Body
WHEREAS, thirty years ago, the Congress of the United States established the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program, popularly known as the WIC Program; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County served as one of the test sites for the WIC national demonstration project and issued the first WIC voucher in Pennsylvania in May of 1974; and
WHEREAS, the WIC Program is administered by the Allegheny County Health Department and promotes healthy child growth and development through nutrition education and by providing free nutritious foods to income-eligible and medically or nutritionally at-risk families; and
WHEREAS, studies show that WIC encourages early prenatal care, improves weight gain during pregnancy, decreases premature delivery, promotes the initiation of breast feeding, reduces iron deficiency anemia in children, and enhances physical growth and cognitive development; and
WHEREAS, WIC has income limits that are high enough to provide working families who are struggling to get by with the opportunity to feed their children well; and
WHEREAS, WIC in Allegheny County has grown from a pilot project with a caseload of 11,000 in 1974, to a well-established program that now serves nearly 16,000 women and children, almost half of whom reside in the City of Pittsburgh; and
title
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh recognizes the important and necessary role the WIC Program has played to further the well-being of all women, children and families throughout the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh declares May 2004 "WIC Month" in the City of Pittsburgh.