The San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently highlighted Shannon Whaley, PhD, director of research and evaluation at PHFE WIC, a program of Heluna Health, in a story about guests invited to attend the president’s address to a joint session of Congress this month.
Whaley attended the event in Washington, D.C. as a guest of Rep. Ted Lieu, who represents California’s 36th congressional district.
“Shannon’s work underscores how important federal funding is in helping to make our community nourished and healthy. Indiscriminate cuts to Medicaid and other vital federal funding will have a devastating impact on those in need. … I am pleased that Shannon is joining me for the joint address so that we can uplift the stories of WIC recipients and underscore how vital federal funding is,” Lieu said in the story.
Click here to read the full news story in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
During a roundtable discussion, Whaley discussed the implications of pausing federal financial assistance programs. She was also featured on Rep. Lieu’s social media, answering questions submitted by viewers.
In response to one such viewer question about federal funding uncertainty, Whaley emphasized that the WIC program has been helping families for the last 50 years by providing healthy nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health care. In those 50 years, Whaley said the program has had strong bipartisan support. Only recently has this level of funding uncertainty struck the program.
“Our families in this country need to know that they’re going to have access to the healthy nutrition that they need, for pregnant women, infants and the children up to age five who are served by WIC,” Whaley said. “That’s 6.8 million children and families in this country.”
Click here to watch a recap of Whaley’s visit on Instagram.
