June 2025 - Cultivating Connections: The Impact of SNAP and WIC on Children’s Health

Cultivating Connections: The Impact of SNAP and WIC on Children’s Health

Join us on Wednesday, June 18, at 3:30 p.m. ET for the Hunger Nutrition and Health Action Collaborative Monthly Webinar Series. Connect with partners across the US dedicated to ending hunger and building healthy communities. This webinar will highlight successful strategies, food and nutrition system changes, multisector partnerships, and community-building efforts.

Join this month’s partner call to learn about the impact of SNAP and WIC on children’s health.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and connect. Please mark your calendar and join us for an engaging and informative session. Please email your questions for the panelists to hnh@cdcfoundation.org by Monday, June 16.

Our panelists include:

Gina Plata-Nino rejoined the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) in December 2024 as Deputy Director of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In this role, she collaborates closely with the SNAP team to expand the program’s reach and enhance its effectiveness for low-income households. She leads legislative and technical support efforts for national, state, and local organizations, as well as government agencies and nonprofits, to improve SNAP access, benefits, and customer service. Before returning to FRAC, Gina served as a Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition and Agriculture in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Domestic Policy Council. There, she played a key role in developing and implementing the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, collaborating with federal agencies and private stakeholders. Gina’s work has earned her numerous accolades, including being named one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Top Women of Law in 2022 and receiving the YWCA’s Katherine F. Erskine Award in 2021.

Wande Okunoren-Meadows is an award-winning change agent widely recognized for her passion for designing holistic strategies for community change. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Hand, Heart, + Soul Project and the former Director of Community, Quality, and Engagement at Little Ones Learning Center in Forest Park, GA, where she oversaw the operations of her family-operated early childhood center. Her success spearheading a community garden at the center prompted a visit from former Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, who promoted nutrition and wellness among young people as key to early childhood education. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Nikki Randall Servant Leadership Award presented by the Georgia Women’s Legislative Caucus, and the 2023 Martin Luther King Junior Advisory Council’s Rita Jackson Samuels Founder’s Award, and in 2023, received a US Senate Commendation by the Office of Senator Ossoff. She is a graduate of Emory University and the proud mom of three thoughtful, civically disruptive children.