Mom's Breastaurant
Mom's Breastaurant is a US 501(c)3 charitable organization devoted to promoting breastfeeding, particularly at public events and festivals.
History
Founded in 2006 by Nonie Veccia, of Milpitas, CA, Mom's Breastaurant provides shelter, climate control, seating, and a less-distracting environment for mothers and their babies at outdoor events. Mom's Breastaurant was conceived after a New Orleans woman was cited by police for an "unauthorized booth" after erecting a tent over her truck and a lawn chair, in a parking lot near a street festival, for the purpose of nursing her daughter.
In 2009, Mom's Breastaurant opened its second chapter in Chico, CA.
Purpose and Services
Providing shelter in the form of a 10'x10' tent with sidewalls, a semi-secluded area for mothers, and climate control (fans and misters in hot weather, space-heaters in cold weather), along with a changing table, a sibling area, reading material, and cool drinks for nursing moms, Mom's Breastaurant gives mothers a place to sit and feed their child at outdoor events. Mom's Breastaurant believes firmly in the right to breastfeed in public. It also acknowledges that noisy, crowded festivals can be distracting for some infants, and that a shaded seating area, free from distractions, can be a boon.
Festivals Attended
A partial list of festivals with Mom's Breastaurant booths includes:
High Sierra Music Festival
Endangered Species Faire, Chico, CA
Winter 4th Avenue Street Fair, Tucson AZ
Festival of Balloons, Tigard, OR
Green Baby Expo, Chico, CA
Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair, Ft. Collins, CO
Green River Rendezvous Pinedale, WY
Berry Festival, Watsonville, CA
Harmony Music Festival, Santa Rosa, CA
Mushroom Mardi Gras Festival, Morgan Hill, CA
Pagan Alliance Pagan Festival, Berkeley, CA
VDay, New Orleans, LA
Chico Air Show, Chico, CA
See also
- Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding in public
- Lactivism
- La Leche League