On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published adjusted income eligibility guidelines to be used by state agencies in determining the income eligibility of applicants for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC). Under current law, agencies may prescribe income guidelines equaling the income guidelines for reduced-price school meals, or identical to state or local guidelines for free or reduced-price health care. However, the state cannot establish WIC guidelines that exceed those for reduced-price school meals, or eligibility requirements less than 100 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines. The adjusted income eligibility guidelines follow the January publication of poverty guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. USDA also released the annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines for free and reduced price meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the 2013 – 2014 school year. The income guidelines for WIC and NSLP are effective from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014.

Link(s): WIC Notice; NSLP Notice