Media Contact: Andrew Harrell, Carolina Hunger Initiative, andrewharrell@unc.edu
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – As many as 1 in 4 children in Western NC are food insecure. But little has been done to reexamine the food insecurity landscape post-Hurricane Helene. The Carolina Hunger Initiative (CHI) is launching a new project to better understand child hunger in the region and strategies to reduce it. This work is made possible thanks to support from Dogwood Health Trust.
As part of this work in WNC, the Carolina Hunger Initiative is hosting its statewide, annual NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference in Asheville for the first time, after 14 years in Chapel Hill.
“This conference is a day of inspiration for everyone working in school cafeterias, food banks, churches, or wherever else to connect children with healthy food,” said Lou Anne Crumpler, Director of the Carolina Hunger Initiative. “We are honored to celebrate people in Western NC and statewide who are dedicated to the mission of feeding kids.”
The 2026 conference takes place on Tuesday, March 3, in Asheville at legendary concert venue The Orange Peel. Speakers will include MANNA FoodBank CEO Claire Neal, 2025 NC Teacher of the Year Rachel Candaso and 2025 NC Principal of the Year Jason Johnson. Performances will include songwriter David LaMotte and students from ArtSpace Charter School in Swannanoa. The day ends with a concert by Mission Accomplished, the classic rock covers band made up of healthcare workers from WNC. You can learn more and register at carolinahungerinitiative.org/invite.
In the months after the conference, the Carolina Hunger Initiative’s work will take place through conversations and focus groups with schools and other organizations that provide healthy food for kids.
“Gaining a better understanding of child hunger post-Helene in this region is important,” said Jessica Soldavini, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Research Specialist with the Carolina Hunger Initiative. “This can help inform future strategies and programs for ensuring that children have access to nutritious meals to support their health, well-being, and ability to perform well academically.”
The Carolina Hunger Initiative, which based at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, works to increase access to nutritious foods for North Carolinians. Much of its work focuses on federal nutrition programs, including school and summer nutrition programs.
About Carolina Hunger Initiative
Our mission is to increase access to healthy meals year-round for North Carolinians. The Carolina Hunger Initiative is a project at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and works in collaboration with the No Kid Hungry campaign. We use programming, applied research, and compelling communications to support policy, systems, and environmental changes that connect people with the food they need. Learn more about our work and the impact of the programs we support at CarolinaHungerInitiative.org.
About Dogwood Health Trust
Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellbeing. With a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity and health and wellness, Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all, no exceptions. To learn more, please visit www.dht.org.
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