Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 7-15-21 E-edition

Thursday, July 15, 2021
The View From Here
The af- ternoon of Saturday, July 10 was
hot.
I believe
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Publishing
It was an idea that began back in 2005 inside the aisles of a busy a grocery store.
“I remember being a new mom, I use to go to the store, I would wait in line and be there with my WIC vouch- ers,” said Lupe Salem, owner of Baby’s Nutrition in Reed- ley. “Customers would have to wait in line and they would get frustrated with a mom and her WIC vouchers, made the mom feel uncomfortable.”
A new mom to a pair of twin girls, Salem said she wanted to create a place for new mothers who use WIC vouchers to come in and shop quickly, easily and without judgment.
WIC stands for “Women, Infants, and Children,” and is a federal program that aims to protect the health of low income women, infants and children up to the age of 5.
According to their web- site, the Special Supplemen- tal Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breast- feeding, and non-breastfeed- ing postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.
the temper-
ature here
in Reedley
reached a
high of 109. I made sure to wet our dogs down in the morning, as the day became hotter, I knew I had to bring them inside. Later that day, around 1 p.m. I made my way to a place called Baby’s Nutrition.
I received some photos via text message from Reed- ley’s own Danny Jimenez. Danny had attended the rib- bon cutting for the grand opening of the store.
“Thank you Danny!” I re- plied. I let Danny know I’d be making my way to the grand opening to talk to the owner of Baby’s Nutrition.
I made my way into the parking lot, gathered my camera and equipment and turned off my car. Immedi- ately the cool air from my car’s a/c disappeared and the heat took over.
I got out of my car as quickly as possible carry- ing my gear across the Save Mart parking lot. The sun was hot. It had no mercy for me or my sunscreen. My face began to sweat im- mediately. As I walked up I ran into Erik Valencia, the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce president and Danny, Reedley’s top notch photographer.
I said hi to the guys and made my way inside the store. Small, quaint, and clean. I began to get video of the various products and took a moment to enjoy the cool a/c.
I looked around at the various WIC approved items and it brought back a rush of memories. Back to 2001. I was 22 years old and had a brand new baby girl. We didn’t have much money at the time, so of course I ap- plied for and was approved for WIC vouchers.
I couldn’t afford the high prices of baby formula but WIC would cover that. And I was forever grateful for the program.
I had the opportunity to talk to Lupe Salem and she told me this is the third store they’ve opened and they are all doing well.
I was curious and asked her what made her want to open the store. Lupe told me she had bad experiences with customers behind her waiting in line for her vouch- ers to be scanned. Back then, we’d get a stack of vouch- ers, the cashier would have
SEE COLUMN on page A8
Juanita Adame
'Baby's Nutrition' now open in Reedley
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
A young customer received a teddy bear after attending the grand opening of "Baby's Nutrition" in Reed- ley on the afternoon of July 10.
"Customers would wait in line and would get frustrated with the WIC new moms."
Lupe Salem, owner Baby's Nutrition
However, only a select number of foods are covered under the WIC program. Sa- lem said as a busy mom with twins, it was often times dif- ficult for her to navigate
SEE BABY on page A8
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Baby's Nutrition has WIC approved items ready to go and also takes phone orders for busy moms needing to pick up groceries in a hurry.
New book at historical society
Newest Sanger Police officer cleared for patrol
Contributed
A new book titled "Trea- sures en route to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks" by James Spitze is now available at the Reedley Historical Society.
The book features hun- dreds of photographs as well as an entire chapter on wild
flowers.
Other chapters include
information on pioneer fam- ilies, the Native American period in the United States and more.
For more information or to pick up a copy, contact the historical society at (559)
638-1913.
Photo Courtesy / Sanger Police Facebook Page
Sanger Police Officer Battenfield was cleared for patrol after com- pleting the field training program. He was sworn in on March 18.
Staff Report
It has been nearly four months since a new round of patrol office were sworn in with the Sanger Police De- partment.
And, less than one week ago, on July 13, one of those officers, Daniel Battenfield completed the required field training program and was
cleared for patrol.
"Officer Battenfield com-
pleted the 18 weeks of field training with four different training officers," the Sanger Police Department announced on their Facebook page.
"He is currently working dayshift; so give him a smile and a wave when you see him on patrol and let him know Sanger is glad to have him."
Contributed
A photo of Alexander Cruz, a recent "Chapter One" preschool graduate, smiling and showing off his 2021 cake and glasses was sent in by Michelle Cruz. Congratulations Alexander! Have a pho- toyou'dlikefeatured? Emailjuanita@midvalleypublishing.com.
Photo of the week