LOS ANGELES — Starting April 13, California families enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, will have access to a significantly updated list of approved foods, including oat milk, pea milk, fresh herbs, whole wheat bagels, fruit-flavored yogurts, expanded cereal options, canned fish and more.
The changes represent the most significant update to the WIC food package in years, and they are rooted in the latest nutrition science. PHFE WIC, a program of Heluna Health and the largest WIC agency in the country, serves families across Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties and is helping connect participants to these new benefits.
The revisions are based on recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, and incorporate feedback gathered during a public comment period in 2022. Shannon E. Whaley, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation at PHFE WIC, was among the experts who served on the National Academies committee that spent years developing the science-based recommendations that now underpin these changes…