California WIC Participants Report Favorable Impacts of the COVID-Related Increase to the WIC Cash Value Benefit
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sampling Method
2.2. WIC Participant Surveys and Interviews
3. Results
3.1. Participant Characteristics
3.2. Major Themes
3.3. Theme Category A: Experiences with CVB at USD 9 per Month
3.3.1. Shopping for FV Using WIC Benefits Is Easy
3.3.2. CVB at USD 9 per Month Is Inadequate
3.4. Theme Category B: Experiences after CVB Increase to USD 35 per Month
3.4.1. Satisfaction Increased with CVB Increase to USD 35 per Month
“I thought (the CVB increase) was amazing, because we eat more FV since there’s been an increase. (Before the increase) we were eating more processed food and I don’tthink that my daughter was getting adequate nutrition from eating those types of foods and she’s a picky eater too.”(English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4)
“By the fourth week of the month, I still had a balance, meaning that I had already gotten what I needed. So I felt like if I was to use it, the fruit would just go to waste.”(English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6)
“It (CVB increase) was easier to choose from the variety that the supermarket had without thinking about what I’m going to spend for a small amount.”(Spanish speaking participant with 13 years of WIC participation—SP31)
“I just didn’t feel pressured to go shopping and if I didn’t spend everything, the next time I went I could buy it and the fruit and everything would not spoil.”(Spanish speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—SP28)
“It (CVB increase) gave me more options to buy more and less worry to have... Okay if I needed to get it out of pocket am I going to have enough. So I don’t have to worry about it for the month, so if I didn’t want to spend the entire (USD) 35 in one week or you know in one day it’s like okay... Unlike with the (USD) 9,…I know it’s all going to go today.”(English speaking participant with 8 years of WIC participation—EN19)
3.4.2. CVB Increase Resulted in Purchasing Greater Amounts and Variety of FV
“I started looking up different recipes for different vegetables because I would just buy the basics like carrots, celery, the same old stuff and make the same old soups (before the increase)… and now I buy more cauliflower, squash. We eat a lot of roasted vegetables now and I just want to expose them to a bigger variety.”(English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4)
“I thought the change was extremely helpful. Because instead of just grabbing a few breakfast fruits, I was able…to try different fresh vegetables that normally I wouldn’t try. It (CVB increase) made me go more outside my comfort zone. It actually paid off because my son ate more of the newer things than the same old stuff he was used to.”(English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13)
“Because it (CVB increase) was like a kid in the candy store. It’s like, wow, we have this resource now that we can get more and more. They (the children) just love...They were introduced to artichokes, and they wanted dragon fruit and things like that we were not able to do before. So it was it was great.”(English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10)
“We didn’t worry about the sale prices at that point… having a little bit more to work with made it where you’re not budgeting as hard for the things that you like.”(English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11)
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
CVB | Cash Value Benefit |
WIC | Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children |
ARPA | American Rescue Plan Act |
USD | United States dollar |
USDA | United States Department of Agriculture |
FV | Fruits and vegetables |
EN | English-speaking participant, followed by the participant ID number used for coding purposes |
SP | Spanish-speaking participant, followed by the participant ID number used for coding purposes |
AA | Black or African American race |
References
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Characteristic | Number of Participants or Mean (SD) |
---|---|
Caregiver Race/Ethnicity | |
Hispanic | 20 |
Non-Hispanic Black | 10 |
Household food insecure (in past month) | 17 |
Number of children in household | |
1 | 8 |
2 | 12 |
3+ | 10 |
Age of youngest child on WIC | 2.7 (0.8) |
Duration on WIC (years) | 5.8 (3.9) |
Frequency of grocery shopping (times/week) | 1.6 (1.3) |
Where usually shop for WIC foods 1 | |
Large store (with multiple check out registers) | 13 |
WIC only store | 10 |
Both large and WIC stores | 7 |
Ease of finding fruit/vegetables wanted using WIC benefits 2 | |
Very easy | 26 |
Somewhat easy | 4 |
Theme | Language | Representative Quotes |
---|---|---|
1. Experiences with CVB at USD 9 per month | ||
1.1. Shopping for FV using WIC benefits is easy | English | The (WIC) app tells you what FV are eligible, so it makes it a lot easier. They also have the WIC label next to some of the FV, like the kids fruit snacks. (English speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—EN17) |
1.2. CVB at USD 9 per month is inadequate | English | Things are very expensive these days. So (USD) 9 does not go very far for produce, unfortunately. I try to catch all the sales, but it’s just with the inflation and the cost of living, or the cost of the produce itself, it (USD 9/month) does not go very far. I can buy frozen vegetables. Maybe get a nice amount of those that may carry me for most of the month. However, for fresh fruits, it was not enough. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) |
2. Experiences after CVB increase to USD 35 per month | ||
2.1. Satisfaction increased with CVB increase to USD 35 per month | English | I thought (the CVB increase) was amazing, because we eat more FV since there’s been an increase. (Before the increase) we were eating more processed food and I do not think that my daughter was getting adequate nutrition from eating those types of foods and she’s a picky eater too. So now that I am cooking vegetables with every dinner and we’re snacking on FV throughout the day. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) |
It (CVB increase) gave us a better opportunity to eat more health conscious and make sure that the baby was getting all of the FV that he needs for each day. (English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11) | ||
Subtheme 1: Cost | English | Sometimes (USD) 35 for vegetables is not enough because everything is pricey now. Because now you can get a little bit compared to before you get a lot. (English speaking participant with 8 years of WIC participation—EN7) |
Subtheme 2: Spending the full amount | Both | By the fourth week of the month, I still had a balance, meaning that I had already gotten what I needed. So I felt like if I was to use it, the fruit would just go to waste. So I would be using something just because, instead of using it because I needed it… However, I also only have one child on WIC, so my family is not that big either. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6) |
It (CVB increase) was easier to choose from the variety that the supermarket had without thinking about what I am going to spend for a small amount. (Spanish speaking participant with 13 years of WIC participation—SP31) | ||
2.2. CVB increase resulted in purchasing greater amounts and variety of FV | Both | I just did not feel pressured to go shopping and if I did not spend everything, the next time I went I could buy it and the fruit and everything would not spoil. (Spanish speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—SP28) |
I was not overwhelmed with having so much money just for produce where I felt like I needed to go spend that full amount in the month…. However, being that it was (USD) 35, it made it to where I was able to incorporate more of the fresh vegetables into my meals and actually plan a menu around it. Another benefit of it was that you were not predisposed to spend more on FV, which tends to go rotten faster, so I was actually able to use what I bought. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
It (CVB increase) gave me more options to buy more and less worry to have... Okay if I needed to get it out of pocket am I going to have enough. So I do not have to worry about it for the month, so if I did not want to spend the entire (USD) 35 in one week or you know in one day it’s like okay... I am okay, I do not have to worry about having to come back next week because I am going to have extra left. Unlike with the (USD) 9,…I know it’s all going to go today. (English speaking participant with 8 years of WIC participation—EN19) | ||
Because before I was just looking for the most common fruits or most common vegetables and right now with the (increase) I could have access to other types of fruits …that she liked. (Spanish speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—SP28) | ||
It (CVB increase) was super good because we managed to buy more variety of FV and are able to make a salad or make other FV for the children. (Spanish speaking participant with 13 years of WIC participation—SP31) | ||
I started looking up different recipes for different vegetables because I would just buy the basics like carrots, celery, the same old stuff and make the same old soups (before the increase). So, I wanted to have more of a variety of what I was feeding my family. Furthermore, now I buy more cauliflower, squash. We eat a lot of roasted vegetables now and I just want to expose them to a bigger variety. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
Oh it (CVB increase) definitely changed the amount and definitely changed the variety. I was able to buy her (child) different kinds of fruits, that she could then try. It opened up a bigger variety because I had more money to give her something other to try instead of just buying what I knew she liked, because that is all we had. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6) | ||
We were able to.... Look at… the whole scale of the produce section instead of just the sale section. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
Because of the amount we’re getting (now), it’s easier to grab more without worrying... It’s three times the amount or more. So I do not worry about putting that money in our budget. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN22) | ||
Subtheme 1: Variety of FV | Both | Yes, I could buy more vegetables I had not tried. I tried other things, now she can know what they taste like and there’re more things that I can serve. (Spanish speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—SP28) |
I have struggled with her eating vegetables... Now (since the CVB increase) she likes to eat broccoli raw with like Ranch whereas before she would not try it at all and I think that has to do with her seeing me eat more vegetables that she wants to try it. So she’s definitely been trying new vegetables since I’ve been cooking more vegetables. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
I am able to buy her a little more of what she likes and a little more of what she does not know about and introduce her to new FV. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6) | ||
It (USD 35/month) has afforded me to get a variety of things that I was not able to get before, and actually introduced my children to a lot more vegetables that were out of our reach (with USD 9/month). (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
I thought the change was extremely helpful. Because instead of just grabbing a few breakfast fruits, I was able…to try different fresh vegetables that normally I would not try. It (CVB increase) made me go more outside my comfort zone. It actually paid off because my son ate more of the newer things than the same old stuff he was used to. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
Subtheme 2: Quality of FV | Both | Before (the CVB increase), I grabbed the lowest quality and then with the (USD) 35 I can get better quality. (Spanish speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—SP26) |
I would say it (CVB increase) had a high impact. Because I have enough to buy the FV I need. Especially in the summer, you want to eat like a lot of fresh stuff. So I was really happy about the increase because I was able to make recipes that were good to eat during the summer. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
Because it (CVB increase) was like a kid in the candy store. It’s like, wow, we have this resource now that we can get more and more. They (the children) just love... Especially the summertime fruits.... They were introduced to artichokes, and they wanted dragon fruit and things like that we were not able to do before. So it was it was great. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
When it (CVB increase) happened during the summer months, there’s a lot of berries in season. So it was good to get the FV that were in season and when it was (USD) 9 I would use it to get Cuties and bananas, mostly, because that was what we would be able to get with (USD) 9. With (USD) 35, I could get strawberries, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, just more variety of fruits that my son likes to eat. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) | ||
Subtheme 3: Offset increased cost of FV | Both | Since blackberries are a bit more expensive, so with what WIC give us one takes advantage of grabbing what is usually more expensive in stores. (Spanish speaking participant with 5 years of WIC participation—SP30) |
Normally I do not buy a lot of FV because the prices are high… but I was able to do that with the WIC this time. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
We did not worry about the sale prices at that point… having a little bit more to work with made it where you’re not budgeting as hard for the things that you like. (English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11) | ||
So like Brussel sprouts, or some of the vegetables that cost a little bit more. I was able to purchase those things with extra stretch of the dollar. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
3. Other changes on spending outside of WIC benefits with CVB increase to USD 35 per month | ||
3.1. CVB increase impacts purchases of other groceries | Both | I had the option to spend from my pocket what I had available for vegetables to buy meat, buy chicken, buy fish to change my son’s diet. (Spanish speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—SP27) |
A lot of the time, we buy cheaper proteins and stuff to have more money for FV. So I think that (a CVB increase) would help people buy better quality food. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
Because we had the extra money for the FV, we were able to give maybe chicken or meats, pasta, something to compensate or you know to have a little more at the house. (English speaking participant with 12 years of WIC participation—EN8) | ||
Aside from FV, we were able to buy more meat and grains, like cereal and oatmeal and stuff like that. (English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11) | ||
It (the CVB increase) definitely had a role in the variety of foods that I could eat because I have more resources to afford them. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) | ||
With that extra money…we can buy an extra pack of chicken or get fish that we cannot usually splurge on because we have to work that into the budget for that fruit and vegetable lump sum. (English speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—EN20) | ||
Subtheme 1: Reduced reliance on less healthy foods | English | I did not used to juice, and have enough fruits left over. So now we do not buy a lot of sugar-filled drinks because we juice. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6) |
You tend to eat less processed food when you have more natural foods. (English speaking participant with 12 years of WIC participation—EN8) | ||
Normally I will give him pastries for breakfast, like a toaster strudel type of thing. However, once I had more FV, that is all he wanted. He’ll have a banana at the house, and I will even pack one for his lunch as well. So he was consuming way more (FV). (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
If I had it in cash (instead of the increased CVB), it would be different. Maybe I would spend it on something else for them. Sometimes they do also like juice or cookies and chips. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) | ||
Subtheme 2: Reduced the burden of increased cost | Both | More than anything (now), Furthermore expensive is fruit and vegetables. (Spanish speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—SP27) |
I think I’ve gotten a little bit more just in general, because of COVID, with the kids being home more....They would get a couple of more meals at school sometimes…., so I definitely increased the amount of food that we had in the house on hand for them. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) | ||
C.2. CVB has minimal impact spending on other household needs | Both | I’ve spent more on the car, gasoline, housing. They also raised my rent. (Spanish speaking participant with 19 years of WIC participation—SP32) |
I’ve been able to save a little bit more for transportation. As you know, gas prices have been a little bit higher than usual. So it’s been helping me maintain that. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN5) | ||
(The cost of) everything got higher or stayed the same. The bills [got higher]. It’s cold right now, so the gas is getting high, and our electricity bill is kind of high. (English speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—EN17) | ||
4. Other changes on spending outside of WIC benefits with CVB increase to USD 35 per month | ||
4.1. Impact on diet of child | Both | Both the amount and variety (increased) because with the price changes the variety. Because there are times I have to choose between prices and that is where the variety of FV changes. (Spanish speaking participant with 19 years of WIC participation—SP32) |
Because when you get more stuff, a lot more FV, you’re able to make different dishes and you can introduce other foods to her with the FV as well. (English speaking participant with 12 years of WIC participation—EN8) | ||
Yes, yes, yes (FV child ate increased), because I had more. Fortunately, I have really good eaters, so I they do not waste the food. Furthermore, because it’s new, they want to try it. They like it and so they consume more. I like to serve some FV with every meal and I cook at least three times a day. So we were going through a lot. Furthermore, I had that (FV) for their snacks as well. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
Before I was sticking to apples, oranges and bananas, and then once it (CVB) went up, that is when I started getting more fresh broccoli, different salads and strawberries. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
She (child) will pick the fruit over the other stuff that we have like over the cookie or chips or whatever. She sees the fruit first, the fruit is out and then the other stuff is more in the cabinet. So, she picks the fruit first because there’s more fruit (with the CVB increase). Instead of just in the beginning of the month, she got a few bananas and some grapes and then it’s gone. (English speaking participant with 10 years of WIC participation—EN14) | ||
4.2. CVB increase also has positive impacts on diet of others in household | Both | Yes, it changed a little because you saved a little more money and that money that one saved was spent on other things. (Spanish speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—SP26) |
I started buying different varieties of vegetables, like for instance, now we buy cauliflower every week and I’ve been looking up different recipes, and it turns out the other people in my family really liked it as well, whereas before I just bought more simple and cheaper vegetables. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN4) | ||
Well, it increased our (overall family’s) overall produce. We ate a lot more greens, a lot more of the FV, the summertime fruits… Especially during the summer, the kids were not able to go out too much, even though things were lifted. So a lot of times, of course everybody’s home, so everybody’s snacking more, because we are …nearer all the food. Therefore, to have the fresh fruits, the fresh vegetables, I can cut up... It helped, at least for me, to feel like they’re eating something healthy even though they’re eating all the time. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
Me and my husband want to be health conscious, right? We want to do what is the healthiest thing, but when it comes to our situation, we put the baby first. So, when it was at (USD) 9 we were only making sure his snacks and his nutrition was taken care of. With the (USD) 35, we were able to branch out and then I was able to make sure my husband had his apricot and his peaches and stuff like that, things that he liked. So with the (USD) 35, it just expanded our horizons to be able to eat the things that we like as well. (English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11) | ||
Yes, I definitely ate more FV, too, because I do not like for them to go bad, so we will make sure we try to eat them up. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) | ||
Subtheme 1: Cost of FV | Spanish | I’ve bought a little more fruit. In the other things, it’s been the same because the price has also increased. We try not to exceed our expenses because if we do not do that, we will not have enough for rent. (Spanish speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—SP27) |
4.3. Other changes over the summer | Both | The student EBT helped me stock up on fruits, vegetables, and meat. (Spanish speaking participant with 19 years of WIC participation—SP32) |
The increase in CalFresh, which was extremely helpful because everybody being home made it so that everyone was eating more, so the cost of groceries went up in the household. Furthermore, then being home and not working during the pandemic made it to where you did not have the extra dollar to spend on groceries. (English speaking participant with 2.5 years of WIC participation—EN13) | ||
With the EBT cards, the P-EBT cards it makes so much difference and it’s so helpful. I can buy as much as we want, as much as the kids want. They can make choices of what they want to eat. We are not limited to a certain amount in the grocery store. (English speaking participant with 5 years of WIC participation—EN16) | ||
The increase, the EBT increase, the WIC increase, made it better. It made the whole thing better. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN18) | ||
5. Experiences after CVB change to USD 24 per month | ||
5.1. Monthly CVB amount of USD 24 is better than USD 9, but USD 35 is more in line with child’s needs | Both | The (USD) 24 is better than (USD) 9 because with (USD) 9 it is not enough for anything. With (USD) 24, one can buy a week’s worth. (Spanish speaking participant with 19 years of WIC participation—SP32) |
(The USD 24) will be fine, because it’s better than the (USD) 9. I would not be that upset. That (USD) 9, I’ve never really understood why it was so little. What do they think? Do they think we do not eat fruits? You know, I was grateful for what it was. (English speaking participant with10 years of WIC participation—EN14) | ||
For me personally, I think it’s perfect. I am able to buy exactly what I want. I do not waste any money. I do not need any more. I am using exactly what they gave me, and I am able to buy exactly what I need for the whole month. (English speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—EN6) | ||
I think that it’s not enough, because we fall into the same thing that prices have been very high and we buy the same quantities that we bought before it rose to (USD) 35. I do not think they should have changed it, I think they should have just kept it at (USD) 35. (Spanish speaking participant with 7 years of WIC participation—SP27) | ||
Because in the end, we want our kids to eat more vegetables and fruits compared to eating the more affordable snack chips and stuff like that. (English speaking participant with 8 years of WIC participation—EN7) | ||
5.2. Positive impacts on grocery purchases | Both | He (child) continues to eat FV. Not the same amount and not the same times like if I bought fruits more often like every week. Now I buy like every other week. The portions and quantities have changed, now he eats fewer portions, because since everything is more expensive, I buy less. (Spanish speaking participant with 19 years of WIC participation—SP32) |
It (USD 24/month) still allows me to broaden my scope a little bit more. Not as much as the (USD) 35 obviously, but a little bit more. I can pick and choose, and I can try something different. (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN10) | ||
It (the change to USD 24) was just a slight increase, and everything else went up (in cost). So, she’s kind of eating the same (as when the CVB was USD 9). Maybe an extra fruit? (English speaking participant with 3 years of WIC participation—EN21) | ||
Subtheme 1: Introduction of new FV to child’s diet | English | Because it (USD 24/month) provides enough just for me to be getting FV that they (children on WIC) like, instead of getting things that they (children) do not like. (English speaking participant with 4 years of WIC participation—EN17) |
5.3. Optimal CVB amount for children is more than USD 9 or USD 24 per month | English | Do not get me wrong, the (USD) 35 was amazing. What you give me is appreciated no matter what number it is. Does the increase in the WIC help my family? Definitely. However, I do not have a number that I feel that WIC should give me because I am just appreciative of whatever they give me if that makes sense. (English speaking participant with 2 years of WIC participation—EN11) |
I really like to (USD) 35, but anything more than (USD) 9 dollars is appreciated. It was better for meal prep and meal planning. I could get a lot out of it. Furthermore, it helps cover my vegetables that I needed for dinners and things like that. It provided snacks, which is what I prefer him (child) to eat over salty, sugary snacks. I rather him have fruit so if I can give him more healthy options then I would appreciate that. (English speaking participant with 9 years of WIC participation—EN15) |
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Martinez, C.E.; Ritchie, L.D.; Lee, D.L.; Tsai, M.M.; Anderson, C.E.; Whaley, S.E. California WIC Participants Report Favorable Impacts of the COVID-Related Increase to the WIC Cash Value Benefit. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 10604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710604
Martinez CE, Ritchie LD, Lee DL, Tsai MM, Anderson CE, Whaley SE. California WIC Participants Report Favorable Impacts of the COVID-Related Increase to the WIC Cash Value Benefit. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(17):10604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710604
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartinez, Catherine E., Lorrene D. Ritchie, Danielle L. Lee, Marisa M. Tsai, Christopher E. Anderson, and Shannon E. Whaley. 2022. "California WIC Participants Report Favorable Impacts of the COVID-Related Increase to the WIC Cash Value Benefit" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 17: 10604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710604