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meats, macaroni and cheese, pasta, powdered milk, baby forâ€" mula and cereals." In case you didn‘t catch the item that "doesn‘t belong", it‘s s T baby formula. Now, I‘m not blamâ€" # ing the Food Bank for collecting and distributing a product that its _ _ â€" member agencies‘ clients ask for, but 1 do find it a little sad that lowâ€"income mothers continue to fall prey to the marketing of infant formula. What many mothers don‘t realize is that their bodies have everything they need to feed their babies. Except in rare medical circumstances, most mothers can successfully breastfeed â€" if they have the necessary selfâ€"confidence, guidâ€" ance and support. 1 won‘t even go into all of the other benefits of breastfeeding (convenience, mother and child‘s health, lack of wasteful packaging, etc.), but will deal exclusively with financial considerations. Most women do not need to shell out hunâ€" dreds of dollars a year for a product of dubious nutritional value. Infant formula represents a major drain on the budget of just about any new mother (in some provinces, the cost can be over a quarter of a monthly welfare cheque). Many are tempted to "stretch" their supply of formula by ing it down, compounding the nutritional :,mnsmdqm' of formula feeding, Under the guise of "infant nutrition seminars" (we stumbled on one last week when atending an NDP leadership event in Hamilton) and often in coâ€"operation with hospitals and doctors, forâ€" mula companies shamelessly promote their products as an "almost as good" alternative to lood drive: "peanut butter, beans ho emed in hn ues gove As they say on Sesame Street, *one of these things is not like the other; one of these things just Payment Includes: â€" All Taxes â€" Freight & P.D.1. â€" Adm. Fees â€" Full Tank of Gas .", At issue is a EW Downpayment ES 1st Payment So what can we do about this situation? We can start by demanding that the federal govern ment turn the WHO code into law, making it more â€" difficult for the formula companies exploit women‘s insecurities. We can encourage women to provide positive role models by breastâ€" with other women. And we can use events like the spring food drive to educate women about the benefits of breastfeeding and the prohibitive costs of formula. Here‘s my challenge for the Food Bank and its member agencies: why not include information on the benefits of breastfeeding in food hamâ€" pers, in your newsletter and in your appeals for support? It could go a lot further in meeting the nutritional needs of local children than any donation of infant formula ever will. Nnth (WHO) code that explicitly proâ€" M hibits advertising infant formula and giving free samples of it, argnâ€" z ing that the ban applies only in the 1 developing world (although they break it there t00). P Poor women are especially vulâ€" nerable to the formula sales pitch. } The most obvious reason is the ) offer of free samples Many ’é women gladly accept the free m samples, only to find that they was can‘t afford o keep paying for formula once their free supply TB runs out. By this time, of course, their ability to breastfeed has disappeared (a case of *use it or lose it"). As well, the prevalence of breastfeeding is closely linked to selfâ€"esteem. For a variety of reaâ€" sons, lowâ€"income women are not usually burstâ€" ing with selfâ€"estcem. Their governments tell them that they are a drain on society; their pantâ€" ners may have left them when they got pregnant; they may lack a strong peer role model for breast breastfeeding. They do so despite hnd < ipro~ C ame~ gerrcrirnin SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! Insulin is only a bandage. Help us find a cure. WE WANT TO REPAIR YOUR ‘Broken Windshield ( AUTO GLASS) e mmw" 2 CHANCES V,);/aficf To 1A »â€" «n t p$92X~ MWM UR â€"Z _ Z*4Z) We Pay , YOUR TCy‘ C WWW ~ 4 in 2 1; ";‘. FS' (BY APPOINTMENT) 17/96 4 Piece el | 20 "IAst~" (All Replacements) 576â€"1520 or 576â€"5296 ! $25,000