One of the most significant recent changes in the WIC Program is that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 mandated the conversion of the program to an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system by October 1, 2020. This mandate has led to some technical challenges and policy issues. Focusing on the adoption of a generic price look-up (PLU) code, an important EBT mechanism intended to facilitate the redemption of fresh produce, this research examines how different mapping approaches in using the generic PLU code are associated with WIC participants’ cash value benefit (CVB) redemption. Using the redemption data of 121,021 Virginia WIC participants in 2015, the first year after the full implementation of the EBT system in Virginia, the authors identified three groups of WIC participants based on their exposure to the generic PLU code. Results show that WIC participants who had ever been exposed to the generic code tended to have a significantly higher fruit and vegetable redemption rate than those who had never experienced the generic code. A qualitative study was also conducted to provide insights regarding the potential mechanism underlying the hypothesized relationships. Relevant policy implications and future research directions are discussed.

中文翻译：

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EXPRESS：通用价格查询代码在 WIC 福利兑换中的作用

WIC 计划最近最重要的变化之一是 2010 年的《健康、无饥饿儿童法案》要求在 2020 年 10 月 1 日之前将该计划转换为电子福利转移 (EBT) 系统。这项要求导致一些技术挑战和政策问题。本研究重点关注通用价格查询 (PLU) 代码的采用，这是一种旨在促进新鲜农产品兑换的重要 EBT 机制，研究了使用通用 PLU 代码的不同映射方法如何与 WIC 参与者的现金价值相关联福利 (CVB) 兑换。使用 2015 年（弗吉尼亚州全面实施 EBT 系统后的第一年）121,021 名弗吉尼亚 WIC 参与者的兑换数据，作者根据他们对通用 PLU 代码的接触情况确定了三组 WIC 参与者。结果表明，曾经接触过通用代码的 WIC 参与者往往比那些从未接触过通用代码的人有更高的水果和蔬菜兑换率。还进行了一项定性研究，以提供有关假设关系背后的潜在机制的见解。讨论了相关的政策含义和未来的研究方向。