Blog
June 2023 Food for Thought
Advocacy postcards through our Food for Thought program are back! We have sample messages to elected officials, blank postcards, and stamps waiting and ready to go at Extraordinary Ventures during our sort dates. If you are coming to volunteer or to drop off donated food, please feel welcome to join as you can (this time or in the future – the messaging changes each month). There will be a table set up with postcards and someone on hand to walk you through postcard writing if you’re new to it – it’s super easy! The time commitment is less than 5 minutes for a postcard. Let our legislators and other elected officials know that we are paying attention and that we insist they enact policies that prioritize our most vulnerable neighbors.
Want to write a postcard from home? Go for it! Our sample messaging for this month is below. (Note: If you would rather email or call your elected officials, feel free! We encourage you to reach out in whatever way is most comfortable.)
Once you have contacted your elected officials, we ask that you fill out this brief form to let us know that you have done so. It will only take a minute. This helps us to measure our impact! Thank you!
Dear Senator/Representative [NAME],
Please support the MODERN WIC Act and help reduce maternal and infant mortality by making it easier for moms and their children to access the nutritious food and health care they need.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
Addresses:
- Senator Thom Tillis
185 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
2. Representative Valerie Foushee
1716 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
If you don’t live in Rep. Foushee’s district, find your rep here.
3. Senator Ted Budd
SR-B85 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
BACKGROUND
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides healthy foods tailored to meet the nutritional needs of mothers and their children in the U.S. during pregnancy, breastfeeding, infancy, and early childhood (USDA, n.d.). Good nutrition during this period is vital to ensuring children succeed in school and lead healthy and productive lives. Further, the United States has the highest maternal death rate among all high-income countries, and black women are three times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than white women (Bread for the World, 2023). It doesn’t have to be this way.
The More Options to Develop and Enhance Remote Nutrition in WIC (MODERN WIC) Act builds on lessons learned since remote services became widespread during the pandemic. As a result, child participation rates in the program increased by 12 percent nationwide (Bread for the World, 2023). Specifically, the legislation would:
- Allow mothers and caregivers to certify their eligibility for WIC by video or telephone.
- Invest in annual funding for WIC technology improvements.
- Improve access to WIC services and boost participation rates by removing obstacles that prevent mothers from joining and staying enrolled in the program.
Urge your members of Congress to support the MODERN WIC Act and make it easier for moms and their children to access the nutritious food and health care they need.
Finally, it is worth noting that many human needs programs, including WIC, will be impacted by limits included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 recently passed by the US Congress and signed into law by the President. We will be watching for and sharing opportunities to advocate for increased funding and removal of barriers for these programs and encourage all interested to do the same.
Bread for the World. (n.d.). Improve access to WIC for mothers and children. https://go.bread.org/page/52365/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=2023_MothersDay&utm_content=2023+Mothers+Day+Email&ea.url.id=1771220&forwarded=true
USDA. (n.d.). Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children: About WIC. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic