Nut and Seed Butters in the WIC Program
Sunflower seeds butter spread with roasted seeds photo from Freepik
by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
The WIC (Women, Infants, Children) Program, currently provides free healthy foods, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and referrals to other services to low-income pregnant and post-partum people, infants, and children up to age 5. It provides participants with vouchers that are used to purchase specific foods that are identified as being nutritious. In 2024 the list of foods that can be purchased with WIC vouchers was revised.
The changes will be phased in over the 24 months from the publication of the final rule, with a few exceptions. One change was allowing individual WIC State agencies the option to authorize nut and seed butters as a substitute for peanut butter in two ways. WIC vouchers can be used for dry or canned legumes and/or peanut butter with 18 ounces of peanut butter equivalent to 1 pound dry legumes or 64 ounces of canned legumes. State agencies have the option of authorizing the replacement of peanut butter with nut or seed butter in a 1:1 ratio (1). In other words, 18 ounces of an approved nut or seed butter could be used to replace 18 ounces of peanut butter. State agencies also have the option of authorizing 18 ounces of nut and seed butters to substitute for each dozen eggs when individually tailoring food packages (1).
If a state agency authorizes the use of nut and seed butters as a substitute for peanut butter, the nut or seed butter can be creamy or chunky; regular or reduced fat; salted or unsalted. It cannot contain marshmallows, honey, jelly, chocolate, or similar ingredients. Nut or seed butters “must provide comparable nutritive value to peanut butter (i.e., protein and iron)” (2).
I was curious about how the iron and protein in selected nut and seed butters compares to peanut butter. So far, I have not seen a state list of WIC-approved foods that includes nut or seed butters.
According to USDA’s FoodData Central, 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter has 7.1 grams of protein and 0.56 milligrams of iron.
Here’s what FoodData Central (and, as indicated, product labels) report about some nut and seed butters:
| Product (2 Tablespoons) | Protein (grams) | Iron (milligrams) |
| Almond butter | 6.6 | 1.31 |
| Cashew butter | 3.9 | 1.57 |
| Hazelnut butter (product label) | 4 | 0 |
| Tahini (sesame seed butter) | 5.9 | 2.10 |
| Sunflower seed butter (product label) | 7 | 1.44 |
| Hempseed butter (product label) | 9 | 2.7 |
Based on this comparison, sunflower seed butter, hempseed butter, and possibly almond butter look like the most likely candidates to serve as substitutes for peanut butter. We’ll continue to monitor and report on this as the changes to the WIC food packages are phased in.
References
- Supplemental Foods. 7 CFR Part 246.10. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-246/subpart-D/section-246.10. May 13, 2025.
- USDA Food and Nutrition Services. WIC Food Packages – Regulatory Requirements for WIC-Eligible Foods. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/food-packages/regulatory-requirements. May 15, 2025.
To read more about the WIC program see:
WIC Program Updates (2024)
WIC Program Updates: Do They reflect Changes Supported by VRG? (2024)
Plant-based Dairy Alternatives in the WIC Program (2024)
USDA Issues Final Rule Updating the WIC Program (2024)
The Vegetarian Resource Group Sent in Testimony on the Proposed Revision in the WIC Food Package (2023)
USDA Proposes Updates to the WIC Program (2022)
WIC Programs Offer Foods For Vegans (2020)
WIC Farmers Market Program (2020)
