The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children was introduced into legislation to provide supplemental food and nutrition to women low-income who are pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum and children under 5 years old. WIC aims to increase healthy birth outcomes for low-income women. WIC also aims to improve the health of eligible participants during periods of significant growth and development of infants and children. WIC provides participants with milk, whole grains, iron-fortified cereals, and fruits and vegetables. WIC provides approved supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, and referrals to health and other social services. It is administered by approximately 47,000 licensed retailers and 90 state agencies. In the 1960s, issues of low-income women and their children succumbing to malnutrition began to arise and attract political attention. Children are suffering from malnutrition at an increasingly alarming rate. Women were comparatively disadvantaged and were unable to afford important complementary foods to ensure adequate nutrition for themselves and their children, which can lead to health problems. Malnutrition can cause problems with a child's brain development, leading to learning difficulties. There were already food programs offered by public schools, as it was assumed that most children would receive all meals eaten at school, but this excluded younger children who were not yet in school. “In 1995, the cost of care for an infant weighing less than 2,500 grams at birth was estimated to average $15,000 in the first year, almost eight times more than the cost of care for an infant weighing more than 2,500 grams. Additionally, children born with low birth have...... middle of paper ......al of Human Resources, 38, Retrieved from website: http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 3558984. Brauer, C. M. (1982). Kennedy, Johnson and the War on Poverty. The Journal of American History, 69(1), 98-119. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1887754.Buescher, PA, Larson, LC, Nelson, MD, Lenihan, AJ (1993). Prenatal WIC participation can reduce low birth weight and medical costs of newborns: a cost-benefit analysis of WIC participation in North Carolina. Journal of the American Dietetic Associatio,93(2),163-166.USDA. Food and nutrition service. (2014). Food assistance programs. Retrieved from website: http://www.nutrition.gov/food-assistance-programs/wic-women-infants-and-children.WIC Food Packages | Food and nutrition service. (January 14, 2014). Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/benefitsandservices/foodpkg.htm