This month, in honor of August as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, WIC hosts its 17th Annual Breastfeeding Health Fair and Walk on Aug. 9 at Watsonville Plaza. The event is sponsored by WIC (Women Infants and Children), a federally funded nutrition program locally operated by nonprofit Community Bridges that provides healthy foods, nutrition and breastfeeding support for community members in need.
Breastfeeding is one of the best preventative health measures for both babies and mothers. Yet the lack of access to information, lactation consultants and postpartum care can make it difficult. Meanwhile, the aggressive marketing of infant formula in low-income areas also influences perceptions and choices.
Yet here’s where subsidizing health and nutrition for low-income families differs from the (far greater) taxpayer support allocated to corporate benefactors.
Programs like WIC do more than help people buy groceries. Progressive organizations like Community Bridges are dedicated to empowering people to make better choices by offering free nutrition training as well.
How is this different?
WIC uses funds to distribute EBT cards for use in local grocery stores, where community members spend around $450,000 each year. They also dedicate an average of $45,000, or about 10% of the funds, to buy fresh foods and produce at our local farmer’s markets. It’s a win-win for people and the economy. And the cost of the humanitarian work of Community Bridges? Priceless.
Today Community Bridges is celebrating 50 years of service, and according to Program Director Dana Wagner, the organization plans to keep evolving. Because of its size and scope, extensive research has been conducted on the success of WIC’s nutrition education strategies.
“This is largely based on its ability to continuously upgrade and improve its nutrition messaging,” says Wagner. “Over the years, WIC has adopted motivational interviewing and education based on adult learning theories to involve participants in their own learning and goal setting.”
In its 50-year tenure, numerous studies have proven WIC’s effectiveness. These outcomes include reduced premature births and infant deaths, increased access to prenatal care, immunization rates and overall health.
Wagner, who has been with the organization for 25 years, has been highly instrumental in this evolution. She explains, “The best part of my day is seeing families walk out with smiles on their faces. When I get bogged down with the minutiae of my job, I like to walk out of my office and say hello to an infant or child. It reminds me of why I do what I do.”
Since the COVID pandemic, WIC has embraced learning technologies that appeal to millennial families—online classes, two-way texting to communicate with families, remote education. They’ve added apps that help identify WIC foods in the stores, video classes and curbside pickup.
Wagner states, “We provide a variety of learning environments and options to appeal to different families … we have classes at our offices to offer cooking demos and group learning, and we also offer online classes that working families can take when it is convenient for them. The key is to be flexible and adaptable, and WIC has always done a good job of that.”
The free event happening this Friday includes activities for the whole family, a live DJ, community resource booths, healthy snacks, free T-shirts, raffles, a milk donation site, and more. Breastfeeding Awareness is celebrated throughout California during the month of August, as part of a statewide effort to highlight the benefits and show support to breastfeeding mothers in our community.
The event will be held on Aug. 9 from 3 to 5:30pm in Watsonville Plaza. The rally-type walk down Main Street to celebrate breastfeeding begins at 5pm.
