North Carolina expands action plan to address food and nutrition needs

North Carolina officials have released a new action plan to address food insecurity and nutrition needs. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Friday released its State Action Plan For Nutrition Security. Its purpose is to strengthen an overall strategic goal of supporting child and family well-being.

The action plan leverages the connections between several existing programs including Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), the Special Supplemental Nutrient Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, and Medicaid.

The overall strategy involves widening enrollment in the state’s nutrition programs, securing better ties between those programs and the health care network, and instituting a statewide breastfeeding hotline.

NCDHHS officials say action is necessary because many federal pandemic nutrition policies will be ending later this month. One initiative already underway is a program that texts information to help eligible families enroll in WIC.

According to a news release, over one million North Carolina residents, or almost 11 percent of the state’s population, suffer from food insecurity.