WIC Online Grocery Ordering: A Click & Collect Model

Issue Brief: WIC Online Ordering: Opportunities and Issues to Consider During the COVID-19 Pandemic 

Online ordering with WIC is a model that has the potential to address challenges to in-store WIC food shopping (e.g., stigma, difficulty locating WIC items), which have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthy Eating Research has released a research brief that presents important considerations for WIC online ordering services. The brief is based on a pilot study of the Click & Collect model, conducted in Tennessee and supported by No Kid Hungry. As WIC vendors implement online WIC services, they can build on the learnings from this pilot, including the considerations for payment, fees, substitutions, communication, WIC labels, and produce. Please check out the brief and the associated infographic, and share with others who are working on improving the WIC shopping experience. 

WIC Online Grocery Ordering: A Click & Collect Model Infographic

For WIC participants, COVID-19 added additional barriers to an already challenging shopping experience. For WIC agencies, WIC vendors, and other stakeholders interested in improving access to WIC foods, this infographic describes a model for online grocery ordering that meets current federal regulations and makes it easier for program participants to redeem WIC benefits, during COVID-19 and beyond. We provide recommendations and identify issues to consider for those interested in implementing a similar model.

Infographic produced by the University of Tennessee, Department of Nutrition and No Kid Hungry. For more information, contact Betsy Anderson Steeves at eander24@utk.edu or Elyse Kovalsky at ekovalsky@strength.org

This infographic was funded by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Click & Collect pilot study was funded by No Kid Hungry.