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This interim final rule, published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2007, revises the WIC food packages. The revisions align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The interim final rule revisions largely reflect recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in its report, "WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change," with certain cost containment and administrative modifications found necessary by the Department to ensure cost neutrality. An interim final rule allows FNS to obtain feedback on the major changes as recommended by IOM while allowing implementation to move forward. State agencies must implement the provisions no later than August 5, 2009. The interim final rule comment period ends on February 1, 2010, which is 180 days after the implementation deadline. USDA will issue a final rule after review and analysis of public comments.

This interim rule revises regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) \1\ and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, and provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences.

Find details on submitting comments and the complete text of the interim final rule online:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/regspublished/foodpackages-interimrule.htm

Note that there are links on this web page to PDF or text versions of the interim final rule.

The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition commented regarding the WIC rule:

"Of special interest to farmers is the rule’s addition of monthly fruit and vegetable vouchers ($8 for breastfeeding and postpartum women, $6 for children and $10 for pregnant women).  With State agency approval, farmers participating in farmers’ markets or roadside stands will be eligible to redeem these vouchers.  Although the rule does not mandate State agencies to facilitate voucher redemption through farmer direct marketing ventures, it does provide for simplified vendor agreements and monitoring requirements for participating farmers."

Note that the complete interim final rule is very long. The provisions regarding the use of WIC vouchers at farmers' markets appear about 1/4 of the way through the document.