WIC Online Shopping Sub-grant Project
Through a cooperative agreement with USDA FNS, GSCN funded four competitive sub-grant awards to WIC State agencies to implement WIC online shopping projects. The lead WIC State agencies for the sub-grants are Minnesota, Nevada, South Dakota, and Washington.
Sub-grantees use the Blueprint for WIC Online Shopping, an implementation guide developed by GSCN and other WIC experts, for the implementation of their WIC online shopping projects. Sub-grantees also participate in learning collaborative sessions, benefit from technical assistance, and work with GSCN to evaluate the outcomes and lessons learned during the online shopping project. View the original press release announcement and the additional sub-grant award announcement.
Summary of Projects Selected for Funding:
Minnesota (lead), Iowa, and Nebraska WIC Programs: The Midwest States WIC Online Ordering Pilot (MSWOOP) partnership includes Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska WIC State agencies and aims to create an equitable shopping experience for participants by implementing online shopping at Hy-Vee grocery stores. This includes piloting an online shopping and payment solution with regional grocery retailer Hy-Vee and online WIC EBT (eWIC) processor FIS/CDP. WIC participants in these states expressed interest in online shopping to overcome transportation and time constraint barriers and reduce stigma associated with using WIC benefits. The pandemic also created a need for online shopping, but current WIC program regulations and systems could not meet that need. The sub-grant project will begin with one store in Des Moines, Iowa, and expand into Minnesota and Nebraska to meet the modern needs of WIC participants.
Nevada WIC Program: The Nevada WIC agency will lead an exploratory project that aims to test the integration of WIC online shopping using the WICShopper app. The goal of the project is to improve the WIC shopping experience with WIC vendors who are interested in exploring app to app integration. By utilizing the already established WICShopper app, vendors would be able to offer easier shopping capabilities for WIC participants. WIC participants will order WIC eligible food benefits through the WICShopper app, which will pass the order to Save Mart. The WIC participants will pick-up the order at Save Mart via curbside transaction.
South Dakota (lead) and Rosebud Sioux Tribe WIC Programs: The South Dakota and Rosebud WIC Programs will implement WIC online shopping with Buche Foods grocery stores. Customers will purchase all their groceries – WIC and non-WIC – in one online transaction. Many WIC participants face the dual challenge of rural and remote isolation accompanied with poverty, which combined can pose significant barriers to transportation and obtaining groceries. The WIC agencies are working together to pilot WIC online shopping in Pine Ridge located on the Oglala Lakota Indian Reservation and Mission located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. After successful implementation at the initial pilot sites, the sub-grantee plans to expand online shopping to four additional Buche Foods grocery stores throughout the state.
Washington (lead) and Massachusetts WIC Programs: Washington State WIC is partnering with Massachusetts WIC, FIS/CDP, and Walmart to bring online shopping to WIC participants in the two states. Online shopping for WIC participants using Walmart as their WIC store is expected to go live next year, using Walmart’s Online Shopping Platform. The option will be available at eligible Walmart stores in both states. Ultimately, this option will help nearly 120,000 WIC participants in Washington, and 115,000 in Massachusetts access their WIC benefits safely and efficiently. Online shopping will help WIC participants use more of their benefits every month, which means healthier children and families.
Want to know more about GSCN’s work on this grant?
If you are interested in learning more about the WIC Online Shopping Grant, please periodically check this website or contact GSCN at wic@centerfornutrition.org.