Shutterstock / Jonathan Weiss
The funding needs for SNAP's Women, Infants and Children program have gone up due to rising participation and high food costs.
The funding needs for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — more commonly known as WIC — have exploded due to rising participation and spiraling food costs. However, federal lawmakers have yet to approve more money to meet those needs.
Without new funding, WIC will face a $1 billion shortfall, resulting in 2 million otherwise eligible moms and kids being turned away nationwide by September of next year, according to a new study from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
WIC serves pregnant and breastfeeding women along with families with children younger than 5, allowing them to access healthy food, baby formula and other resources. About half of all infants born in the United States are eligible for the program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Congress has fully funded WIC for more than 25 years, and the program has long enjoyed bipartisan support. However, House Republicans have targeted the program for cuts, arguing that they need to drastically rein in federal spending.
Turning eligible people away from WIC would disproportionately harm Black and Hispanic families, according to CBPP's study. Those groups face long-standing gaps in housing, education and employment opportunities, meaning they're often more likely to qualify for WIC, the report notes.
“It’s like we’re on the train tracks and I see a train coming,” Washington state WIC Director Paul Throne told Politico of the looming funding crisis. “We know that costs are continuing to rise and we’re not getting relief. And so the train has not hit us yet, but we can see it coming.”
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