Below you will find additional context worth noting when using these dashboards to understand WIC participation:
· Pennsylvania requires that WIC participants visit in person to reload their benefits onto their EBT cards. This has had a significant negative impact on WIC participation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the in-person visit requirements create a significant administrative burden on program participants that may deter them from continuing to utilize the program.
· The expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments at the end of February 2023 is a likely cause of the increase in WIC participation seen in early 2023 and sustained into the present, as eligible individuals who had previously not utilized WIC but had utilized SNAP may have decided to begin participating after the decrease in SNAP benefits, even considering the increased administrative burden placed on WIC participants compared to SNAP participants.
The federally funded Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, provides nutrition support and education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women and to infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk. Though WIC is significantly smaller than SNAP, it is still a crucial support to many children and families who are likely also served by the charitable food system, and understanding WIC can inform further insights into other aspects of both public and private responses to food insecurity.
Here are a few tips to help you use the dashboards most effectively:
· To change between the Overall WIC Participants and WIC Participants by County views, click the left or right arrows at the bottom of the dashboards.
· To filter the dashboards by geography, such as for a specific county or for the CPFB’s service territory, click the appropriate checkbox in the navigation pane on the right-hand side of the dashboard. Selections made with these filters will apply to both dashboards.
· To filter the dashboards by time period, use the slider in the lower left corner, or type dates into the date boxes just above the slider. The earliest possible date available is 12/1/2020; data for the present is updated on a quarterly basis. Selections made with these filters also apply to both dashboards.
Below you will find additional context worth noting when using these dashboards to understand WIC participation:
· Pennsylvania requires that WIC participants visit in person to reload their benefits onto their EBT cards. This has had a significant negative impact on WIC participation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the in-person visit requirements create a significant administrative burden on program participants that may deter them from continuing to utilize the program.
· The expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments at the end of February 2023 is a likely cause of the increase in WIC participation seen in early 2023 and sustained into the present, as eligible individuals who had previously not utilized WIC but had utilized SNAP may have decided to begin participating after the decrease in SNAP benefits, even considering the increased administrative burden placed on WIC participants compared to SNAP participants.