Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children

The project is expected to be conducted in two phases. During Phase I, the contractor shall review all relevant scientific literature to ensure that the WIC food packages are scientifically based; assess current science on the nutritional needs of the WIC target population; review information on the dietary intake of WIC participants; and examine public health concerns and issues surrounding different types of eating patterns. As part of this process, the contractor shall convene an expert committee and conduct no less than six expert committee meetings.

In addition, the contractor shall conduct not less than two full day public forums to gather professional and public input. At the conclusion of Phase I, the contractor shall issue a Phase I Report that provides an assessment of the nutritional needs of the WIC population relative to current nutritional science, a discussion of how well the current WIC food packages address these needs within the supplemental framework, modeling and analyses to be conducted in Phase II, and a preview of the Phase II recommendation development process. Phase II will include a Phase II Report containing detailed documentation of all findings and specific recommendations for changes in the foods and amounts of food provided in the WIC food packages for each of the various types of WIC food packages.

The recommendations for each of the packages should be supported by a discussion of the nutritional rationale (including but not limited to discussion of the latest nutritional science and other expert recommendations), a food group and subgroup and nutrient analysis, and estimated annual costs or savings compared to baseline of the individual food changes. In addition, the recommendations for all the packages should be presented as a recommendation supported by an estimate of the annual cost or savings and change from baseline. The recommendations may include options; however, the cost of each recommended set of changes shall be estimated separately for each food package.