Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service 7 CFR Part 246 [FNS-2022-0007] RIN 0584-AE82 AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Department of Agriculture (USDA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: This rulemaking proposes to revise regulations governing the WIC food packages to align them with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and reflect recommendations made by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) in its 2017 report, “Review of WIC Food Packages: Improving Balance and Choice,” while promoting nutrition security and equity and taking into account program administration considerations. The proposed changes are intended to provide WIC participants with a wider variety of foods that align with the latest nutritional science; provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility to prescribe and tailor food packages that accommodate participants' special dietary needs and personal and cultural food preferences; provide more equitable access to supplemental foods; and better promote and support individual breastfeeding goals of participants to help establish successful long-term breastfeeding. DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 21, 2023 to be assured of consideration. Online comments submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal on this proposed rule must be received on or before February 21, 2023. ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites interested persons to submit writte…