US trade group the Natural Products Association (NPA) has commended the US House of Representatives for urging the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to investigate expanding access to vitamins for low-income mothers and children.
The provision, included in the House Agriculture Committee’s FY 2017 appropriations bill report, comes after a yearlong grassroots and advocacy effort spearheaded by NPA.
“If school cafeterias are allowed to serve things like french fries and pizza, we think it is reasonable to find a way for mothers and fathers to purchase items that can support their children’s health,” said Dan Fabricant (pictured), president and CEO of NPA. “Expanding WIC ( the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) to cover supplements would mark a big win for low-income families, and we commend the House for taking this first step in pushing such a common-sense policy stance.”
“If school cafeterias are allowed to serve things like french fries and pizza, we think it is reasonable to find a way for mothers and fathers to purchase items that can support their children’s health”
“NPA’s grassroots network renewed its push this year to expand access to dietary supplements to all Americans, ensuring this crucial provision to start the process to help low-income families was included in the House appropriations bill,” added Fabricant. “As an industry we still have some work to do, but we are truly thrilled at starting this important discussion, to get it across the goal line we need everyone in the industry to write congress at www.saveoursupplements.org and tell them that we want to see expansion of WIC to include multivitamins.”
Since 1978, the WIC Supplemental Food Program has served low‐income, at risk pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5.
The NPA points to a study published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, which showed that children without access to proper nutrition are more likely to develop learning difficulties in the first two years of life. It argues that inclusion of vitamins in the WIC program will help combat that issue, specifically for low-income women and children. It says that, in addition, vitamin supplementation has been proven to:
Prevent classic nutrient deficiency diseases (scurvy, pellagra, and iron deficiency anemia)
Improve appetite and growth rates in low-income children
Prevent neural tube birth defects
Protect against heart disease and stroke
Build bone mass in the young
NPA says it will “continue to work with Congress to define the parameters for the inclusion of multivitamins in the WIC program and in the Food Stamp/SNAP program, which will likely be addressed in the 2018 farm bill to ensure the maximum number of families access their benefits.”