News

RH Impact Selected as USDA WIC CIAO Subgrantee for Local Advocacy

June 23, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Washington D.C., June 23, 2023) – Reproductive Health Impact:The Collaborative for Equity & Justice (RH Impact, formerly RH Impact), a Black-women led organization and one of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations with expertise in the Black maternal health, reproductive health and infant mortality crises, is the proud recipient of grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through a cooperative agreement with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). These organizations have awarded $16 million in subgrant funding to 36 projects aimed at testing innovative outreach strategies to increase participation and equity in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC. Grant awards have been made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.“The Biden-Harris Administration is making a difference in the lives of pregnant women, moms, babies and young children by providing proven health interventions through the WIC program,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We’re pleased to work with such a strong and diverse group of subgrant partners across the nation to ensure everyone eligible for WIC can tap into its incredible benefits.” “While our efforts to increase participation among eligible groups appear to be taking hold, we have more work to do,” said Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. The WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project, or WIC CIAO, subgrantees include WIC state and local agencies and community-based organizations, including four subgrants led by tribal nations or entities. The WIC Community Innovation & Outreach (WIC CIAO) Project subgrant supports innovative projects to expand WIC awareness, participation, and retention among underserved populations. “RH Impact is honored to have been selected as a WIC CIAO subgrantee. We are incredibly grateful to accept this amazing opportunity and excited to work with Crescent City Family Services (CCFS) to support the WIC program in Southeast Louisiana, especially as it relates to local disasters,” said Kiley Mayfield, Director of Community Power Building at Reproductive Health Impact.“It would be impossible for organizations like RH Impact to continue the crucial work of ensuring reproductive health and well-being for Black women and birthing people without consistent funding support from committed donors. We are incredibly grateful for this partnership with WIC CIAO which will allow us to continue promoting birth equity, advocating for improved birth outcomes for Black mamas and their babies, as well as working to curb the rapidly rising maternal and infant mortality rates that disproportionately impact members of our community,” says Khalilah Elliott, VP of Institutional Development & Capacity Building at Reproductive Health Impact.
 
###
ABOUT USDAUSDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit Twitter.  The Food Research & Action Center  improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow on TwitterFacebook, and InstagramABOUT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IMPACTReproductive Health (RH) Impact: The Collaborative for Equity & Justice (RH Impact) is a fiscally sponsored program of the The Praxis Project, a 501(c)(3) public charity. RH Impact is one of the nation’s leading experts and an advocate for change in the Black maternal health and infant mortality crises. RH Impact works to create transnational solutions that optimize Black maternal, infant, sexual, and reproductive wellbeing. We shift systems and culture through training, research, technical assistance, policy, advocacy, and community-centered collaboration, to learn more visit www.rhimpact.org for more information.Connect with Birth Equity on social media:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/birthequity/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BirthEquity Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birthequity/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthequity/