Parents Nutrition Center: A valuable resource for families

The Parents Nutrition Center that provides WIC-acceptable food for purchase–Women, Infants, and Children supplemental nutrition–has relocated from the Bayshore Mall to 1125 Summer Street in Eureka. Since April 2022, The Parents Nutrition Center has supported local mothers and families with a safe and convenient grocery store experience. 

“Parents Nutrition Center is a small friendly grocery store for which families and anybody can shop here, but we specialize in WIC items,” said Jessica Rebholtz the owner of the store. “It’s a federally funded program that we have here in Humboldt County and all the other counties in California. And this store was born out of necessity for our community. We needed a safe space where we can shop and not feel pressured and not feel rushed to the grocery line.”

At the store, you can find up to six or seven different flavors of baby formula, fruit and vegetables, frozen food and more. According to Rebholtz, she will soon be announcing a baby stroller giveaway on social media platforms @parentsnutritioncenter. During the summer, Rebholtz plans on hosting cooking classes with the different food that families can access at the Parents Nutrition Center. 

“I get moms that say ‘I get so many lentils I don’t know what to do with the lentils’ or ‘I get so much peanut butter I don’t know what to do’,” Rebholtz said. “So it’s just fun, cool things that we can do this summer with our kids.” 

Rebholtz said that she wants to encourage families to be hands-on with their children when it comes to food nutrition. She hopes to bridge that opportunity to include people’s children in that process as a learning and growing experience. 

“Future hopes, aspirations is that we grow and grow and grow to where we can spread to other communities to like in Cresent City or either South from here,” Rebholtz said. “The need is there. The need is definitely there but again, I need the support of my community and local moms to be able to see that come forward.”