WIC food purchasing statistics show a large nutrition program organized around specific monthly food packages, cash-value benefits, and approved retailers. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the program averaged about 6.7 million participants per month and recorded $7,184.5 million in Federal costs. The figures below distinguish current allowance schedules from older administrative and survey evidence.
Contents
- Program scale and spending
- Fruit and vegetable purchasing benefits
- Milk, grains, eggs, and bread quantities
- Infant and breastfeeding packages
- Where WIC benefits are redeemed
- Redemption gaps and shopping access
Program scale and spending
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) reports that WIC averaged about 6.7 million participants per month in FY 2024. Federal WIC program costs totaled $7,184.5 million in the same fiscal year. USDA also estimated that WIC served 41 percent of all U.S. infants in FY 2024. These are national program measures for FY 2024, rather than estimates of an individual household’s monthly grocery spending. (Food Assistance Data & Collaborative Research Programs Charts - Costs and participation; WIC Program)
Participation averaged 6.57 million people per month in FY 2023. USDA ERS reported that this was 5 percent higher than the 6.26 million monthly average in FY 2022. Children made up 55.0 percent of participants in FY 2023, while women represented 22.6 percent and infants represented 22.4 percent. (Total participation in USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) continued to increase in FY 2023)
The FY 2023 participant mix is useful for meal planning because it shows that WIC purchasing is spread across child, infant, and women’s food packages. The percentages describe the composition of participants, not the percentage of benefits spent on each category. The program’s record average monthly participation was 9.18 million people in FY 2010, according to the same USDA ERS source. That older record should not be read as a current participation estimate. (Total participation in USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) continued to increase in FY 2023)
Fruit and vegetable purchasing benefits
WIC’s fruit-and-vegetable purchasing support is provided as a monthly cash-value benefit. The 2024 maximum monthly cash-value benefit for children was $26. The maximum was $47 for pregnant women, $47 for postpartum women, $52 for partially or mostly breastfeeding women, and $52 for fully breastfeeding women. These amounts come from USDA’s 2024 maximum allowance schedule. (Maximum Monthly Allowances of Supplemental Foods for Children and Women)
| Participant category | 2024 maximum monthly benefit |
|---|---|
| Children | $26 |
| Pregnant women | $47 |
| Postpartum women | $47 |
| Partially or mostly breastfeeding women | $52 |
| Fully breastfeeding women | $52 |
Earlier allowance figures provide context for how the benefit schedule changed. Beginning in October 2022, the monthly benefit was $24 for children, $43 for pregnant or postpartum participants, and $47 for breastfeeding women. The 2024 schedule therefore lists higher maximums for each of these categories than the October 2022 figures. (U.S. Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs Continued To Respond to Economic and Public Health Conditions in Fiscal Year 2022; Maximum Monthly Allowances of Supplemental Foods for Children and Women)
The American Rescue Plan temporarily allowed States to raise the benefit to as much as $35 per participant for up to four months through September 2021. That was a temporary policy period, not a general description of the current allowance schedule. (U.S. Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs Continued To Respond to Economic and Public Health Conditions in Fiscal Year 2022)
USDA ERS reported average monthly WIC food-package cost per person of $47.72 in FY 2022. After inflation adjustment, that was 26 percent above FY 2021. This is a program food-package cost measure and should not be substituted for the cash-value benefit amounts above. (U.S. Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs Continued To Respond to Economic and Public Health Conditions in Fiscal Year 2022)
Milk, grains, eggs, and bread quantities
USDA’s April 2024 snapshot of WIC food packages lists quantities by participant group. The child package provides 64 fluid ounces of single-strength juice per month. For children ages 12 through 23 months, the package provides 12 quarts of milk per month. For children ages 2 through 4 years, it provides 14 quarts of milk per month. (Snapshots of the WIC Food Packages)
Women’s packages provide 16 quarts of milk per month. The child and women’s food packages each provide 36 ounces of breakfast cereal per month. The child package provides 24 ounces of whole-wheat bread per month. These quantities are package allowances from the April 2024 snapshot, not a claim that every household redeems every ounce. (Snapshots of the WIC Food Packages)
| Food-package measure | Monthly quantity | Package or group |
|---|---|---|
| Single-strength juice | 64 fluid ounces | Child package |
| Milk | 12 quarts | Children ages 12–23 months |
| Milk | 14 quarts | Children ages 2–4 years |
| Milk | 16 quarts | Women’s packages |
| Breakfast cereal | 36 ounces | Child and women’s packages |
| Whole-wheat bread | 24 ounces | Child package |
For meal planning, the age distinction matters: the reported milk allowance is 12 quarts for the 12-to-23-month child package and 14 quarts for the package for ages 2 through 4 years. The 16-quart figure applies to women’s packages. The source describes these as maximum supplemental-food package quantities, so they should be used as package-planning references rather than universal household consumption totals. (Snapshots of the WIC Food Packages)
Infant and breastfeeding packages
USDA ERS published a food-package example in 2021 for a fully breastfeeding woman. That example provided up to 144 fluid ounces of 100-percent fruit or vegetable juice per month, 24 quarts of low-fat milk, 1 pound of cheese, and 1 pound of whole-wheat bread. It also included 30 ounces of canned fish. These are quantities in the published example and measurement context, not a replacement for a current State agency’s package details. (Specialized Stores Serving Participants in USDA’s WIC Can Reduce Program Food Costs and Increase Food Store Access)
The same fully breastfeeding example provided 1 pound of dried legumes or 18 ounces of peanut butter per month. The alternatives are presented as an either-or quantity in the source, so they should not be added together as separate allowances. (Specialized Stores Serving Participants in USDA’s WIC Can Reduce Program Food Costs and Increase Food Store Access)
An example package for an 8-month-old infant provided 24 ounces of infant cereal per month, 256 ounces of prepared infant fruits and vegetables, and 77.5 ounces of infant meats. These figures illustrate how infant packages differ from packages for older children and women. They are from the food-package example published in 2021, so they should not be presented as a current national allowance schedule without checking the applicable package rules. (Specialized Stores Serving Participants in USDA’s WIC Can Reduce Program Food Costs and Increase Food Store Access)
Where WIC benefits are redeemed
USDA ERS found that large stores accounted for 76 percent of WIC retail redemptions in FY 2012, while large stores represented 63 percent of WIC vendors. WIC-only and A-50 stores together accounted for 9 percent of retail benefit redemptions. The redemption figures and vendor figures measure different things: dollars redeemed and the number of vendors. (Three-quarters of WIC benefits are redeemed in large stores; Where Do WIC Participants Redeem Their Food Benefits?)
Store patterns varied considerably by State in FY 2012. The share of WIC benefits redeemed at large stores ranged from 50 percent in California to 99 percent in Nevada. At least 81 percent of benefits were redeemed at large stores in 30 States. Medium and small grocery stores accounted for 30 percent of New York’s WIC retail redemptions, while WIC-only and A-50 stores accounted for 37 percent of California’s redemptions. (States Differ in the Distribution of WIC Benefits Across Types of Retail Food Stores)
Convenience stores represented 13 percent of WIC retail vendors but less than 4 percent of WIC retail dollar redemptions in FY 2012. WIC-only stores accounted for 7.7 percent of WIC retail food dollars redeemed. These older retail statistics describe redemption patterns in FY 2012 and should not be treated as current store-market shares. (Where Do WIC Participants Redeem Their Food Benefits? An Analysis of WIC Food Dollar Redemption Patterns by Store Type)
Redemption gaps and shopping access
Shopping access can affect whether available benefits become redeemed food purchases. In a spring 2021 survey of more than 20,000 WIC participants across 12 State agencies, more than two-thirds wanted to order WIC foods online for curbside or in-store pickup. The result measures interest in an online ordering option, not the percentage who completed online WIC purchases. (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2024 Edition)
In a USDA survey of former WIC participants in three States, 51.3 percent said they stopped buying WIC foods because of negative shopping or retailer experiences. This 2018 former-participant survey concerns a specific group and should not be generalized to all current WIC participants. (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2024 Edition)
The PHFE WIC study reported average monthly WIC benefit-food redemption among Black and African American families of 48 percent throughout the study period from July 2020 through March 2023. This is a study-specific result for the population and period reported, not a national redemption rate. (Utilizing the CinnaMoms model to increase engagement, enrollment and certification of Black participants at PHFE WIC)
Coverage statistics also show that eligibility does not equal participation. The estimated WIC coverage rate was 50.2 percent of eligible people in calendar year 2020. The rate was 81.7 percent for eligible infants and 40.6 percent for eligible children ages 1 to 5. Among States, Arkansas had the lowest reported coverage rate for children ages 1 to 5, at 23.5 percent in 2020. (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2024 Edition)
Cost-containment evidence is also historical and State-specific. Across six States, WIC cost-containment practices reduced average food-package costs by between 0.2 percent and 21.4 percent, depending on the practice and local conditions. Administrative costs of the studied practices averaged about 1.5 percent of the food-package savings. The study used administrative data from circa 2000, so these figures should be read as evidence from that study period rather than forecasts or current national estimates. (Assessment of WIC Cost-Containment Practices: Final Report)