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FNS Release No.
0002.03
Jean Daniel (703) 305-2286
USDA DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY
ANNOUNCES INCREASED FUNDING FOR NEW JERSEY NUTRITION PROGRAM
ELIZABETH, N.J., Jan. 24, 2003 -- Deputy Under
Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNCS)
Suzanne M. Biermann today announced increased funding for the New Jersey Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program. The increase is a part of
President Bush’s 2004 budget request which includes record-level funding for
USDA’s Women, Infants and Children Program. The $4.77 billion request is a $43
million increase over the FY 2003 request and represents a $737 million increase
since FY 2000.
“President Bush understands the vital role
nutrition plays in children’s development,” said Biermann. “This budget
increase recognizes that WIC works, and is helping mothers in New Jersey and
across America provide their children with a healthy and nutritious start in
life.”
Biermann toured the WIC Community Nutrition
Center in Elizabeth where she met with state officials and local WIC
administrators about the increased funding and the benefits for low-income local
residents. “State and local organizations are key partners in ensuring that
WIC works,” said Biermann. The President’s new budget will allow local WIC
programs, like the one Biermann visited today, to provide benefits to nearly 8
million low-income mothers and children across the country in 2004.
WIC is a public health nutrition program within
USDA that provides supplemental food and individualized nutrition education and
counseling, as well as critical referrals to other health care and social
service assistance programs, for at-risk, low-income pregnant women and new
mothers and for infants and children up to age 5.
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