Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the special supplemental…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) improves health behaviors and reduces food insecurity which positively impact maternal and infant mortality. As WIC turns 50, thoughtful and well-funded efforts to modernize the program are underway, and supporting the workforce is one area of focus. A WIC workforce that mirrors the race, ethnicity, and culture of WIC participants can increase participation by reaching those populations that are eligible, but not enrolled, and by reducing barriers such as language, culture, or stigma; and increase participants' likelihood of adopting recommendations, by enhancing trust, communication, and understanding between staff and participants. The national WIC workforce strategy includes recommendations and strategies to modernize the workforce. IT focuses on engaging with existing WIC staff. We propose a complimentary cohort to increase diversity by engaging with potential WIC staff - students at minority serving institutions (msis).our organization, the association of state public health nutritionists, has prioritized workforce development for 70 years, and we have extensive experience offering public health fellowships for MSI students who are underrepresented in the public health field. We propose a program that connects students from msis with unique WIC projects in local, state, and tribal WIC agencies. Our proposed program will also prioritize learning from this prospective workforce of WIC professionals. The project is called the national WIC fellowship for students at msis (WIC fellowship-MSI).the mission of the WIC fellowship-MSI is to enhance diversity of the WIC workforce through partnership with and leadership from msis. We will offer unique WIC fellowship opportunities to students attending msis. And we will assess capacity and listen to students and faculty at msis so that we build a sustainable and inclusive program for long-term success in recruiting and retaining diverse college students who will pursue WIC as a viable career option. The long-term goals of the proposed project are to realize....more msis (e.g. historically black colleges and universities (hbcus), hispanic serving institutions (hsis), tribal colleges and universities (tcus), asian american and native american pacific islander-serving institutions (aanapi)) as active participants in conversations about WIC workforce development.greater cultural diversity and improved cultural competency of the WIC workforce.greater accessibility and participation in WIC of eligible, but not enrolled, families.greater adoption of nutrition and breastfeeding recommendations.