USDA published a final rule, effective in 30 days, in the Federal Register to “phase out the participation of women, infants, and children in CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program) and transition it to a low-income, elderly-only program,” as required by the 2014 farm policy law. Women and children will be served by WIC in coming years. A small portion of CSFP enrollment is women and children. They will remain in the program until the children exceed the age of eligibility.
The new orientation of CSFP, which provides commodities to poor people, is intended to simplify public nutrition programs. CSFP is a comparatively small program with less than 600,000 participants and an annual cost of around $200 million, says USDA’s budget summary.