The Kroger Company is being recognized as a valuable partner in a prenatal support program designed to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes in the Weinland Park neighborhood and Near Eastside of Columbus.
Moms2B is a program initiated in September 2010 for pregnant low income women providing weekly group cooking, nutrition and prenatal educational classes as well as social and clinical support. The importance of keeping prenatal and post partum medical appointments is reinforced and facilitated. After delivery, program participants are encouraged to return with their infants for parenting, breastfeeding and nutrition support and guidance. The goal of the program is to prevent premature births and infant deaths with better nutrition, social support and education. Weinland Park and the Near Eastside have the highest rate of infant mortality in the Columbus area.
Kroger picks up the cost of food that program participants learn to cook and take home for their families, as well as providing individual gift cards for each participating mother at the Weinland Park site. Kroger has also provided design of marketing materials for the program.
“Our goal with the Moms2B program is to make an enormous difference in the lives of pregnant women living in dire conditions and their babies,” said Patricia Temple Gabbe, MD, MPH, pediatrician and Moms2B project principal investigator, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. “Kroger has been involved since the program’s inception and their continuing support of our efforts is invaluable, tangible evidence of the company’s concern for the residents of our community.”
The Moms2B program is funded through The Ohio State University International Poverty Solutions Collaborative and JPMorgan Chase Foundation and is one of the initiatives through Ohio Better Birth Outcomes (OBBO). It is managed through The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Since its inception in Weinland Park, the program has grown to incorporate a second site in the Near Eastside located in the East Columbus Development Co. Building at 240 N. Champion Ave. in the second local area of highest infant mortality. Plans call for additional sites in 2012 and 2013.
“It is gratifying to know that a company like Kroger believes in our program goals and recognizes the significance of our efforts to lower premature birth and mortality rates,” said Twinkle French Schottke, Moms2B Program Coordinator, Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “On behalf of the pregnant women, mothers and babies that we serve, we extend heartfelt appreciation to Kroger for its support of a program that is having an enormous impact on the improved health and well-being of our community.”
Additional Media Contact:
Jackie Siekmann
Kroger, Columbus Division
(614) 898-3223