New research from the University of Georgia shows losing access to the food assistance program WIC has a significant negative effect on the quality of some 5-year-olds’ diets. Travis Smith is the author of the study and a professor in UGA’s department of agricultural and applied economics.
He says the amount of calories consumed typically remained the same, but the quality suffered.
Children lose those benefits in the month they turn five, whether they’re in school or not. Smith says expanding WIC to allow children to stay on the program until they start school would only increase costs by about two percent.
