The USDA’s senior nutrition official, Brandon Lipps, announced an enhanced focus on program integrity for the agency’s 15 public nutrition programs, which include SNAP, school meals, and the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC). As part of the initiative, Lipps said, he will create the job of chief integrity officer at the Food and Nutrition Service, which runs the programs.
“Today we are renewing our commitment to ensuring that our nutrition programs are run as effectively and efficiently as possible, increasing program integrity while maintaining the nutrition safety net for those truly in need,” said Lipps, who is acting deputy undersecretary for nutrition. Besides announcing the new integrity officer position, the USDA said it had commissioned an independent review of its integrity programs.
Public nutrition accounts for the lion’s share of USDA spending. Programs such as SNAP or WIC are funded by the USDA and operated by the states under federal oversight. Some 41.3 million people received SNAP benefits at latest count, and nearly 6.9 million women and children were enrolled in WIC. Roughly 30 million children eat hot meals each school day through the school lunch program.