Federal grant programs / Department of Agriculture

WIC Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (10.557)

Also known as WIC Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$32 billion
• Grant awards1,995
• Typical award$1.3 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$7.5 billion
• Size rank18 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceFormula grants, project grants (discretionary)

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $5.5 billion in fiscal 2021 to $7.5 billion in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 18th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 77% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 56 states and territories.

What the program funds

To provide income-eligible pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five who are determined to be at nutritional risk with supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, and referrals to health and social services at no cost. WIC also promotes and supports breastfeeding as the feeding method of choice for infants, provides substance abuse education and promotes immunization and other aspects of healthy living. For Formula Grants, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) makes funds available to participating State health agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) that, in turn, distribute the funds to participating local agencies. State and local agencies use WIC funds to pay the costs of specified supplemental foods provided to WIC participants, and to pay for specified nutrition services and administration (NSA) costs, including the cost of nutrition assessments, blood tests for anemia, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and health care referrals. For Project Grants, FNS makes funding available to carry out WIC outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits. Projects may focus on reducing disparities in program delivery, improving WIC service delivery, improving the WIC shopping experience, and increasing awareness of the Program’s benefits and services.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

A local agency is eligible to apply to deliver locally the services of the WIC Program, provided that: (1) it serves a population of low-income women, infants, and children at nutritional risk; and (2) it is a public or private nonprofit health or human service agency. All local agencies must apply through the responsible State, Indian Tribal Organization or U.S. Territory agency. Project grants may be available to a WIC State agency, businesses, small businesses, nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, institutions of higher education and for profit organizations other than small businesses, public and State controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. All applications must be submitted via the Grants.gov portal.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Supplemental Foods, nutrition services, program administration Formula grants are made to State health departments or comparable agencies, Indian tribes, bands, or intertribal councils, or groups recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, or the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services. These agencies distribute funds to participating local public or nonprofit private health or welfare agencies. Funds are expended to pay for supplemental foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, health care referrals for participants, and other client services including certification, as well as administrative costs. State agencies are provided Federal funds according to legislative and regulatory formulas. Only local agencies qualifying under State agency applications with formal agreements may operate the WIC Program. Project grants are available to State and local WIC agencies, accredited colleges/universities, private or public non-profit or for-profit research institutions, private or public non-profit or for profit public health institutions, or organizations with experience in developing, implementing and evaluating marketing and national outreach campaigns. Qualified applicants are expected to provide support implementation of outreach, innovation and modernization projects. Grant awards are contingent upon availability of funding.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title 7, Part 246, Subpart E,Public Law PL 89-642.Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, Section 17(h)(2)(A), 42 U.S.C. 1786.Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

WIC Food, Admin and Breast-Feeding funding is provided via a Federal State agreement. Deadlines for the discretionary varied by grant as described in the NOFO.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

For FY 2024, FNS approved the operation of the WIC Program in 89 State agencies. This figure includes 50 States, the District of Columbia, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations, and five U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). State agency total food and NSA grants ranged from $134,313 to $1,193,696,081. During FY 2023, an average of 6,575,976 women, infants and children received WIC benefits every month. Although food package costs varied widely among State agencies, the monthly average food package cost for FY 2023 was approximately $56.07 per person.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2026: Funding was provided to cover food, administrative and breast-feeding initiative expenses to all participating state agencies.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 99% of the money, tribes 1.1% and nonprofits 0.2%.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.