disparities within communities of color
Recommendation 2
Strengthen breastfeeding support for recipients of color
Recommendation 3
Support the implementation of the report of the National Academics of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) as well as other recommendations that promote
flexibility and cultural sensitivity in food packages
Recommendation 4
Reduce maternal and infant mortality and strengthen maternal and infant health
Recommendation 5
Strengthen hiring, training, and accountability of caseworkers
Recommendation 6
Establish a mechanism for SNAP beneficiaries to equitably participate in program
design, planning, and evaluation
Recommendation 7
Strengthen data collection and disaggregation within WIC
Recommendation 1
Provide targeted support based on health disparities within communities of color
Context
Infants and children of color are more likely to experience underlying health conditions, such as anemia. In order to
progress to equal racial outcomes, data should be disaggregated by race and specific health conditions. Table 4 on page 33
shows that African American women participating in WIC have anemia rates twice those of whites, and the highest anemia
rates of any racial group during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postpartum.138
Other examples of race-based health disparities include:139
• Indigenous, Latino, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women, as well as Indigenous children, are at higher
risk of weight gain.
• Asian women are the only group at higher risk of being underweight.
• African American infants are more likely than other infants to be born prematurely and/or at a low birth weight (less than
5.5 pounds).
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APPLYING RACIAL EQUITY TO U.S. FEDERAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: SNAP, WIC AND CHILD NUTRITION
