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Background: Beginning in 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) revised its food packages and provided more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables and fewer foods with high saturated fat content. However, knowledge of the impact of this policy shift on the diets of WIC participants remains limited., Purpose: To examine the longer-term impact of the 2009 WIC food package change on nutrient and food group intake and overall diet quality among African American and Hispanic WIC child participants and their mothers/caregivers., Methods: In this natural experiment, 24-hour dietary recalls were collected in the summer of 2009, immediately before WIC food package revisions occurred in Chicago IL and at 18 months following the food package change (winter/spring 2011). Generalized estimating equation models were used to compare dietary intake at these two time points. Data were analyzed in July 2013., Results: Eighteen months following the WIC food package revisions, significant decreases in total fat (p=0.002) and saturated fat (p=0.0004) and increases in dietary fiber (p=0.03) and overall diet quality (p=0.02) were observed among Hispanic children only. No significant changes in nutrient intake or diet quality were observed for any other group. The prevalence of reduced-fat milk intake significantly increased for African American and Hispanic children, whereas the prevalence of whole milk intake significantly decreased for all groups., Conclusions: Positive dietary changes were observed at 18 months post policy implementation, with the effects most pronounced among Hispanic children., (Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the diets of African American and Hispanic families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) prior to the 2009 food package revisions., Methods: Mother-child dyads were recruited from 12 WIC sites in Chicago, IL. Individuals with 1 valid 24-hour recall were included in the analyses (n = 331 children, n = 352 mothers)., Results: Compared to their African American counterparts, diets of Hispanic mothers and children were lower (P < .001) in percentage of calories from fat, added sugars, sodium, and sweetened beverages, but higher (P < .001) in vitamin A, calcium, whole grains, fruit, and total dairy. However, no groups met national recommendations for percentage of calories from saturated fat, fiber, sodium, whole grains, vegetables, and total dairy., Conclusions and Implications: There are racial/ethnic differences in dietary intake, and future research is needed to determine whether diets improve as a result of package revisions and whether uptake of these changes varies by race/ethnicity., (Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)