Healthy food availability and participation in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in food stores around lower- and higher-income elementary schools.

Objective: The nutritional intake of schoolchildren is affected not only by what is consumed at school but also by what is available in food outlets near schools. The present study surveys the range of food outlets around schools and examines how the availability of healthy food in the food stores encountered varies by income status of the school and by store participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food assistance programme.

Design: Network buffer zones were created to reflect a quarter-mile (400 m) walk from elementary schools with lower- and higher-income student populations in Oakland, CA, USA.