Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities (BFFC) is celebrating the Interfaith Council for Social Services (IFC) Community Market in Carrboro, NC! The IFC recently was featured in a “Stakeholder Spotlight” post on the Breastfeed Orange NC website. It is our hope that the work of the IFC Community Market can serve as a model for other communities by using family friendly approaches, such as:
- a member choice market,
- warm and welcoming lactation space,
- commitment to being a “breastfeeding-friendly” community partner and employer,
- a vision that meets everyone’s basic needs.
Member Choice Market
The IFC Community Market uses a family or “member choice” model rather than a standardized food pantry model. The member choice model helps to avoid the situation where families with infants and children under one year are routinely or automatically given infant formula, whether it is needed or not. In a standardized food pantry, volunteers prepare and distribute “standardized” bags/boxes of generally the same foods for families. Standardized food boxes have often routinely included infant formula or other infant human milk substitutes for families with children under twelve months. The automatic distribution of infant formula without first assessing need can undermine the nursing relationship of a chest/breastfeeding and human milk feeding family, regardless of whether the nursing is going well or not. The consequences of compromising a successful nursing relationship are significant for the child and family, adversely affecting the child’s health and development and adding significant costs for families who cannot afford the cost of infant formula. The IFC Community Market, a member choice market, allows the parent to choose the foods that best meet the needs of their family and avoids unintended outcomes that come from distributing infant formula to nursing families.
Warm and Welcoming Lactation Space
An exciting addition to the new IFC building in Carrboro is a warm and welcoming lactation space located near the meeting rooms. It is available to employees and visitors. While chest/breastfeeding is welcome throughout the IFC, the lactation room, with its colorful and meaningful artwork on the wall, provides a quiet place to express milk or feed their nurslings.
Vision Meets Everyone’s Basic Needs
The IFC Community Market is one of the programs supporting our shared vision of “A community that meets everyone’s basic needs, including dignified and affordable housing, an abundance of healthy food, and meaningful social connection.” What makes the IFC Community Market model exciting is that it is a member choice market. Families shop for the food they need, which recognizes that families know what works best to meet their nutritional needs and reduces waste.
Commitment to Being “Breastfeeding-Friendly”
The Interfaith Council for Social Services (IFC) has been a long-standing supporter and advocate of Breastfeed Orange NC, one of the pilot projects of Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities. The IFC recently reaffirmed its commitment to being a “breastfeeding-friendly” community partner and employer, supporting chest/breastfeeding and human milk feeding families and employees.
As a Community Partner, the IFC has made the following affirmations:
- Breast/chestfeeding families are always welcome and respected. They will never be treated poorly, asked to stop nursing, or asked to cover up or move.
- The IFC does not advertise infant formula or related products directly to families.
- The IFC supports all breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and human milk feeding families, inclusive of their race, ethnicity, immigration status, nationality, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, family structure, primary language, ability, or class.
As an Employer, the IFC has made the following affirmations:
- All lactating employees are allowed breaks to express milk or nurse their children.
- All lactating employees are allowed access to a private space for expressing milk. The space is shielded from view and includes an electrical outlet. The space is not a bathroom.
- The lactation space has hand hygiene available (hand sanitizer or sink nearby).
Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities would like to extend our gratitude to the IFC for their dedication and hard work in supporting breastfeeding and providing a welcoming and inclusive space for families. The IFC is setting an example for other communities to follow, and we appreciate their commitment to creating a world where all families can thrive. Thank you, IFC!
Learn More
Read the original post on the Breastfeed Orange NC website: https://breastfeedorangenc.org/stakeholder-spotlight-the-ifc/
Visit the IFC website for more information about the community market: https://www.ifcweb.org/
Read about “Concerns Regarding Donations of Infant Formula…”: https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/emergencies-infant-feeding/donations.html
Check out “Facts for Relief Workers” in emergencies: https://portal.ilca.org/files/in_the_news/Emergencies/FACTSforReliefWorkers.pdf