USDA Honors Local Professionals, Commends V.I. Health Department on 50th WIC Anniversary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in the U.S. Virgin Islands with a visit to the territory to honor local program providers, local leaders, and participants.

Lizbeth Silbermann, the FNS Northeast Regional Administrator, was at the forefront of the celebrations, acknowledging the program's invaluable contributions to the nutrition and health of Virgin Islanders.

In a sign of satisfaction with the V.I. Dept. of Health's use of federal funding to renovate the WIC building in Frederiksted, Ms. Silbermann said she was thrilled to see the progress. “The idea of human-centered design is really important, and this building seems to really take that into account because it really talks about the client, and thinking about their experience in the WIC program,” Ms. Silbermann told the Consortium during her visit on Feb. 16.

Among the honorees recognized during last Friday’s event were local WIC employees Gloria Carlos and Hilaria Duval, who began working with the program since its early days in 1974, along with Linota Perez, who began her tenure with WIC some 44 years ago.