Live, Interactive IYCF-E Trainings
Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities (BFFC) has developed training videos to help your community get started on the BFFC designation journey.

Nourishing Resilience: SAFE Infant Feeding in Crisis
Virtual Interactive Workshop Series for IYCF-E Training. 11 months of 90-minute lunch & learns. Grant-funded opportunity to prepare to support infant and young child feeding in disaster or emergency response in your community.
Recorded IYCFE Training Videos
As disasters and emergencies are occurring more frequently, sometimes infant and young child feeding needs to be addressed NOW. We know that you can’t always wait for a live training, so we are producing on-demand training modules to be used as needed.
- Training videos coming soon! Watch this space for video session links as they are produced.
- On-the-Ground Site Volunteer, Caregiver Interaction Essentials (90 seconds)
- On-the-Ground Site Volunteer, Infant Feeding Supply Management Essentials (90 seconds)
Custom Training Packages.
We can provide customized virtual training programs in various aspects of infant and young child feeding in emergencies. This allows us to target the training to the skills needed by a specific organization or staff type, and the time they have available.
- Rate varies by number of trainees, duration of training, in-person vs virtual, and other variables. Please reach out to discuss your needs.
Help fund these and other trainings! Please donate or see our sponsorship opportunities.
Disaster Response Guidance
When disaster strikes, organizations may not be prepared to address infant and young child feeding needs, or even know what to do. We offer up to 4 hours of complementary custom guidance and support to organizations responding to a recent disaster or emergency. Depending on the needs, this support may:
- Provide clarity on what challenges caregivers and families are facing in the impacted area.
- Help organizations decide what kind of response is needed.
- Help identify potential partnerships for an on-the-ground response.
- Provide guidance on setting up systems for response.
- Provide digital resources and tools to use for education and other aspects of response.
On-the-Ground Training
In the aftermath of a disaster, local resources are often stretched thin, and infrastructure may not be functioning. Sometimes figuring out how to address infant and young child feeding challenges is beyond the capacity of local volunteers without initial support. When requested and if resources are available, we can send in 1-3 coordinators and/or trainers to help your group get established in their own response. Some of this support can be provided remotely.
This as-needed disaster response training may involve:
- Helping your group select a core team and establish your own guidelines for operation.
- Customizing systems for on-the-ground operations to your situation.
- Suggestions on how to recruit volunteers to support your efforts.
- On-the-ground training of volunteers in rapid needs assessment and interactions with caregivers.
- On-the-ground training of volunteers in risk mitigation involving infant feeding supplies.
- Training your Digital Coordinators – temporary support (10-14 days) from our Digital Coordinators to train volunteers willing to provide ongoing digital support.
- Launch support – helping your group navigate the early stages of constant change to establish your routines.
- Training your Boots on the Ground Coordinators – temporary on-the-ground support from our Boots on the Ground Coordinator to run operations while training volunteers for this position.
- Sustainability & stress management training – helping your core group understand how to care for themselves so you are better able to handle the continued response over time.
Appreciating Our Sponsors
We express our gratitude to our grantors and sponsors that make our training programs possible:

Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation
The Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to supporting charitable organizations that align with its mission of giving back.
Grants are made only as a result of the Foundation’s own initiative.

Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities
Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities provides technical assistance to breastfeeding coalitions and health departments across the US, including Breastfeed Durham, Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities of Asheville, and the North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition. Our newest project, the SAFE Team, revealed national gaps in infant and young child feeding during emergencies. Our core mission of systems change uses the Ten Steps to a Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community to train and educate non-lactating community members to better welcome families, normalize breastfeeding, and prepare for safe infant feeding in emergencies. Together, we build environments where every family can thrive.

Confident Pregnancy (DBA Melinda Delisle Innovations)
We help people be healthier, feel more confident, and find their inner strength so we can show up as our best selves. Learn foundations for staying calmer and more resilient under stress in our upcoming program, Surfing Emotional Currents. Register free on our website.

Birthstone Center for Appalachian Perinatal Resilience
The Birthstone Center for Appalachian Perinatal Resilience strengthens perinatal health in Western North Carolina by centering families, uplifting birthworkers, and advancing equitable access to lactation, doula, and maternal mental health support—building resilience in mountain communities before, during, and after birth. Starting as a small private practice, Birthstone has grown into a regional nonprofit that creates innovative solutions to providing a village for Mountain Families.
