The International Fresh Produce Association and allied associations are lobbying against legislation that would reduce fruit and vegetable benefits in the Special Supplementary Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
More than 70 allied associations and IFPA members joined with the organization in a sign-on letter opposing cuts to fruit and vegetable Cash Value Benefits from the program, according to a news release. The letter was sent to Capitol Hill prior to the House Appropriations Committee voting on the bill June 14 and the Senate Appropriations subcommittee voting June 22, the release said.
IFPA also joined as a signatory with the National WIC Association, American Public Health Association, and the National Grocers Association on a statement supporting WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefits, according to the release.
On June 22, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee passed a funding bill that included full funding of the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit amount to retain the monthly allotment for the 5 million women and children at $44 and $24, respectively, according to the news release.
The Senate bill stood in contrast to the previous week when the House FY24 funding bill included a 56% reduction in the fruit and vegetable benefits for children and a 70% drop for women. Under the House bill, children would receive just $11 a month for fruits and vegetables starting Oct. 1 this year. For reference, WIC Cash Value Benefits for fruits and vegetables were raised during the pandemic to provide additional nutritional support to program participants to align with a 2017 National Academy of Sciences recommendations, the release said.
During the House Committee deliberations, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) offered an amendment to restore the full fruit and vegetable benefit amount in WIC. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) subsequently offered, and passed, a secondary amendment that revised the Underwood amendment to partially restore funding to WIC benefits by pulling money from the USDA Rural Energy for America Program that is used by producers to make renewable energy improvements.
Underwood withdrew her amendment citing a “false choice” between which program to cut, the release said. The underlying bill was ultimately passed on a party-line vote with the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit cuts remaining in place.
“Plain and simple, the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit is a success story,” IFPA CEO Cathy Burns said in the release. “Though nine out of ten Americans don’t meet federal dietary recommendations, and nearly one half of young children do not eat a daily vegetable, children participating in WIC consume two cups of fruits and vegetables per day. We cannot turn our backs on this progress and the children who rely on this important benefit, which infuses needed resources that improve access to healthy fruits and vegetables throughout every community in this country.”
In terms of the legislative process, Congress will now need to reconcile the differences of the legislation before Sept. 30, the release said. To further strengthen the industry’s voice on this issue, IFPA members are encouraged to contact their congressional members on this issue via the IFPA Advocacy Action Center.
As part of overarching efforts to further underscore the significance of the WIC produce benefits to Congress, the National WIC Association (of which IFPA is a member) produced “Families Call on Congress to Maintain WIC Access to Fruits and Vegetables.” The campaign includes personal perspectives from parents and grandparents, the release said.
“Besides the obvious nutrition loss program participants would experience because of slashed WIC benefits, there is also economic opportunity at stake for growers and supermarket operators,” IFPA Vice President of Nutrition and Health Mollie Van Lieu said in the release. “When WIC participants utilize their current fruit and vegetable benefits, it translates in a sales lift of more than $1 billion and a wider variety of fresh produce being purchased.
“In fact, it was the industry that heavily advocated with public health advocates to establish the fruit and vegetable benefit in 2009 — which is now widely recognized as one of the most successful and cost-effective nutrition interventions programs — in no small part due the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit,” Van Lieu continued. “We appreciate the ongoing commitment of members and allied associations to speak out about this important program.”
