Families that participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) may soon see a change that makes shopping for food more convenient. The Department of Agriculture this month announced a proposal that would allow program participants to buy food online using their WIC benefits. The proposal aims to “streamline and modernize” the federal program, which provides financial support to low-income mothers and children up to age 5 to pay for nutritious food.
WIC benefits cannot currently be used to buy goods from online retailers like Amazon
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or Walmart
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After the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, advocates pushed for online access for the WIC program due to the difficulties of in-person shopping. Being forced to shop in-person with the WIC program, they argued, was anachronistic at best. After all, 54% of Americans have bought groceries online in the past 12 months, according to a 2022 survey by Coresight Research.
“After the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, advocates pushed for online access for the government’s WIC program due to the difficulties of in-person shopping. ”
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