How the Food Bank is Making it Easier to Say “Yes” to Breast Milk

We know that breast milk is the best milk but it’s not always easy, especially for mothers returning to the workplace.  “Walking the walk” of ensuring quality, accessible nutrition at the Capital Area Food Bank includes supporting mothers and their decision to provide breast milk to their children.   As part of our ongoing work with City of Austin’s Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council to improve our workplace we’re proud to announce that we are a designated Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite.  This means that the Food Bank has been recognized for proactively supporting employees who choose to provide breast milk to their children.  We were also awarded a hospital grade breast pump valued at $2,000.



The decision was easy. Providing women time and space to pump or breastfeed is not only good for the baby but good for the workplace.  According to the Texas Mother Friendly Workplace website, employers that provide Mother-Friendly Worksites benefit from increased employee retention, lower absenteeism, higher morale, greater productivity, reduced health care costs, and improved short-and long term health of the breastfeeding mother and her child. 

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"681","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignright size-full wp-image-10889","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"213","height":"213","alt":"Mother-Friendly-Worksite-Certified"}}]]Volunteers are also welcome to use the breast pump and lactation-friendly amenities including:

• a private location for the purpose of milk expression;


• access to a nearby clean and safe water source and a sink for washing hands and rinsing out any breast pump equipment; and


• access to hygienic storage options for mothers to safely store breast milk.

To learn more about the Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Program visit their website at http://www.texasmotherfriendly.org