Ridgewood will celebrate the grand opening of a Neighborhood WIC center on Monday, Sept. 18, where women will be able to get important health information even in the face of massive budget cuts, thanks to nonprofit organization Public Health Solutions.
This new state-of-the-art neighborhood center will be located at 55-05 Myrtle Ave. and will help more than 1,700 low-income pregnant women, infants and children get the nutritional care and information they need.
The grand opening party for the Ridgewood Neighborhood WIC Center will take place at the center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. From 11 a.m. to noon, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility’s Madison Street entrance. The party will then continue at the Ridgewood Veterans Triangle, located where Myrtle Avenue, Cypress Avenue and Cornelia Street meet.
The free event will feature games and giveaways, along with important community and health information, as well as WIC, SNAP (food stamps), and health insurance/Medicaid resources.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Councilman Antonio Reynoso and Assemblyman Mike Miller are all expected to be on hand at the celebration to speak about the importance of such a facility in the neighborhood.
Once the center is officially open, it will help women in the community receive nutritious food for their young children, improved access to healthcare, and breastfeeding education. The site will include a dedicated classroom for nutrition education and physical activity classes, a private breastfeeding room, and locations for SNAP and health insurance enrollment.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC, provides low-income pregnant or postpartum women and children under the age of 5 with food support and nutritional education.
The Ridgewood Neighborhood WIC Center will be open on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. The phone number is 718-381-8343.
For more information visit healthsolutions.org.
