USDA looks to cut milk access for WIC participants
IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes and West Virginia mother Brittany Oxley joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss their concerns surrounding the change and why they want the proposal dropped.
The Biden administration is facing fierce scrutiny for a proposal that would drastically reduce the amount of dairy low-income families have access to while inflation sits at a four-decade high.
The proposal would reduce the amount of milk that millions of participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food benefits program can receive, potentially slashing milk rations by as much as 25%.
International Dairy Foods Association president and CEO Michael Dykes said the proposed change was "stunning," noting that there has not been a "clear explanation" for the potential pivot during "Fox & Friends First."
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"It's stunning to us that they would do this," Dykes told Ashley Strohmier on Wednesday. "We've not had a good, clear reason as to why they would cut a WIC mom and her children up to three gallons per month of milk. It just takes your breath away that they would do this… at this time, where we are, this abrupt change. We don't have a clear explanation."
WIC is a government-run program that supplies states with federal grants "for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Like its plain counterpart, flavored milk is a rich source of calcium, protein, vitamin D, vitamin A, potassium and niacin. Each 8-ounce serving of white or flavored milk provides 300 mg of calcium, as much as one-fourth of the daily calcium requirement for children, according to the National Dairy Council. (AP)
Dykes noted the change would have a negative impact on the health of women and children nationwide, warning that 90% of Americans already do not get the recommended three servings of dairy per day.
And this proposal could make matters worse for mothers and their children who rely on government assistance.
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"This is bad for nutrition. It's bad for WIC mothers," Dykes said. "There are about 6 million WIC moms and children. About 43% of all infants in the U.S. are on WIC. This type of abrupt change will mean probably 20% will drop out of the program."
"A third say they're going to have to find additional income to buy milk, cheese, yogurt, dairy products," he continued.
The USDA announced the proposal back in November, claiming that they were "science-based revisions" made in the best interest of participants' health.
"USDA is committed to advancing maternal and child health through WIC, helping mothers, babies and young kids thrive," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "These proposed changes will strengthen WIC — already an incredibly powerful program — by ensuring it provides foods that reflect the latest nutrition science to support healthy eating and bright futures."
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Brittany Oxley is a West Virginia mother and participant in the WIC program, and she urged the department, alongside Dykes, to reverse course on the proposal.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks on rising food prices at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 8, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"Mothers depend on this every single month, so for them to have to get it cut back that much is just is beyond me," Oxley said. "I don't understand it… It absolutely makes no sense."
The pivotal change has been met with bipartisan pushback.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., authored a letter alongside a series of lawmakers, urging Vilsack to withdraw the proposal from consideration over nutrition and health concerns.
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"We are greatly concerned that reducing dairy in WIC food packages will negatively impact the nutritional intakes and health of program participants, as it will decrease their access to dairy’s nutrients at life stages key for health and development," they wrote.
Dykes argued it was "breathtaking" that the change would even be considered at a time when families are already struggling with sky-high prices at the grocery store amid surging inflation.
"I have respect for the people at USDA, but they're just absolutely wrongheaded on this approach," Dykes said. "We're urging them to drop this proposal, and we would say for anyone out there that is concerned about this, please call your representative and… one of your two U.S. senators. Let them know of just how wrongheaded this is.
"As you said, in these times of the highest inflation we've had in over 40 years, you would do this to the most vulnerable among us, 6 million moms and their children? It's unimaginable. It's stunning. It's breathtaking that they would do this at this time."
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