Senator Murray hosts Nutrition Roundtable at North Helpline Food Bank

Sen. Patty Murray tours the North Helpline Food bank with Executive Director Kelly Brown

On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, hosted a roundtable with nutrition advocates, mothers, and local officials to hear more about WIC implementation in Seattle and the importance of fully funding WIC.

Murray is leading the charge in Congress to protect WIC funding, and as Senate Appropriations Chair, is also leading the negotiations to complete our Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills.

Late last year, USDA revised its initial estimates of funding needed for the WIC program upward; USDA now projects needing an additional $1 billion above the Fiscal Year 2023 spending level due to rising food prices and increased WIC participation.

Historically, no one who qualifies for WIC is turned away—but that could change if WIC programs are not funded to meet projected needs. During the roundtable, Murray reiterated her strong commitment to fully funding WIC even under the extremely difficult funding constraints imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and supporting mothers and children across Washington state and the entire country.

Sen. Murray hosted the Nutrition Roundtable at North Helpline

Murray hosted the roundtable at North Helpline food bank and was joined by 

• Monique Anair, a mom who’s relied on WIC before; 
• Paul Throne, Director of the Office of Nutrition Services at Washington State Department of Health;
• Lannesse Baker, Director of Research and Evaluation at the Urban Indian Health Institute; 
•  Kelly Brown, Executive Director at North Helpline; and 
• Chad Davis-Montgomery, Regional Director of the Supplemental Nutrition Division within the Western Region of the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—better known as the WIC program—serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care. 

Nearly 40 percent of U.S. infants participate in WIC, including 131,139 mothers, children, and infants in Washington state.

“WIC keeps millions of moms and babies fed in America—when I became Senate Appropriations Chair I made a commitment to make sure the federal government puts kids and families first, so even under really tough fiscal constraints, that’s exactly what I’m fighting to do,” said Senator Murray.