KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Wednesday, The White House warned thousands of pregnant women, new mothers, babies and young children could lose access to food if Congress doesn't fully fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program.
It said the WIC program provided nutritional assistance to almost 6.7 million people in September, and this year Congress has yet to fully fund it. Without additional funding, it said millions of people could ultimately lose out on access to food at some point next year.
"WIC costs are higher this year than last year, in part because more eligible people are signing up for the program – meaning more pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children are getting access to nutritious food and important health resources they need to thrive," The White House said in a press release.
Congress would need to provide an additional $1 billion in estimated funding to make sure WIC could serve everyone who seeks its services in the fiscal year 2024, The White House said. That amount equates to around 1.5 months of benefits for everyone participating in the program, or around six months of benefits for just pregnant women and infants.
Lawmakers are expected to start discussing how much funding goes to WIC and other federal programs in January.
The White House said in the release that in two resolutions, lawmakers indicated they wanted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to only spend the current amount on funding the program, but at a faster rate to pay for everyone who would need help from WIC through March 2024. It said no funds have been provided to provide food assistance once the resources run out.
"That means that if Congress does not address the needed funding when they ultimately pass a full-year appropriation, the impact of cuts would be magnified because USDA will have to absorb all of them in the final months of the fiscal year," the White House said in a release.
The shortfall would also require states to ultimately decide how to manage t
"Given the size of the funding shortfall, it is likely that waiting lists would stretch across all participant categories, affecting both new applicants and mothers, babies, and young children enrolled in the program who are up for renewal of benefits," The White House said in the press release.
Around 810,000 people apply for WIC services every month — most of which are filed on behalf of children and infants.
"Nearly 40 percent of America’s infants participate in WIC, which is available only to pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children who meet income guidelines and are determined to be at nutritional risk by a health professional," The White House said in the press release.
In Tennessee, around 134,200 people receive WIC benefits Most of those are also children and infants.