Altarum conducted the study to examine the impact of the changes to the WIC food package on small WIC vendors in Colorado, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In low-income communities located great distances from grocery stores with healthy food options, small stores (corner and [image-nocss] convenience stores) are often WIC participants' only local access points to WIC foods.
Loren Bell, Altarum Institute Fellow and WIC study author, suggested that small stores in inner-city neighborhoods and rural areas can face unique obstacles in keeping produce fresh.
"Challenges aside," said Bell, "these findings are significant because they strongly indicate that small vendors can meet the demands of the new WIC guidelines. This has immediate, positive impact on the WIC population," he said. "And let's not forget, as WIC vendors see the value of making healthier food options available to the WIC population, they act as a catalyst for expanded healthy food options for the broader community."
"This study was important for many reasons," Bell concluded. "Of course it was critical to validate that changes in the WIC food package are manifesting in better food options for some of the most vulnerable in our communities. It was also important to demonstrate the central role program evaluation must play as these changes are being implemented. Policymakers desperately need to know what is, and is not, working as they contemplate future changes in this and other child nutrition programs."
The study is available on the Altarum website (click here).
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Altarum Institute integrates objective research and client-centered consulting skills to deliver comprehensive, systems-based solutions that improve health and health care.
(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of food deserts.)For more on the battle against food deserts, see the June issue of CSP magazine.
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