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Nutrition for a Healthy Start in Life

1994 General Resolution

BECAUSE children are the focus and common ground of our hopes for the future; and

WHEREAS all pregnant women and all children need adequate nutrition for growth and physical and mental health;

WHEREAS the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is building an advocacy network for children at risk;

WHEREAS hunger and malnutrition are usually related to poverty or lack of nutritional knowledge;

WHEREAS the United States government's Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a cost effective program which provides essential foods, nutritional supplements, and nutritional counseling and support; and

WHEREAS funding shortfalls and inadequate dissemination of information have resulted in WIC's serving only 60% of those estimated to be eligible;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Unitarian Universalist Association encourages Unitarian Universalists in the United States to:

support efforts in their communities to guarantee:
1. increased outreach so all pregnant women, nursing mothers, and mothers of children under five years old know the eligibility for and benefits of WIC;
2. adequate nutrition for all children during their formative years;
3. nutritional counseling for all pregnant women, including education about breastfeeding;
4. technical and moral support for women choosing to breastfeed; and
urge full funding of government nutritional programs, such as WIC, to guarantee adequate nutritional assistance, education, and support for infants, children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Unitarian Universalist individuals and congregations in the United States be encouraged to work with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, community groups, and other national and international organizations to further these goals and to continue to address the broader issues that underlie childhood hunger.

Last updated on Wednesday, March 28, 2007.