Missouri WIC Pilot Finds Retailer Training Did Not Raise Benefit Use

A Missouri pilot designed to improve access to the federal WIC nutrition program found that training retailers made store employees more confident handling WIC transactions but did not increase the amount of benefits families redeemed during the study period.

The project, led by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis with Missouri WIC and Operation Food Search, surveyed nearly 2,900 Missouri WIC participants about their shopping experiences. Feedback from the survey informed a one-hour, in-person training program delivered at 44 Missouri stores. The findings were published in the American Journal of Health Promotion in a study titled “Assistance Needed in Aisle 1: Engaging Retailers to Increase WIC Redemption.”

WIC provides eligible pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children younger than 5 with specified foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and health care referrals. Unlike broader food assistance programs, its benefits apply only to approved foods, brands and package sizes, including milk, eggs, whole grains, produce, infant formula and baby food.

That structure can make shopping difficult. Participants reported that approved items were sometimes hard to locate or out of stock. At checkout, products could fail to register correctly in store systems, creating delays and potentially stigmatizing interactions. Transportation problems and technology barriers also affected shopping, registration and recertification.

The WICShopper app helps participants check benefit balances and identify approved foods. Families also highlighted the cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables, which provides a set amount for fresh or frozen produce. Among Missouri participants enrolled during the study period in late 2025, average monthly redemption was about 60% per household. Unused benefits expire instead of carrying over.

The researchers noted that fewer than half of eligible Missourians participated in WIC in 2023, when participation was 43%. Other studies cited in the report found that families redeeming less than half of their benefits were two to five times less likely to recertify than families with higher redemption rates. Losing recertification can mean losing both food benefits and WIC’s associated nutrition and health services.

Retail training covered identifying eligible foods, reviewing receipts, troubleshooting checkout problems, stocking and coding approved products, and helping customers use the app. Retailers reported significantly greater confidence afterward, but redemption did not rise. The researchers cautioned that the analysis included only two months of data before and after training, so longer-term changes could not be assessed.

Participants called for more education for shoppers and retailers, easier access to WIC offices and online certification, broader use of flexible food benefits, and options such as online ordering or delivery. A federal review of 98 studies has linked prenatal WIC participation with lower risks of preterm birth, low birth weight and infant mortality, as well as improved diets among pregnant women and children. The Missouri pilot, however, focused on barriers to using benefits—not on measuring those health outcomes.