Backup_2022 05 06 Draft Recommendation_ TCCC Lactation Program — original pdf

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AUSTIN-TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD (ATCFPB) RECOMMENDATION Recommendation Number: TBD Creation of a Lactation Program at the Travis County Correctional Complex WHEREAS, Travis County and the City of Austin, recognize that breastmilk is the best food source for infants and is recommended by the American Pediatrics Association that infants be provided breast milk for at least one year after birth to support enhanced growth and development. Breastfeeding supports the mother-child bond and enhances the mother’s motivation to care for her child and to stay out of the correctional system. Other health benefits have been documented in reducing the risk of chronic disease for both mother and infant and improving lifetime health outcomes. WHEREAS, ATCFPB recognizes that the CDC states that breastfeeding has health benefits for the mother too. Some cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure are less common among women who breastfeed. Mothers who continue to lactate through an incarceration are more likely to continue to breastfeed or pump milk for baby after their incarceration ends; and WHEREAS, 25.4% of children in Travis County live in a food insecure household, which is significantly higher than the national average (21.4%)4; and WHEREAS, the ATCFPB is aware that currently lactating mothers pump to relieve lactation discomfort and pour the milk down the drain due to it being prohibited to store the milk for their infant; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Austin-Travis County Sustainable Food Policy Board recommends that Travis County and the City of Austin support the creation of a Lactation Program at the Travis County Correctional Complex. 1A community-based food system is defined as a system of exchange that strives to bring food producers and food consumers into affinity with each other, for the purposes of fostering health, promoting nutrition, building stronger community ties, keeping farm families on the land and building wealth broadly among community members. Systems Concepts in Evaluation: An Expert Anthology, Williams, Bob and Iraj Imam. EdgePress of Inverness, 2006, page 142. 2U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2012 Census of Agriculture, Travis County, Texas. 3City of Austin, Office of Sustainability. State of the Food System Report. April 2015. 4Feeding America. Map the Meal Gap 2015. 5Sustainable Food Center. Central Texas Foodshed Assessment. 2011.