Background:
Despite decades of policy efforts such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), diet-related health issues among children remain a pressing public health concern. Only 51.2% participate. One of the most frequently cited barriers is transportation—especially for single mothers with infants or young children living in food deserts. While some WIC-approved grocery stores offer food delivery services, delivery fees may reduce the perceived and actual value of these benefits. Moreover, policymakers often overlook the spatial distribution of child populations and transportation needs when designing food access policies, limiting the effectiveness of interventions.

Methods:
This study adopts a spatial analytical framework to quantify and visualize the distribution of young children (under age 1) in areas experiencing transportation barriers. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, USDA food desert maps, and community transportation indices. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used for analysis.

Results:
Preliminary findings identify clusters of high child population densities in communities with both limited grocery access and poor transportation infrastructure. These areas are underserved despite WIC eligibility, and the lack of delivery options or affordability constraints further limits program efficacy.

Conclusion:
This study highlights the critical need to incorporate neighborhood age structure and transportation data into food policy planning. By identifying geographic gaps in food access for WIC-eligible families, particularly mothers with infants, the findings support targeted delivery subsidies or mobile food services to enhance WIC effectiveness.