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    WIC/CACFP

    Convening WIC Advocates: Few in Number, Fierce in Fight

    Sunday, May 4, 2025
    2:30 PM – 3:20 PM East Coast USA Time
    Session Summary: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an essential anti-hunger program which provides nutritious food and vital support for pregnant persons, infants, and children through their fifth birthday. WIC supports families by providing nutritious foods, meal planning and breastfeeding support, and produces healthier cognitive and physical development of participating children. Despite the strong and lasting benefits of program participation, enrollment in WIC remains low.

    This panel hosts advocates from across the nation focused on improving access to and program delivery of WIC. We will feature different initiatives and community approaches that highlight key lessons learned for all. It’s critical to (1) identify opportunities or barriers in your local community’s WIC landscape by prioritizing the voices of those with lived experience and leveraging community-based data; (2) cultivate new and strengthen existing partner networks to amplify our voices and reach; and (3) leverage administrative advocacy, modernization, and innovative solutions to boost enrollment and retention. This “Convening WIC Advocates” panel is a deep dive into learnings gleaned from the Tennessee Justice Center, Greater Chicago Food Depository, and Ohio Association of Foodbanks' various WIC initiatives.

    Learning Objectives:

    • Learn about methods and factors to explore when looking to understand your state's WIC landscape. Garner feedback from those with lived expertise and stakeholders about the unique functionality of the program in your state. Look deeper than the utilization rates of WIC by using community level data to identify barriers and facilitators to access. With the larger context of the state in mind, how does WIC work or not work for families? What does data tell us about WIC access and enrollment in your community? What are the strengths of WIC in your state? Where are the gaps in enrollment and retention? Asking these questions can help you understand what actions will be most feasible and impactful in your community. Data is necessary to show overarching strengths or gaps in WIC access, but data alone is not enough – it is critical to hear from and center the voices of WIC-eligible families when identifying and prioritizing WIC improvements for your community.
    • Understand opportunities and considerations when building partnerships or coalitions invested in improving access to WIC. Working in partnership with trusted community leaders and organizations is essential to strengthen WIC. Panelists will share experiences in identifying new and deepening existing partnerships in this work. A few questions advocates might ask themselves as they initiate this work: Who else serves WIC-eligible families but may not have WIC on their radar? Who in your state cares about the wellbeing of parents and young children? Who in your state cares about food and nutrition access? If not your organization, who in your state has built trust with WIC-eligible families? Finding common ground between your organization and others across the state will build non-transactional relationships that support connecting young families to WIC. Coalition building broadens the reach and impact of advocacy efforts, strengthens your credibility as a WIC information source, and diversifies the voices at the table.
    • Identify strategies to engage or deepen engagement with your state agency on advocacy and access initiatives. Advocating for the safety net alongside the state agency looks different in each state and brings a new set of challenges and opportunities. Learn the importance of administrative advocacy in the WIC space as the three panelists share previous successes and failures of identifying problems and advocating for solutions to their state agency. Audience members will get a glimpse into three states' approaches that will spark ideas for opportunities to engage your state agency. The conversation will be applicable to those organizations looking to cultivate a relationship and those who are merely looking to deepen their relationship with the state agency.