Excerpt from the Executive Summary: The Secretary of Agriculture committed the Department to conduct a comprehensive study of the nutritional adequacy of supplemental food packages provided in the WIC Program (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is charged with the Department’s nutritional review. The goal of the review is to assess how well the WIC food packages perform as supplemental food packages assisting low-income recipients to meet nutritional standards for a healthful diet. The goal has three component tasks: (1) identify current nutritional recommendations for each of the WIC participant groups; (2) assess the diets of WIC participants in light of these standards; (3) examine the contribution of the WIC food packages to meeting the standards. From this assessment, any nutrient gaps or excesses among the WIC populations can be identified, along with opportunities for improving the WIC packages