Countywide : Women’s Nutrition Program to Expand

Ventura County health officials plan to expand their nutrition program for pregnant women and infants in four cities, responding to a substantial increase in the number of low-income residents who use the service.

The federally funded Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Food Program will expand its services in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Fillmore in July, said Lynda Young, county coordinator.

The program, which provides food vouchers and nutrition advice to pregnant and nursing women and infants with medical problems, is operated locally by the county’s Department of Public Health Services.

Dietitians go to Moorpark, Simi Valley and Fillmore once a month to hold all-day clinics, saving residents a trip to the Ventura or Oxnard offices of the county health department.

Under the expansion, officials will increase the visits to twice monthly.

In addition, they hope to secure a location for a monthly clinic in Thousand Oaks, whose residents now attend clinics in Simi Valley or Moorpark.

The number of low-income east county residents participating in the nutrition program has increased by roughly 50% to about 3,000 over the last two years, surpassing the countywide increase, Young said.

Countywide, the program has been serving 10,000 women and babies, the maximum number of participants permitted by its budget, since last August.