Your support will allow us to continue to more readily connect people across NC with the food and nutrition they need. Donate here.
Nutrition Education
Everyone should know how to prepare affordable meals and make healthy food choices.
That’s why we make nutrition education a priority.
School Meals
Hungry kids can’t learn.
That’s why we work to expand access to nutritious meals for kids in school. Learn more about our work below.
No child should go hungry. Every child in every public school in North Carolina should have access to breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to their families. That is why Carolina Hunger Initiative serves on the leadership team for the School Meals for All NC coalition.
Most recently, Carolina Hunger Initiative distributed $1.3 million in grants to 42 public school districts and public charter schools across NC to expand access to school breakfast, through the NC Innovative School Breakfast Grants in partnership with the Office of the Governor and the NC Alliance for Health.
SUN Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids
Because summer can be the hungriest time of year for kids who rely on school meals, we work to expand USDA programs that offer grocery-buying benefits and free meals for kids and teens in the summer.
Free summer Meals for youth 18 and under at in-person sites. Find all summer meal sites at SummerMeals4NCKids.org/findmeals.
Free deliver/pick up summer meals for youth 18 and under in some rural areas. Learn more at SummerMeals4NCKids.org.
$120 of grocery-buying benefits for eligible children during the summer. Learn more at ncdhhs.gov/sunbucks.
Carolina Hunger Initiative supports these programs by:
- partnering with the NC Department of Public Instruction to create and maintain a brand and website for the SummerMeals4NCKids program.
- partnering with No Kid Hungry to support non-congregate meal sponsors with grants and interns, and maintain meal finder tools that make it easy for families to find healthy food in the summer.
- partnering with the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Department of Public Instruction to inform stakeholders about the SUN Bucks program.
Child Nutrition Data Profiles
To understand childhood hunger in North Carolina better, each year we use data from the NC Department of Public Instruction to build profiles of child nutrition programs. The profiles shed light on how these programs support the health of children and strengthen local economies.
NC College Food Benefits
More than 22% of college students experience food insecurity. But 2 out of every 3 college students who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are not enrolled.
That’s why we created NC College Food Benefits, a SNAP Outreach campaign focused on connecting North Carolina college students with grocery money.
Working in partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services, this campaign makes it easier for college students to learn about their SNAP eligibility. It also provides resources to help college staff and other partners to connect their students with food benefits. SNAP provides grocery-buying benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being. In North Carolina, it is known as Food and Nutrition Services (FNS).
NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference
When it comes to making sure kids have the nutrition they need to thrive, no one can do it alone.
That’s why we convene hundreds of champions every year to share victories and challenges at the NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference.
Your support will allow us to continue to more readily connect people across NC with the food and nutrition they need. Donate here.
Are you part of our next big project? Get in touch by emailing CarolinaHungerInitiative@unc.edu
or calling (984) 528-3557.
More stories of our work:
- 2024 Year in Review
- 2023 Year in Review
- 2022 Year in Review
- Blue Cross Child Hunger Impact Project – 52 school districts and community organizations received funding to support their meal programs for kids.
- COVID-19 Response – Including connecting more than 1.6 million meals to the homes of children in 20 NC rural districts through the Emergency Meals-to-You program.