The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced the final science-based food package updates for the Women’s, Infant’s and Children’s Supplemental Nutrition program, also known as WIC. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has been awaiting the release of the proposed rule updating the WIC packages, after a long review process. ASMI commends the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA for improving the nutrition value of the WIC food packages and further by adding more seafood to their entire array of nutritional programs.

This is the first update since 2009 and will go a long way to improve nutrition equity with expanded access to health-promoting seafood for all WIC participant groups. To date, canned fish has been included only for fully breastfeeding participants since a pilot initiative in the early 2000s by the late Senators Ted Stevens of the state of Alaska and Daniel Inouye of the state of Hawaii. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has been a champion of women and children’s health, leading a 15-year effort with the Alaska delegation to expand seafood access to all WIC participants.

Among other updates, the final changes add six ounces of canned fish to food packages for children (1 through 4 years), including canned Alaska salmon. The final rule also adds 10 ounces of canned fish to food packages for pregnant and postpartum participants and 15 ounces for partially breastfeeding participants, while adjusting amounts for fully breastfeeding participants from 30 to 20 ounces.

Expanding seafood availability for WIC packages is a sound investment that will support The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025, which recommends two 8-ounce servings of healthy seafood a week starting at six months. Almost all Americans have seafood intakes well below recommended amounts. Seafood, especially wild seafood from Alaska’s sustainable fisheries, adds quality, variety and value to the WIC food packages and responds to WIC participants’ requests.

“ASMI will continue to work to extend science-based access to seafood for children starting at 6 months, the only group not included in this seafood update.  We will continue to push for modernizing the WIC food packages with additional consumer-ready forms of seafood, like frozen portions in the next update. We are in it for the long term,” said Bruce Schactler, director of ASMI’s Global Food Aid Program.

Source: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute