Mushroom Council Applauds Enhancements to WIC Food Offerings

April 24, 2024 – The Mushroom Council^® applauds recent enhancements to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These updates give 7 million participants access to four times the number of fruits and vegetables previously offered.

The USDA unveiled its science-driven updates to foods provided through WIC on April 9. WIC provides pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children with the critical nutritional assistance they need and deserve. The permanent benefit increases the amount of fruit and vegetables provided and the varieties available for purchase.

“Delicious, nutritious and versatile, fresh mushrooms are an important part of the fruit and vegetable mix, and we greatly appreciate WIC’s new updates that will bring more produce to women and children throughout the United States,” said Bart Minor, President, and CEO of the Mushroom Council. “These changes are especially critical and timely considering the current economic challenges families are experiencing.”

The Mushroom Council features hundreds of quick and easy recipes on its website, highlighting multiple ways families can incorporate fresh mushrooms and other WIC foods into their daily meal plans. Here are five tips for incorporating mushrooms into recipes for Mushroom Monday or any day of the week:

• Keep it simple: Simply sauté mushrooms in a skillet for about 7 minutes for a quick and tasty side dish.
• Blend with meat or legumes: Chop up your favorite mushroom variety and blend with meat and/or legumes. It will make your favorite burger, chili, meat loaf and other protein-rich dishes more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable.
• Bulk up your breakfast: Make a more filling start to the day by adding sliced mushrooms, cheese, peppers, and onions to your scrambled eggs. Even more exciting: make breakfast for dinner with a nice veggie and cheese stuffed omelet.
• Mix into tacos: Mushrooms can easily be incorporated into any favorite taco recipe – and their deep, savory flavor makes the tacos more delicious without adding fat, salt, or cholesterol.
• Top off your favorite breads: Top your pizza crust, flatbread and/or naan with mushrooms, cheese, onions, and peppers. Pop into your oven for a DIY pizza night.

About the Mushroom Council

The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers and importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain, and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve. For more information, visit mushroomcouncil.com