Noah Johnson Daily Press t was another successful year for the WIC Resource Fair hosted by Public Health of Delta and Menominee Counties

ESCANABA – A circus came to Escanaba on Friday, but it wasn’t your traditional circus event.

Public Health of Delta and Menominee Counties hosted the annual WIC Resource Fair on Friday in the Escanaba Public Health parking lot.

The day, titled Cirque Du Milk Experience, provided expecting and nursing mothers with a variety of resources in honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month (August).

“This all started back in 2020 during COVID, we did a resource fair in honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, which is in August, and it’s just slowly expanded to more vendors, lots of giveaways, lots of goodies for the kids and the family,” said Public Health Senior Breastfeeding Counselor Tosha Mason.

The event has certainly grown over the years; notably, in its first year, during the height of the COVID pandemic, the fair was a drive-thru event.

“Everybody lost a lot of the personal touch, being able to communicate, talk to people, be with people, things like that. So, what we did was a drive-through resource fair where people could literally stay in their cars and we would run them bags of goodies, breastfeeding supplies, and resources that they could obtain,” Mason explained.

“It’s all in honor of breastfeeding month, but it’s for all families.”

It was such a success the first year that it became an annual event.

Attendees had the opportunity to visit several booths for information and resources, including the Dolly Parton Book Club, OSF, the Breastfeeding Coalition, Pregnancy Services, Lannie Berg from the Safe Sleep program, and more.

While the event focuses on highlighting expecting and nursing mothers, Mason said it’s great for the entire family.

“It’s really good for families to attend that have young children; they can get a lot of resources there too,” Mason said.

She said events like the WIC Resource Fair are essential for the community because some families may be unaware that they are eligible for specific resources.

“There are a lot of resources out there that families are unaware of that they might qualify for, and these resources are just good for all families, including all families with young children. It can be hard to raise young children, and it can be financially hard. So I think it’s just good for them to know about all these resources and all the benefits that they can get,” Mason explained.

Registered Nurse Alex Clark echoed Mason, saying the resource fair is for all families.

“It’s for everybody. If you don’t know resources exist, then you can’t utilize it and you can’t spread the word to somebody that – maybe you don’t need it, but maybe you know somebody else that does,” Clark said.

She added that when she was breastfeeding, she was unaware of the resources at her disposal.

“We do help moms figure out how to get their pumps when they don’t know how, and we offer breastfeeding supplies to our WIC clients. And then with just basic WIC, leaving breastfeeding aside, the fruits and vegetables package can also be used at authorized vendors at the farmers’ market. That’s something that’s new this summer,” Clark said.

Mason shared that those with Medicaid automatically qualify for WIC services.

“Otherwise, it goes off of your income. You get lots of resources, you get help with food with WIC, lactation support, dietitian support, all free to you,” she said.

There will be another resource fair in Menominee County on August 14 at the Menominee Public Health Department.