title: Federal nutrition program changes and healthy food availability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Literature on food environments is expanding rapidly, yet a gap exists regarding the role of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on healthy food availability. In October 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revised the WIC food package, requiring certified stores to stock fresh produce, whole grains, and lower-fat milk.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study is to compare availability of foods in stores that are versus those that are not WIC-certified before and after the policy change.
  
  
  METHODS
  Store inventories were collected in 45 corner stores in Hartford CT with four inventories each (180 total inventories) from January 2009 to January 2010. Data on availability and variety of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, and lower-fat milk were recorded. Analyses were completed in 2012 using Fisher's exact test, chi-square, and t-tests for descriptive analyses and multilevel models to measure food availability longitudinally (significance at p<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Controlling for covariates, WIC-certified vendors carried more varieties of fresh fruit (p<0.01); a greater proportion of lower-fat milk (p<0.01); and had greater availability of whole grain bread (p<0.01) and brown rice (p<0.05) than vendors without WIC authorization after the policy change. Conversely, for all outcomes, stores without WIC authorization did not significantly increase healthy food availability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 2009 WIC revisions increased availability of healthy foods among WIC-certified vendors compared to those without WIC authorization in Hartford CT. For many residents without a car, these changes can create a convenient shopping location for healthy foods when a larger supermarket is not nearby.
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health and Health Policy, University of Connecticut, East Hartford, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Erin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Havens
authors.forename: Katie S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dauser-Forrest
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003132:Commerce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003237:Connecticut; D004041:Dietary Fats; D063105:Food Assistance; D005523:Food Supply / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005638:Fruit / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011203:Poverty; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture; D014675:Vegetables / Q000600:supply & distribution
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats