WIC

Proposed Update to WIC Programs

National Academy of sciences, engineering & medicines conducted a study for the AG dept.  and recommended the following changes

More of:

Fish, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables

Less of:

Juice, milk, legumes and peanut butter

So what's the big issue? It's that they're not teaching people protein replacements

While, yes, there is an increase in peanut butter allergies, milk allergies, and diabetes in OLDER people/overweight in younger people -- I think it's quite the stress to link those two last two classes with the consumption of juice milk peanut butter and legumes such as split peas!

New studies have shown that early introduction to peanuts and peanut butter lower the risk of allergies, no such study has been shown to prevent an allergy to fish… Which I myself suffer from.

The other thing they have to watch out for is that these foods – that is the ones they offer now – appeal to young children

The term legumes refers not only to such items as lagoons and split peas but also to beans… Kidney beans, Lima beans, Northern beans, Black beans, chickpeas, etc. 

Wow these can be considered incomplete proteins, it is fairly easy to teach people to serve a serving of some sort of bread with them… Be it corn bread or whole wheat bread, either will complete the proteins.

In the early 90s, when I worked as a daycare provider, I did not earn enough money to provide healthy meals to my two children.

Not only did I have to provide formula and diapers for my home, I also have to provide them for the day care center where my children went - hey not uncommon situation parents find themselves in these days.

Both my husband and I worked, but still we were earning less than $15,000 a year.  

I do not know how to program has changed in the last 25 years, but it really helped us out at the beginning of our marriage/parenthood

Well some people consider this a form of welfare – I do not – I think it's more of an educational situation, and it should be offered to nearly every new parent in the United States more than food stamps, which has been known to be abused

Well I can understand The AG department wishing to promote the over abundance of supplies in the "eat more" category I feel they are really missing the point of the foods in the "eat less" category

Milk… Is not simply include the liquid form, it also includes such items as cheese, butter, yogurt…

Juice… Is not meant for juice like drinks, it specifically says 100% real juice only.

I deal with three however that they need to stress whole grains… Oatmeals, farina, whole-wheat… But they need to teach people how to use them!

It's not a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, or a bowl of cream of wheat, it's how to use them in your every day cooking… It's more than oatmeal cookies… It's more than whole wheat bread

During the summers while on WIC I would receive vouchers to visit the local farmers market… This was a great thing for us! We would never have thought of going to the farmers market had it not been for those vouchers!!

I think what WIC needs to do – in all seriousness – is teach people how to grow their own fruits and vegetables

Even people in in apartment can grow container foods – carrots, onions, potatoes…

They should teach people how to "put up" their surpluses if there is extra food. -  teaching people that they can make good tasting food with less sodium, fat, sugar/sweetener than store-bought items will go much farther than they think!