Child access to the nutritional safety net during and after the Great Recession: The case of WIC

Abstract

Because children disproportionately live in poverty, they are especially vulnerable during economic crises, making the social safety net a key buffer against the effects of economic disadvantage on their development. The Great Recession of 2007–2009 had strong and lasting effects on American children and families, including striking negative effects on their health environments. Understanding access to the health safety net during this time of increased economic need, as well as the extent to which all children—regardless of age, income or race/ethnicity—share in the increased use of transfer programs, is therefore important in identifying the availability and accessibility of government assistance for those in need. Focusing on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program because of its strong effects on child development, we use longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine change and stability in children’s WIC enrollment before, during and after the recession. Specifically, we examine: 1) whether children’s WIC enrollment increased alongside changing family income, and 2) the extent to which changes in participation were shared by all subpopulations, regardless of age, income, and race/ethnicity. Analyses reveal that WIC participation among eligible children increased leading up to, during, and after the Great Recession, suggesting that the program was responsive to increasing economic need. Examining the distribution of WIC enrollment across demographic groups largely reveals a pattern of stable inequality in access and “take up.” Children born to poorer and less-educated mothers were more likely to be enrolled prior to the recession, and these differences remain mostly constant during and after the recession. Eligible Hispanic children had consistently higher enrollment, particularly among those in families with foreign-born mothers. The findings suggest that not all eligible children equally enroll in WIC, but that these differences have not been drastically exacerbated by macroeconomic instability.

Ethnoracial differences in income and safety net patterns among low‐income postpartum families before and during the Great Recession

“…Nonetheless, our results likely undercount perinatal program participation among our sample. Though we make correlational claims, related causal analysis of the relationship between recessions and economic well‐being have found similar results among other populations (Anderson et al, 2015; Bitler & Hoynes, 2015; Gottlieb et al, 2014; Jackson & Mayne, 2016; Pilkauskas et al, 2012). Therefore, our study provides important insight for a particularly vulnerable population, low‐income unmarried postpartum women.…”

“…Yet, existing research on the impact of safety net provisions on unmarried women with children during the GR has produced mixed results regarding changes in TANF participation (e.g., Chang & Wu, 2021; Monte, 2015) and possible delayed patterns of WIC participation (Jackson & Mayne, 2016), yet robust increases in SNAP participation (Eamon & Wu, 2013; Moffitt, 2013; Waring & Meyer, 2020). It remains unclear how these patterns of participation differed by ethnoracial group membership during the GR, which is concerning given a large body evidence illustrating how disparate exposure to material hardship and poverty are important drivers of racial maternal and infant health inequities (Casey et al, 2004; Dagher & Linares, 2022; Mendenhall, 2018; Owens‐Young & Bell, 2020; Walker et al, 2011).…”

Efficiency versus Equity in the Provision of In-Kind Benefits

“…The WIC program is a pillar of the U.S. social safety net that targets the health and wellbeing of millions of poor pregnant women and young children. While a large literature examines the impacts of WIC on infant and child health and development (Currie, 2003;Bitler and Currie, 2005;Joyce et al, 2005;Lee and Mackey-Bilaver, 2007;Figlio et al, 2009;Foster et al, 2010;Hoynes et al, 2011;Marshall et al, 2013;Rossin-Slater, 2013;Edmunds et al, 2014;Currie and Rajani, 2015;Metallinos-Katsaras et al, 2015;Sonchak, 2016;Gregory et al, 2016;Jackson and Mayne, 2016;Fingar et al, 2017;Chorniy et al, 2018) much less is known about the costs and benefits associated with how the program is administered. While the complex rules about eligible products may encourage beneficiaries to make healthier food choices, they may also serve as a barrier to subgroups with high learning costs.…”

Efficiency Versus Equity in the Provision of In-Kind Benefits: Evidence from Cost Containment in the California WIC Program

“…The WIC program is a pillar of the U.S. social safety net that targets the health and wellbeing of millions of poor pregnant women and young children. While a large literature examines the impacts of WIC on infant and child health and development (Currie, 2003;Bitler and Currie, 2005;Joyce et al, 2005;Lee and Mackey-Bilaver, 2007;Figlio et al, 2009;Foster et al, 2010;Hoynes et al, 2011;Marshall et al, 2013;Rossin-Slater, 2013;Edmunds et al, 2014;Currie and Rajani, 2015;Metallinos-Katsaras et al, 2015;Sonchak, 2016;Gregory et al, 2016;Jackson and Mayne, 2016;Fingar et al, 2017;Chorniy et al, 2018) much less is known about the costs and benefits associated with how the program is administered. While the complex rules about eligible products may encourage beneficiaries to make healthier food choices, they may also serve as a barrier to subgroups with high learning costs.…”