Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Center for Research in Education and Social Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 Aug 26;14(17):3509. doi: 10.3390/nu14173509.
Recent changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Cash-Value Benefit (CVB), which provides participants with money to spend on fruits and vegetables, have the potential to reduce disparities in healthy food access and food insecurity that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have examined how the changes to the CVB allotment that occurred during the pandemic influenced WIC participants' perceptions of the benefit or their fruit and vegetable purchasing and consumption. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 51 WIC participants in Wilmington, Delaware. Survey measures included demographic questions, the Hunger Vital Sign food insecurity screener, and open-ended questions regarding perceptions of the CVB increase and its influence on participants' fruit and vegetable purchasing and consumption. Data were analyzed using a hybrid inductive and deductive coding approach. The results demonstrate that higher CVB allotments increased WIC participants' purchasing and consumption of fruits and vegetables, increased the frequency of their shopping occasions, and enhanced their dietary variety. Our findings also suggest that WIC participants highly value the increased CVB. Consequently, maintaining the increased CVB allotment could improve the nutritional outcomes of low-income mothers, infants, and children participating in WIC.
最近，妇女、婴儿和儿童特别补充营养计划（WIC）现金价值福利（CVB）发生了变化，为参与者提供了用于购买水果和蔬菜的资金，这有可能减少因 COVID-19 大流行而加剧的健康食品获取和粮食不安全方面的差距。然而，很少有研究探讨大流行期间 CVB 分配额的变化如何影响 WIC 参与者对福利的看法，或他们购买和消费水果和蔬菜的情况。为了解决这一差距，我们在特拉华州威尔明顿对 51 名 WIC 参与者进行了半结构化访谈。调查措施包括人口统计问题、饥饿生命体征粮食不安全筛查器，以及关于 CVB 增加及其对参与者购买和消费水果和蔬菜的影响的开放式问题。数据采用混合归纳和演绎编码方法进行分析。结果表明，较高的 CVB 分配额增加了 WIC 参与者购买和消费水果和蔬菜的数量，增加了他们购物的次数，并丰富了他们的饮食种类。我们的研究结果还表明，WIC 参与者非常重视增加的 CVB。因此，维持增加的 CVB 分配额可以改善参与 WIC 的低收入母亲、婴儿和儿童的营养状况。
