I wasn't on it in the 80s but I knew a couple of women who were & as I recall, back then WIC was literally food distribution. Once a month, you to a distribution site & got a block of Velveeta-like "cheese" and some other ag surplus commodities.
Swapping from one whole grain oat product to another, differently shaped whole grain oat product is the fraud, waste and abuse in the system. Ending oat swapping will save billions!
In the abstract. In implementation it exists to shame poor, single mothers.
You could have WIC without all the stupid rules, but then we wouldn't make some mom embarrassed because she bought the "wrong" cereal and has to stand there while someone gets the approved one.
I found a job listing from my state for "SNAP/WIC investigator" which entailed driving around and trying to buy things with WIC and Snap and then reporting if they let you buy cigarettes or organic oats or whatever. I always thought it would be pretty chill. "Sorry boss, no fraud this week either"
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Pre-computerized check outs too so the checkers had to get out a sheet of approved foods so even if it went "well" still was slow as hell.
You could have WIC without all the stupid rules, but then we wouldn't make some mom embarrassed because she bought the "wrong" cereal and has to stand there while someone gets the approved one.