APHA was honored to present its APHA Presidential Citation to the National WIC Association, for its work to promote nutrition among women, infants and children. The association joins the ranks of past presidential award winners such as Rosa Parks, Rosalynn Carter, Doctors Without Borders and the National Association of Community Health Centers.
The National WIC Association is a voluntary, non-profit membership organization that promotes quality nutrition services, advocates on behalf of women, infants and children and provides oversight on the management of the federal Women, Infants and Children program. The association was founded in 1983 and represents 90 geographic, territorial and American Indian state agencies and more than 2,000 local agencies that together provide nutrition education, breastfeeding support, health care and other referral services to more than 8 million at-risk women, infants and children.
The association has been successful in gaining bipartisan support for the federal WIC program and underscoring the need to provide quality nutrition to needy women and young children. A broad coalition now supports the association, including advocacy, health care and religious organizations.
The association’s early advocacy efforts helped prevent WIC program funding from being slashed dramatically. In 1989, association members advocated for a food cost containment program that since then has generated more than $21 billion in non-tax revenues for the federal WIC program. When the program was at risk of being turned into one requiring block grant funding, the association mobilized a successful grassroots effort to prevent that change.
While the federal WIC program pays for nutrient-rich foods for many who otherwise would not be eating balanced meals, food benefits have traditionally been light on fresh food and heavy on juices and high-fat dairy products. After a decade of advocacy, WIC food packages soon will include produce, meats, reduced fat dairy products, canned beans and whole grain foods as well as beverages and products for lactose-intolerant mothers and children — a change that Executive Director Rev. Douglas A. Greenaway said is one of the association’s “most exciting successes.” He said the association’s efforts have helped WIC funding increase from about $2 billion in 1990 to more than $5 billion in 2007, allowing participation to grow from 4.5 million mothers, infants and children to more than 8.4 million.
APHA President Deborah Klein Walker, EdD, who chose the award winner, said the association “has been a major leader and advocate for improved maternal and child health in the United States.”