This report provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp households in fiscal year 2005. The report draws on data for households participating in the Food Stamp Program under normal rules and thus does not include information about those who received disaster assistance after the Gulf Coast hurricanes in October 2004 and September 2005.

Attached is the Interim Guidance on WIC Vendor Cost Containment. This interim guidance is intended to assist state agencies in implementing the Vendor Cost Containment Interim Rule published in the Federal Register on Nov. 29, 2005.

This policy memorandum updates the guidance provided in Final WIC Policy Memorandum #2006-4, regarding the implementation of the WIC Vendor Cost Containment Interim Rule, published in the Federal Register on Nov. 29, 2005.

The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC 2004) report summarizes demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2004, along with information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics. A national estimate of breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants is included. The report also describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families.

The recipes from the 1988 Quantity Recipes for School Food Service and the 1995 Tool Kit for Healthy School Meals were revised using updated yields from the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs and using the 2005 Food Code for the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points.