IFPA reacts to proposed cuts in WIC produce benefits
The International Fresh Produce Association is warning of potential dangers in reducing Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) produce benefits.
The House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee voted to move forward its Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill on June 5.
The bill reduces the WIC cash value benefit by 10% for fruits and vegetables in 2026, with the goal of an eventual slash in benefits from $54 per month for women and $27 per month for children to a $13 and $10, respectively – a cut of almost 75%, according to IPFA.
“The committee’s proposed bill would cut $100 million from WIC in 2026 and create a pathway to an eventual $1 billion reduction in fruit and vegetable benefits WIC provides for young children and pregnant and post-partum mothers,” IFPA said in a June 6 statement. “On the heels of the president’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report that recognized the health effectiveness of WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit, we are deeply troubled that the committee is choosing this path. These proposed cuts would have serious consequences for connecting farm-fresh produce to low-income women and children — populations already at increased risk for diet-related health disparities.”
IFPA said the current benefit amount is in line with the 2017 National Academy of Science’s recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
“As a result, young children participating in WIC have consumed more fruits and vegetables daily, while growers have experienced a wider variety of fruits and vegetables being sold through the program than when the benefit was at lower amounts,” the statement read. “At a time when nearly half of U.S. children do not eat a daily vegetable, reducing WIC benefits would undermine national nutrition initiatives and contradict bipartisan efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, improve dietary quality, and support farmers.”
