DC Council Roundtable Signals a Turning Point for Maternal Nutrition in the District

WASHINGTON, DC — Maternal health cannot be addressed through clinical care alone.

That was one of the strongest themes to emerge from the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Health's July 9, 2026 roundtable, "Maternal and Infant Health: Continued Challenges in Addressing Coverage and Care in the District."

Over the course of the hearing, nearly 20 witnesses including hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), nurses, doulas, community organizations, advocates, and mothers painted a consistent picture of a maternal health system that requires stronger coordination, earlier intervention, and greater investment in community-based care.

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Among those testifying were representatives from Mary's Center, the DC Hospital Association, National Nurses United, practicing doulas, and Crystal Jackson, a graduate of WANDA's NOURISH Maternal Food as Medicine pilot and member of the Ward 8 Health Council Maternal Health Working Group. Together, their testimonies highlighted that maternal health extends well beyond prenatal appointments and delivery rooms; it encompasses food security, trusted relationships, culturally responsive care, behavioral health, postpartum support, and neighborhood-based resources.

For WANDA Founder & CEO Tambra Raye Stevenson, the hearing represented more than a policy discussion. It was evidence that Washington, D.C. is ready to build maternal health around nourishment, prevention, and community.

Nutrition Is Missing from the Maternal Health Ecosystem

During her testimony, Stevenson argued that nutrition should no longer be treated as an optional educational service but as core health infrastructure. For WANDA, the message was clear: Maternal health cannot be solved through clinical care alone. Nutrition must become part of the infrastructure of care.

Throughout the hearing, witnesses described a maternal health system strained by fragmented care coordination, Medicaid and insurance coverage gaps, delayed health data, workforce shortages, food insecurity, stress, social isolation, hypertension, diabetes, and persistent postpartum challenges.

"We have to incorporate nutrition professionals as part of this maternal health conversation," Stevenson told the Committee. "Many times, we have not been part of the policymaking process."

She challenged the common perception that nutrition professionals simply provide cooking demonstrations.

"We're more than a cooking demo," she said. "We're trained literally one class away from being a chemistry minor."

Instead, Stevenson described registered dietitians and nutrition professionals as essential members of maternal healthcare teams—professionals who understand the relationship between food, physiology, culture, behavior, and chronic disease prevention.

Her testimony drew on WANDA's experience developing and delivering NOURISH Maternal Food as Medicine, a pilot that recruited 20 participants and provided four weeks of evening education focused on gestational diabetes, hypertension, culinary skill-building, DC-based case studies, family-centered meal preparation, and culturally relevant nutrition education. Supported by Dreaming Out Loud, the pilot also intentionally removed barriers to participation by allowing attendees to bring their children while collecting implementation data through surveys and participant interviews.

A Conversation That Went Beyond Testimony

Rather than ending with prepared remarks, Stevenson's testimony sparked an extended exchange with Health Committee Chair Councilmember Christina Henderson, who asked detailed questions about the NOURISH model, participant outcomes, and how nutrition professionals could be more effectively integrated into maternal health policy. Henderson observed that WANDA's approach reminded her of the former federally funded SNAP-Ed program but with a targeted maternal health focus.

"It sounds like you guys are sort of picking up and also kind of expanding... It's core, not an add-on."

Using a personal example from earlier that day, Henderson described the structural barriers families face when trying to make healthier food choices.

"The lemonade is clearly the healthier option, but it is also the most expensive option... It is a system designed..."

Her comments reflected a broader recognition that healthy choices are often constrained by affordability and the food environment, not simply individual decision-making.

Stevenson agreed: "Nutrition is helping make healthy babies," she said. "It's core, not an add-on."

She emphasized that nutrition professionals understand not only nutrient metabolism but also how food is grown, prepared, preserved, and accepted culturally by families.

"We need someone who knows how to grow the food, but also how to cook it without cooking out the nutrients," Stevenson explained. "And if families can't prepare those meals themselves, we need to train birth workers and culinary professionals so they can provide that support."

She framed nutrition as one of public health's earliest and most effective investments.

"We may not be the hard savings that everyone sees," Stevenson said, "but we are the soft savings in the beginning when we think about what public health means."

Reflecting on her experience as a former University of the District of Columbia Extension Agent, Stevenson connected technical nutrition education with human dignity.

"We are not simply telling folks what they already know," she concluded. "We're helping to say: You are worthy. You are deserving. You are valuable enough to eat the foods that build a healthy body so you can live your God-given purpose."

Chair Henderson closed the exchange by thanking Stevenson for both her expertise and her passion.

"Thank you for your passion... and thank you for the work that you're doing."

Community Voices Reinforce the Same Message

While each witness represented a different institution or profession, remarkable consistency emerged throughout the hearing. Healthcare providers described fragmented care coordination. Hospitals discussed workforce pressures and capacity. Birth workers emphasized the need for stronger implementation support. Community organizations highlighted food insecurity, stress, transportation barriers, housing instability, and social isolation.

Crystal Jackson of Queen Momma, speaking from both lived experience and as a NOURISH alumna, demonstrated how community-based nutrition education can empower mothers beyond the clinical encounter. Her testimony reflected WANDA's belief that families are experts in their own lives when provided with trusted information, supportive relationships, and practical tools.

The Ward 8 Health Council Maternal Health Working Group similarly emphasized that maternal health begins before pregnancy and extends well beyond childbirth—a perspective that aligns closely with WANDA's systems-based approach.

The Evidence Already Exists

The hearing echoed national evidence demonstrating that maternal health outcomes are shaped largely by conditions outside clinical settings. The Milken Institute has identified food is medicine interventions including medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and nutrition education as promising strategies to improve chronic disease outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.

Research from Tufts University Food Is Medicine Institute has similarly shown that food insecurity and poor diet quality contribute substantially to chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes—conditions that also increase pregnancy-related complications. Tufts researchers have estimated that poor diet is among the leading drivers of preventable healthcare spending in the United States.

Locally, DC Health continues to report persistent disparities in maternal morbidity and infant health outcomes across the District, with residents east of the Anacostia River experiencing disproportionately higher burdens of chronic disease, food insecurity, and adverse birth outcomes.

Together, these findings reinforce the central message of the July 9 roundtable: Maternal health requires coordinated investments in food access, nutrition education, trusted community relationships, behavioral health, family support, and culturally responsive care.

From Policy Conversation to Community Action

For WANDA, the significance of the hearing extends beyond one afternoon at the Wilson Building. The testimony validates years of community work and strengthens the case for expanding NOURISH Maternal Food as Medicine through partnerships such as Dreaming Out Loud.

Rather than creating another stand-alone nutrition program, WANDA envisions an integrated ecosystem where healthcare providers, doulas, community health workers, farmers, nutrition professionals, educators, and families work together to support women before pregnancy, throughout pregnancy, during postpartum, and across the life course.

The District has already identified the challenge.

The next step is implementing solutions that place nourishment alongside medicine not behind it. As Stevenson reminded the Committee, maternal health is ultimately about more than preventing disease. It is about ensuring every mother knows she is worthy of the food, knowledge, care, and community that allow her and her family to flourish.