Last Updated: December 2022

Author: Division of Maternal and Child Health, WIC program, Vermont Department of Health

Fruit and vegetable consumption contributes to obesity prevention and reduces the incidence of several chronic diseases. Few lower income Vermonters, including WIC families, consume the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables.

In 2009, the WIC food package was changed to add a cash value benefit that can be redeemed for a wide variety of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. In April 2016, Vermont WIC finished a nine-month transformation from home delivery to eWIC, with all families using a WIC card to purchase their entire WIC food benefit at the grocery store. Most stores accept a mixed-basket WIC transaction, which means that families do not need to separate their WIC items from the rest of their grocery items at checkout. This allows families to more easily redeem their full fruit and vegetable benefit.

This indicator has risen slowly from 49% of authorized benefits in 2014 to 79% by June 2018, dropping down to 75% in November 2018.  In 2019, the percent redeemed averaged 78%. Redemption fluctuated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 the average redemption was 74%, in 2021, it was 66%. USDA provided a short-term increase in the benefit amount for women and children in the last four months of FFY 2020. The increased amount continued into 2021 and 2022. Redemption rates reached 69% at the end of 2022. 

• VDH district office staff
• WIC authorized retail grocers

Local offices have tested several promising practices to increase redemption rates:

• Text messages or phone calls to families partway through the month to remind them to use benefits before they expire at the end of the month
• Text messages to newly enrolled families with direct links to new video resources
• Displays showing how many fruits and vegetables a family can purchase with the monthly benefit. These are particularly effective when based on retailer sales flyers
• Selection and storage guides, and recipes for fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Asking families at each visit if they are using their benefits, and providing additional information to families to help them start using their benefits.

Local office staff now has real time access to benefit redemption information. This allows them to identify families who have not redeemed their fruit & vegetable benefit and to address barriers with families.

Each local office has a staff person who is designated a WIC grocer liaison. The grocer liaison works with grocers to make sure that eligible items are correctly entered in the store systems so that eligible produce is not declined during a WIC purchase.