GREENFIELD — A local clinic was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for providing “exemplary support” to breastfeeding mothers through the national Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program.

WIC serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk. The program provides nutritious foods to supplement their diets as well as information on healthy eating, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care.

Nationwide, the USDA gave out 125 awards, including 18 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. The program is administered on the local level by social service agencies. The Greenfield clinic, which operates out of Community Action Pioneer Valley, was one of three programs in the state to receive a gold award.

“Massachusetts WIC is proud of the Franklin/Hampshire/North Quabbin, Springfield North and Taunton/Attleboro WIC programs for receiving the USDA’s WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence,” Massachusetts WIC Director Rachel Colchamiro said in a statement. “These WIC teams are committed to providing families a variety of breastfeeding services via phone, text, in-person support and virtual prenatal groups — and they do a great job connecting families in need of expert clinical lactation support with our lactation consultants. We applaud these local WIC programs for their commitment to providing high-quality breastfeeding services to families and appreciate USDA’s recognition of their work.”

Bree McAlister, senior nutritionist for the Community Action Pioneer Valley WIC program that serves Franklin and Hampshire counties, as well as the North Quabbin region, from its 3 Osgood St. location, said she feels the award is “well deserved.”

“It feels great. The application process is pretty lengthy; you have to prove you deserve it, in a way,” she said. “There’s a lot of documentation. We actually were able to pull statistics … to help back us up.”

Between July 2021 and June 2022, the Community Action Pioneer Valley WIC program served 2,687 clients. According to the USDA, WIC serves about half of all babies born in the country and is uniquely positioned to help mothers successfully breastfeed.

“It’s nice to be recognized that we’re doing something good,” McAlister said.

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.