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MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Burns, Public Information Officer, Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 651.266.2537.
Two New Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Sites to Open Nov. 2 in Saint Paul and Maplewood
Saint
Paul, MN. (Oct. 29, 2015) — The Ramsey
County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program will open two new locations
on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, to improve services to pregnant and breastfeeding women,
women who have recently given birth, infants and children through age five. The
new sites are Rice Street WIC located near the intersection of Rice and
Larpenteur in Maplewood, and Suburban Square WIC, near the intersection of
Interstate 94 and White Bear Avenue, in St. Paul.
Ramsey
County WIC currently serves approximately 19,000 individuals a month from the
five other WIC sites it operates in Ramsey County. “The new locations were
selected based on where Ramsey County WIC families live,” said Marina McManus,
Director of Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, which operates Ramsey
County WIC.
WIC
provides nutrition counseling, breastfeeding support, nutritious foods, and
referrals to community programs. Income guidelines are: household income below
185 percent of the federal poverty level, or qualify for Medical Assistance or
MN Care.
Ramsey
County WIC is seeing more mothers start breastfeeding, and breastfeed longer.
“We’ve worked very hard to support moms to start and keep going with
breastfeeding,” said Mary Peick, Ramsey County WIC Director. “There’s a lot of
data that shows breastfeeding results in healthier children and moms.” Peick is also happy that obesity and
overweight rates in preschoolers participating in Ramsey County’s WIC program
have leveled off in the last few years, which she attributes in part to greater
parental awareness and changes in the WIC food package. “Our goal is that the
children we serve in WIC arrive at school healthy and ready to learn,” said
Peick.
More
information about Ramsey County WIC is available at 651-266-1300, or online at http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph/wic.
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