The Carolina Hunger Initiative is a project at the University of North Carolina working in collaboration with No Kid Hungry North Carolina, part of Share Our Strength’s national No Kid Hungry Campaign.

WHAT’S NEW

SUMMERMEALS4NCKIDS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Are you a college student looking for a meaningful, paid summer internship experience that will allow you to help address food insecurity and child nutrition? If yes, consider applying for the 2024 SummerMeals4NCKids internship program!

NEW NUTRITION AND COOKING CLASSES ANNOUNCED: The Carolina Hunger Initiative is excited to offer a free, 5-week virtual nutrition course using the Food Smarts for Adults curriculum from Leah’s Pantry. Each lesson includes peer discussion, interactive activities to teach participants about different nutrition topics, and a recipe demonstration. Weekly lessons are on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30pm starting Tuesday, March 19 through Tuesday, April 16. Learn more.

NC INNOVATIVE SCHOOL BREAKFAST GRANT: Congrats to the 42 school districts that are receiving funds to increase access to school breakfast for more than 51,000 students. Learn more.

2024 NC CHILD HUNGER LEADERS CONFERENCE: Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual conference Stay tuned for session recordings. See resources and action steps from the conference.

OUR YEAR IN PICTURES: The Carolina Hunger Initiative and No Kid Hungry NC team is taking a look back at all of the partnerships, programs, and people that made 2023 a year to remember. See our 2023 highlights.

Nutrition Education Materials

Carolina Hunger Initiative’s nutrition education tools are a robust and growing resource for children, families, teachers, and nutrition professionals.

School Meals for All NC

We believe every child in every public school in North Carolina should have access to breakfast and lunch at no cost to their families. Join us.

NC Local Nutrition Profiles

These profiles provide a snapshot of the successes and opportunities in the school breakfast, school lunch, and summer nutrition programs for your local school district or county.


ABOUT CAROLINA HUNGER INITIATIVE

Based at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (UNC HPDP), the Carolina Hunger Initiative partners with school systems, state agencies, community organizations, local businesses, and more to expand access to healthy meals year-round for North Carolinians.

We use programming, applied research, and compelling communications to support policy, systems, and environmental changes to more readily connect people with the food they need.Carolina Hunger Initiative welcomes and embraces ideas for the tough challenges we face now and tomorrow. Our goal is to incubate sustainable solutions for expanding equitable food access.

Learn more about our team, our work, and the latest news, or contact us.


OUR PARTNERS


Carolina Hunger Initiative is a project at the University of North Carolina working in collaboration with No Kid Hungry North Carolina, part of Share Our Strength’s national No Kid Hungry Campaign.


Carolina Hunger Initiative is based at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.


Find resources and communications from our vital state partner, the NC Department of Public Instruction Office of School Nutrition.


OUR WORK

COVID-19 Response

After Governor Roy Cooper announced NC schools would close due to the COVID-19 emergency, our team launched tools to provide resources for meal providers and to inform families in need where free, healthy meals for kids would be available.

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Child Nutrition Team at UNC HPDP

Working with school districts and community partners across the state, our goal is to end childhood hunger by increasing access to healthy food options served through the underutilized federally-assisted nutrition programs for kids.

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Blue Cross NC Child Hunger Impact Project

This three-year funding partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is awarding grants statewide to schools and community organizations that provide critical meals for kids who need them at breakfast, after school, and in the summer.

Learn more