Nutrition First Board Member and NWA voting member Carolyn Conner
I had the opportunity to represent Skagit County Community Action Agency WIC and serve as the State Local Agency WIC Representative at the National WIC Conference May 20-23, “Reaching New Heights in WIC,” held in Denver, Colorado.
- NWA shared some great information about how to be involved and support WIC at the national level. NWA issues the “Monday Morning Report” to all members. The report is a great way to get weekly information on latest WIC and legislative issues. http://www.nwica.org/?q=advocacy/epubs
- New NWA officers were also elected during the conference for the 2012-2013 year.
- NWA is also working with USDA to help make the VOC/transfer process smoother since some states are still requiring release of information which slows down the process.
- NWA has created a catchy Advocacy Button Campaign: http://www.nwica.org/?q=marketplace/buttons. The buttons can be purchased for .89 cents each and would be great to wear to advocacy events!
The conference agenda was filled with excellent speakers. Some of the speakers have posted handouts on the NWA website which are accessible at: http://www.nwica.org/?q=events/a2/Speakerpresentations. Technology continues to be a hot topic! There were many vendors with programs/applications related to smart phones – everything from appointment reminders to nutrition education apps. Additionally there were conference topics related to using social media and the internet in WIC. USDA reported that the National birth rate is down with the economy, impacting caseload nationally. It seems to have leveled off, and is expected to pick up at some point. USDA also said that the final food package rule is expected this summer. So stay tuned.