For Immediate Release:
Aug. 5, 2025

Media Contact:
Lisa Cox
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Media Inquiry Form

JEFFERSON CITY, MO–The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Randolph County WIC the Premiere WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence for providing model breastfeeding promotion and support activities and for increasing the percentage of fully breastfeeding mothers and babies. Randolph County WIC was one of only 56 WIC local agencies to receive the Premiere award across the country in 2025.

Nine Missouri WIC local agencies were recognized with the 2025 Gold WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence for exemplary efforts in supporting breastfeeding WIC mothers. The nine agencies are:

• Barton County WIC.
• Butler County WIC.
• Callaway County WIC.
• Columbia/Boone County WIC.
• Jefferson-Franklin Community Action Corporation WIC.
• Laclede County WIC.
• Saline County WIC.
• Springfield-Greene County WIC.
• Webster County WIC.

These awards were announced as part of USDA’s National WIC Breastfeeding Week, celebrated August 1-7. WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

Breastfeeding provides countless benefits to both babies and mothers and to society as a whole, including decreased health care costs and increased productivity. While breastfeeding is natural, there is a learning curve for moms and babies, and all mothers benefit from having a supportive environment in which to learn how to feed their babies. Many mothers find success in breastfeeding through education and support from breastfeeding peer counselors and lactation consultants, and providing these resources to mothers is a crucial part of Missouri WIC.

“The Missouri WIC program fully supports all mothers who would like to breastfeed,” said Lisa Schlientz, DHSS and WIC state breastfeeding coordinator. “We are proud of the extra efforts made by these ten agencies to provide a full range of breastfeeding services to WIC participants who choose breastfeeding to provide a healthy start for their baby. This support empowers our Missouri moms and enables them to be successful.”

To apply for the award, WIC agencies must operate a peer counseling program for at least one year and meet all of the required core components of the WIC Breastfeeding Model for Peer Counseling, including recruiting and hiring from WIC’s target population and being available to WIC clients outside usual clinic hours. The Missouri WIC website has a map of Missouri WIC local agencies that offer peer counseling and other enhanced breastfeeding services. The WIC local agencies large enough to provide these services serve 87 percent of the pregnant and breastfeeding women participating in Missouri WIC.

The award program was established to recognize WIC local agencies that provided exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities. Awards highlight successful models and encourage other local agencies to strengthen their breastfeeding promotion and support activities, and ultimately increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates among WIC participants. Awards are given for a four-year period at three levels of performance: Elite, Premiere and Gold. With the addition of these ten agencies, there are currently 18 local agencies awarded in Missouri.

From July 2024 to June 2025, 75.2 percent of Missouri WIC moms initiated breastfeeding, an increase of 1.2 percent from the previous timeframe. 17.5 percent breastfed until their baby was 12 months old. This historically high duration rate shows that WIC staff have been more successful than ever at supporting WIC moms to meet their breastfeeding goals.

The WIC program serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support and referrals to health care. Missourians interested in learning about the benefits of WIC may visit WIC.Mo.Gov or call TEL-LINK at 1-800-835-5465 to find the WIC local agency in their county.

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In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the State or local Agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/staff-offices/office-assistant-secretary-civil-rights/how-file-program-discrimination-complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.