The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has been one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective nutrition intervention programs, protecting and improving the health of nearly 6.3 million individuals, including over 55,000 Arkansans, in 2020.

Despite its effectiveness, only 1 in 3 eligible Arkansans participate in the WIC program. As WIC nears its 50th year as a permanent program, the federal Department of Agriculture is seeking to modernize and improve its accessibility. This explainer provides an overview of WIC, including discussion of how the program is administered, its eligibility requirements, its funding mechanisms, and efforts to modernize it.