WIC Program Promotes Public Health

We chose to take our This is Public Health picture at the WIC office. The office is located within the University Community Resource Center off of Fletcher Ave and 22nd Ave in Tampa. We chose this location because it is set in the perfect environment, in the center of a poverty stricken neighborhood and close to the university. The WIC program (Women Infants and Children) is a very important program from a public health stand point. WIC provides food and nutritional education, breast feeding support and health care referrals for eligible women, new mothers, infants and children under 5 years old. Eligibility depends on income level and nutritional need. The main goal of WIC is to improve health and educate people about nutrition and eating properly for growth. The purpose of this education is to establish constructive habits that can be followed once the WIC services expire. WIC provides free classes on nutrition and one on one counseling about personal nutrition. It is a preventative step that starts pregnant mothers eating healthy and receiving a good education about nutrition before they hace a baby. Having proper nutrition while pregnant can help to prevent medical problems which in turn reduces the amount of medical care each mother and baby require. The program also offers immunizations to prevent diseases among new born babaies. WIC is important because they aim to prevent malnutrition and starvation among families who cannot afford to eat nutritiously. While precenting these serious issues they also aim to promote a sense of how to spend money on food that people will take with them and continue to follow after they leave the program. By providing people with the necessary tools, WIC contributes to the overall well-being of the community.

Jessica Kelso

Allie Lovelace

Kaitly Erickson

Sara Lopez