Improving nutrition and infant health through WIC : opportunities during and beyond a public health crisis HealthWatch (United Hospital Fund of New York) Scaffidi, Sarah, author. Gilman, Matlin, author. Myers, Nathan, author. Food Assistance Food Insecurity Infant Health Medicaid COVID-19 Infant, Low Birth Weight Food insecurity is a harrowing reality for many New Yorkers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has both exacerbated the scope of the problem and posed new challenges to those burdened with social need. Racial inequalities in income, housing, employment, and food access only serve to heighten these risks for Black and Hispanic/Latino communities. Nutrition assistance programs are available for low-income mothers and their infants, but the pandemic has exacerbated the historical barriers preventing many eligible families from receiving such assistance. This issue brief explores why Medicaid plans and providers may wish to focus on food insecurity as a critical opportunity for improving infant health and reducing associated health costs. The brief examines low birthweight as one key outcome of food insecurity and considers innovative strategies for leveraging the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to support Medicaid-enrolled families during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. [New York, NY] : United Hospital Fund, September 2021 United Hospital Fund of New York, issuing body. Technical Report Text Illustrations 1 online resource (1 PDF file (20 pages)) nlm:nlmuid-9918351273806676-pdf 9918351273806676 http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918351273806676 English New York United States Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0