Strong Mothers, Healthy Beginnings

Pregnancy is a window of enormous vulnerability — and for food-insecure, low-income women in LA County, it's a window where nutrition, stress, and isolation shape outcomes for both mother and baby.

The conditions are real. In LA County, 1 in 4 households experiences food insecurity — more than double the national average. For women navigating pregnancy inside those conditions, the research is consistent: food insecurity during pregnancy is associated with four times the risk of high stress and more than double the risk of depression. And a study of over 6 million California births found that babies born to mothers facing food insecurity, housing instability, or unemployment during pregnancy had nearly triple the risk of preterm birth — and three times the risk of infant death.

One window. Two lives at stake. And most of what drives those outcomes isn't addressed by standard prenatal care.

So we built something that does.

What We Built

The Maternal Nutrition Program is a 16-week cohort for mothers navigating pregnancy in exactly these conditions.

Each mother receives:

Weekly grocery cards to purchase nutritious food
Practical nutrition education built around affordable, nutrient dense food
A peer-led sharing circle where she can speak honestly about what she’s going through, build social connection, and find a community of support

The sharing circle isn’t extra.

It’s the intervention.

Because isolation shapes maternal outcomes — and community changes them.

The program is built. The mothers are waiting.

What This Looks Like In Real Life

One mother first connected with FEAST through our Family Feeding program while pregnant and unhoused.

A small, consistent grocery card helped her get through that stretch.

She stayed — for the food, the education, and the community.

She invited other women in her shelter.
They enrolled too.

Today, she has stable housing.
She grows her own food.
She shows up to volunteer — with her young child beside her.

The Maternal Nutrition Program is built for women in that same moment — earlier, and with more targeted support during pregnancy.

Why This, Why Now

The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations.

More than 80% of those deaths are preventable.

Nutrition. Stress. Social connection.

These are three of the factors that change outcomes — and three the medical system isn’t designed to solve on its own.

This program focuses on what we can change — directly, consistently, and in community.

What Your Gift Does

$25,000 launches the first full cohort of 15 mothers — participant support from start to finish, plus the evaluation and curriculum work that makes the program stronger for every cohort that follows.

$25 — program materials for one mother
$75 — five weeks of groceries
$225 — full grocery support
$500 — two Health Educator sessions
$1,000 — one mother through all 16 weeks
$10,000 — a full cohort of 15 mothers

Every gift moves this from ready → running.

Every gift reaches a real mother navigating a real pregnancy in conditions she did not choose.

The Moment

The program is ready.

The timeline isn’t theoretical — these pregnancies are already happening.

What happens next depends on whether this cohort is funded now.

Join Us Today

2026 Strong Mothers, Healthy Beginnings

Fueling safer pregnancies through maternal nutrition in Los Angeles

Team Members