house Resolution No.256
Reps. Warren and Ellison offered the following resolution:
Whereas, The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods and nutrition education for low-income women who are pregnant or post-partum, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. More than 200,000 mothers, infants, and children in Michigan rely on the WIC program every month as a key source of nutritious food; and
Whereas, The public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in panic-buying in grocery stores and other food establishments approved as WIC vendors, leaving some stores with few WIC-approved foods available for WIC participants; and
Whereas, A lack of WIC-approved foods could increase the risk for participants of developing certain medical conditions related to nutrition, such as anemia, underweight, and poor pregnancy outcomes for families who are already particularly vulnerable to the economic impacts and uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Whereas, Federal regulations prohibit WIC vendors from substituting WIC-approved foods with other foods and also prohibit similar foods from being provided as part of WIC food packages that do not meet the minimum federal requirements. For example, WIC stipulates the size of certain food items, and any deviation from the requirement, such as a larger package of an identical type of bread or eggs, requires a federal waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In a public health emergency, the benefits of making this type of substitution outweigh the risks; and
Whereas, USDA has granted Michigan waivers from a
few federal WIC requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the federal
regulations prohibiting substitution for WIC-approved foods remain in effect
for the state of Michigan, preventing the state from responding to the lack of
WIC-approved foods on store shelves. The state of Michigan has temporarily
expanded the number of WIC-approved foods, but in some locations, options may
remain limited; and
Whereas, It is imperative that the hundreds of thousands of WIC participants in Michigan continue to have access to foods through WIC. A lack of access to good nutrition prenatally and in the first five years of life can negatively impact a child's health and development for years to come; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Congress of the United States to allow grocery store managers to authorize a substitution for a WIC-approved food if the store runs out of the food during a public health emergency; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.