ALBANY — New York is among the first states offering healthier food choices to low-income mothers and their young children in a national effort to improve nutrition and discourage obesity.

All states will be required to meet new Women, Infants and Children food program requirements by October 2010. And other states are preparing for the changes too, with Delaware making the switch Jan. 1, and Kentucky working through the approval process to do the same.

State health officials say whole grains, fruit, vegetables, tofu and brown rice will now be encouraged under the program that’s traditionally provided less healthy options like white bread and whole milk.

The WIC program provides food for pregnant and postpartum women and children under age 5. It was started in 1974 to prevent child hunger, low birth weight, under-nutrition and iron deficiency anemia.

Since the program was created, dietary recommendations changed, but WIC offerings hadn’t.

WIC provides vouchers that can be redeemed at grocery stores for food staples like milk, eggs and peanut butter. Eligibility hinges on income, pegged at $3,269 per month or less for a family of four.

The dietary changes address evolving recommendations to eat less fat, more fiber, fewer overall calories, fewer sweetened drinks and more vegetables and fruits. The state health department used guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Healthy People 2010 Objectives set by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and will follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for infants.

“Over the past three years, the Health Department has conducted programs that showed that WIC mothers will buy fruits and vegetables when they are available,” Gov. David Paterson said in a written statement. “Almost one-third of our children are overweight or obese, with higher rates among black and Hispanic children. WIC has a long history of success, and is a great place for nutrition education to start.”

Now foods like whole grain cereals and breads, canned or dried beans and jarred baby foods will be available. WIC will also offer cash-value checks for vegetables and fruits.

There will be new limitations on whole milk — it will only be given to children between 12 and 24 months. All women and children over the age of 2 will be able to buy skim or 1 percent milk.

Women and children will also be getting less juice to reflect the recommended 4 ounces per day. Juice for children younger than 2 will be eliminated in the future. Excessive juice intake has been strongly associated with overweight and obesity in the preschool child population, according to the health department.

“Childhood obesity is one of our greatest public health challenges,” said Dr. Richard Daines, New York’s commissioner of health. “New York’s WIC transformation makes it one of the best tools to improve the health of our most vulnerable citizens.”

WIC also offers an additional incentive to breast-feeding mothers’ food packages, providing them with the highest amount of food and special support and nutritional services because breast-feeding is considered by the health care community to be the best way to provide nutrition to infants.

New York has more than 500,000 WIC participants.