The California WIC (Women, Infants & Children) Association just held their 2010 Annual Conference and Trade Show titled “WIC Goes Platinum!” on May 2-5 in San Diego. Dairy Council of California was very excited to be a sponsor, exhibitor and panel presenter. Here is a brief overview of the highlights from the conference: 

• With the addition of new foods to the WIC package, there has been an increased need for easy-to-prepare, healthy recipes that incorporate ways to use these foods every day. Our meal planning website, Meals Matter, now offers a free, online cookbook specifically for WIC staff and participants. The recipes highlight many of the new WIC approved foods such as fruits and vegetable, low-fat milk and whole grains as well as other affordable nutrient-rich foods. There are also several WIC friendly recipes that include seasonally available produce. We promoted this great new resource with staff during the trade show, and the response was wonderful! If you are looking for ideas for food demonstrations, I encourage you to check it out.
• Dairy Council of California’s Program Services Director, Mary Anne Burkman, MPH, RD, was a panel presenter for the workshop session, Improving WIC Food Packages: California WIC Yogurt Pilot Results. This session discussed a 2009 research study that evaluated if yogurt would be a popular and feasible option in the WIC food package. The results showed that 86% of the WIC participants were overwhelmingly eager to substitute yogurt vouchers for some of their milk vouchers. WIC participants who used the yogurt coupons reported a trend of increasing their yogurt intake without decreasing consumption of other dairy products, indicating that the nutrients from the addition of yogurt can be considered additive. In addition, the cost analysis found that although more expensive than milk, yogurt may be less expensive than various milk substitutes such as tofu, particularly when evaluated by the calcium contribution of the alternatives. The results of this study have been submitted to USDA in an effort to allow yogurt in the final ruling of the WIC food package. For more in-depth information, you can download the session slides. Dairy Council of California was a partner on this study with Children’s Hospital & Research Center, Oakland; Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley; the California WIC program; National Dairy Council and General Mills.
• During the exhibit, we were able to speak to several WIC staff about nutrition education. Many of them have been long-time users of our programs, but there were also many who learned about our free nutrition education resources for the first time. Several of our program offerings go hand-in-hand with the target WIC audience, so it's a win-win! Making Meals Matter for Your Young Child, Pregnancy-A Special Time for Nutrition and The Calcium Connection-From One Generation to Another are all free to health educators in California and are available in English and Spanish. With limited budgets during these tough economic times, many WIC clinics rely on these free, yet highly effective resources.

 Dairy Council of California is pleased to be able to partner with California WIC. We look forward to next year's CWA Annual Conference, as well as working together to create a healthier state, one family at a time!

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager