Heluna Health hosted experts Wen Ting “Wendy” Fung and K’Lynn Mitchell last week on Population Health Matters, a livestream series aimed at highlighting innovative programs that are tackling some of today’s biggest challenges in public and population health. This month’s theme was National Nutrition Month.
Fung, who is the Breastfeeding Services Manager and Regional Breastfeeding Liaison at PHFE Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Los Angeles County and a registered dietitian, kicked off the livestream by stressing the importance of hiring peer counselors from within the communities PHFE WIC serves.
“Our culture shapes our diet, shapes what we eat,” said Fung. “At PHFE WIC, we see the important correlation between nutrition and culture, so we grow our own in-house registered dietitians, who come from different cultures and speak different languages.”
Fung said that this has allowed PHFE WIC to provide a broad range of services to a diverse community.
Mitchell, who is the CinnaMoms Project Coordinator at PHFE WIC and also a registered dietitian, highlighted how CinnaMoms provides a supportive space for pregnant and postpartum Black, African American and African women.
“Our vision is to reimagine breastfeeding, parenthood, health and healing for Black families through advocacy, inspiration and community,” Mitchell said.
CinnaMoms Crenshaw celebrated Black History Month in February with a cooking demonstration, in partnership with Black Women for Wellness, featuring a professional chef who used WIC-approved ingredients to create dishes from across the African Diaspora. Mitchell shared the hope that CinnaMoms can continue to provide these innovative, culturally-relevant programs to boost wellness in community families.
The next Population Health Matters livestream, scheduled for April 8, will explore the topic of Black maternal health.
