Work Group Meeting, Friday, March 28, 2025, 10:00 to 11:00 am, Microsoft Teams

Attendees:  Gideon Adams, Alice Ammerman, Morgan Cooper, Dawn Daly-Mack, Mamie Harris, Jayne McBurney, Lisa Nee, Courtney Ramsey, Karen Stanley; Staff: Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Members shared what they are looking forward to this Spring. Some expressed excitement about upcoming personal events, such as meeting newborns and spending time with friends by the lake.
• Grounding and Level Setting
  • The work group’s 2024-2025 priorities include:
    • Enhance how children and families access programs supporting their well-being, including SNAP, WIC, CACFP, school and summer nutrition programs, Medicaid, Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP), and NCCARE360 through better data and analysis, infrastructure, and integration.
    • Provide financial incentives such as “Double Up Food Bucks” and Produce Prescriptions for SNAP/ FNS recipients for purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables from grocery stores and farmers markets AND Support farmers markets and enable Electronic Benefit Transfer payment at farmers markets.
    • Collaborate with community partners to provide nutritious and culturally responsive options at food banks, pantries and soup kitchens.
• Funding/Policy Touch Base
  • Updates on the funding and policy landscape were shared, including challenges at the federal, state, and local levels.
  • Prevention Research Centers: Alice shared concerns regarding the impacts of funding cuts and delays from DHHS but emphasized ongoing support and empathy in the face of challenges.
  • SNAP Ed Program (Steps to Health): Jayne provided an update about the current uncertainty surrounding USDA funding, mentioning the need for cautious planning and the potential for cuts, particularly as the September 30th deadline approaches.
  • Medicaid and Domestic Violence Shelter Impact: A Medicaid provider discussed concerns over potential cuts affecting Medicaid expansion and health services for vulnerable communities.
• Monitoring and Updates
  • Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP):
    • There was a positive update from Maria Perez’s office regarding the potential expansion of the HOP program, with plans to communicate new guidelines and a request for proposals (RFP) for network needs in the coming months.
  • Double Up Food Bucks NC (DUNC):
    • Lisa reported on recent advocacy efforts in Raleigh, noting that there were two lobby days at the end of March, though responses from legislators were still unclear. The focus this year has been on building relationships and laying the groundwork for future funding.
  • Food Bank Collaboration:
    • Updates included ongoing work to make food banks more responsive to the needs of communities, with a special focus on incorporating healthier food options and working with pantries across the state.
  • Food Access and Culturally Responsive Options at Food Banks:
    • Courtney shared information about the Healthy Food Access pantry training program, with new cohorts starting in July. The program aims to educate food pantries on offering healthier food options.
    • There will be a certification program with three tiers: gold, silver, and bronze. The website for 3CPH will be updated to recognize and list these certifications.
  • Food Safety and Prepared Food Donations:
    • The group discussed challenges in accepting prepared food donations at food banks, primarily due to food safety concerns and liability issues. Food banks currently do not handle prepared food without strict protocols in place.
    • Gideon and Alice discussed the importance of setting up standardized operating procedures for both donors and recipients to facilitate the acceptance of prepared foods.
• Closing
  • Next Steps: The group agreed to continue engaging in relationship-building efforts with legislators and community partners, advocating for more resources and support for healthy food access.
  • Next Meeting Date: No specific date was set; it was agreed that updates would continue to be shared through email, and the group would convene when necessary.

Work Group Meeting, Friday, January 24, 2025, 10:00 to 11:00 am, Microsoft Teams

Attendees: Gideon Adams, Alice Ammerman, Amanda Hege, Mamie Harris, Jayne McBurney, Courtney Ramsey, Andrina Scott, Karen Stanley, Konnie Tran; Staff: Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • Karen Stanley welcomed everyone and asked for introductions. The icebreaker question was what was good that had happened since the start of 2025.
  • The co-leaders for the Limited Access to Healthy Foods Work Group for 2024-2025 are Karen Stanley and Alice Ammerman.
• Grounding and Level Setting
  • The work group’s 2024-2025 priorities include:
    • Enhance how children and families access programs supporting their well-being, including SNAP, WIC, CACFP, school and summer nutrition programs, Medicaid, Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP), and NCCARE360 through better data and analysis, infrastructure, and integration.
    • Provide financial incentives such as “Double Up Food Bucks” and Produce Prescriptions for SNAP/ FNS recipients for purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables from grocery stores and farmers markets AND Support farmers markets and enable Electronic Benefit Transfer payment at farmers markets.
    • Collaborate with community partners to provide nutritious and culturally responsive options at food banks, pantries and soup kitchens.
• Monitoring and Updates: Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) Program
  • Gideon Adams provided updates on the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) Program, including its statewide expansion and challenges, such as low uptake (1%) of nutrition education and difficulties with current offerings like the Diabetes Prevention Program.
  • Amanda Hege proposed incorporating one-on-one medical nutrition therapy into HOP, while discussing challenges related to dietitian service capacity, reimbursement, and billing through CMS-approved services. The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act is an example policy being advocated for by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
  • The group acknowledged the need for advocacy to enhance nutrition services and discussed a March meeting to strategize on this, as well as to provide updates on the Double Up Food Bucks program.
  • Action items were assigned, including research on Medicaid policy and advocacy for dietitian services and encouraging all members to support the Double Up Food Bucks program.
• Closing
  • The work group’s next meeting will be on Friday, March 28, 2025, from  10:00 to 11:00 am on Microsoft Teams.

Work Group Meeting, Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 10:00 to 11:00 am, Microsoft Teams

Attendees: Alice S. Ammerman, Tracey Bates, Diane Beth, Mamie Sackey Harris, Lisa Nee, Courtney Ramsey-Coleman, Tish Singletary, Karen Stanley, Konnie Khánh Tran; Staff: Ashley Rink

• Welcome and Agenda Overview
  • The co-leaders for the Limited Access to Healthy Foods Work Group for 2024-2025 are Karen Stanley and Alice Ammerman.
• Hurricane Recovery and Healthy Food Access
  • Alice Ammerman asked the group to share insights regarding hurricane relief related to healthy food access. Alice had heard one of the items needed was takeout containers because restaurants have limited abilities to wash dishes as access to water remains a limiting factor.
  • Courtney Ramsey-Coleman shared that through the pantry training program, they contacted all their sites to identify if they needed assistance. They are working to connect pantries in need of help with other pantries that can assist. About five pantries responded that they needed assistance, including one currently operating out of the basement of a church since their building was destroyed.
  • Karen Stanley shared the Chronic Disease and Injury Section is compiling an inventory of needs that can be shared with emergency operations.
  • Diane Beth shared some of the childcare centers were experiencing difficulties opening and remaining open due to limited access to perishable foods, such as milk and bread, and the ability to sanitize appropriately. Currently Feeding Carolinas is focused on non-perishable foods to people. Refer to the information from the chat about D-SNAP.
  • Diane also shared the North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition was working to operationalize getting infant feeding kits together to support both breastfed and formula fed infants.
  • Lisa Nee shared the executive directors for North Carolina Cooperative Extension across the state are meeting multiple times a week and are hearing the needs from the western part of the state directly.
  • Alice Ammerman shared Carolina Farm Stewardship Association has released information related to agriculture.
  • Konnie Tran shared Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) has been preparing the launch of Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) on October 18th.
• Grounding and Level Setting: Priority Review
  • The Limited Access to Healthy Foods 2023-2024 priorities were as follows. Revisions for 2024-2025 and updates are included below each priority.
    • Priority: Enhance how children and families access programs supporting their well-being, including SNAP, WIC, CACFP, school and summer nutrition programs, Medicaid, Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP), and NCCARE360 through better data and analysis, infrastructure, and integration.
      • Discussed improving connections between community members and various programs, particularly through NCCARE360 and data analysis strategies, with a focus on Healthy Opportunities Pilot, and Medicaid involvement.
      • Noted ongoing anticipation regarding the approval of a waiver for statewide expansion and suggested exploring how established infrastructures could aid disaster response, such as during hurricanes.
      • Identified challenges related to the integration of NCCARE360 across different health systems, leading to varied usage and lack of a standardized referral mechanism.
      • Emphasized the need for additional platforms to facilitate referrals and streamline data collection, as many health facilities are hesitant to adopt NCCARE360.
      • Mentioned the state’s inability to mandate the use of NCCARE360 for all health systems, highlighting the need for voluntary uptake and feedback from partners not utilizing the platform.
      • Briefed on an upcoming discussion regarding the NCDHHS State Action Plan for Nutrition Security 2023-2024, which aimed to assess the effectiveness of various programs against established benchmarks, with an acknowledgment of potential delays due to recent events.
      • Those present were in favor of continuing with this priority.
    • Priority: Provide financial incentives such as “Double Up Food Bucks” and Produce Prescriptions for SNAP/ FNS recipients for purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables from grocery stores and farmers markets AND Support farmers markets and enable Electronic Benefit Transfer payment at farmers markets.
      • Discussed DUNC (Double Up Food Bucks NC) is a nutrition incentive program that provides a dollar-for-dollar match for SNAP/EBT and NC Farmers Market Nutrition Program benefits.
      • Discussed the implementation of the Double Up Food Bucks program at farmers markets in Mecklenburg County, with a focus on increasing access for SNAP participants.
      • Highlighted the successful pilot of the SNAP Double Up Bucks at the regional market, aiming to assess its effectiveness through pre-and post-surveys and potentially expand electronic SNAP systems in the future.
      • Emphasized the importance of collaboration with local organizations, like the Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, to manage program implementation due to staffing constraints at the state level.
      • Acknowledged the need for additional funding and staffing support to address the administrative burdens associated with running SNAP and related programs effectively.
      • Recognized the potential impact of recent disasters, like hurricanes, on the urgency and prioritization of nutrition programs and services in the community.
      • Stressed that any funding requests for programs like Double Up Food Bucks should consider not only the match but also necessary staffing to support effective execution.
    • Priority: Collaborate with community partners to provide nutritious and culturally responsive options at food banks and pantries and soup kitchens.
      • To be discussed at future meetings.
• Structure for 2024-2025
  • The group discussed plans to reduce the frequency of meetings to every other month, while remaining open to urgent discussions as needed, such as during emergencies.
  • Emphasis was placed on sharing resources and networking rather than adding more tasks to participants' workloads unless necessary.
  • Upcoming meetings will be scheduled for December and February, with a focus on updates and monitoring ongoing work in established areas.
• Closing
  • A poll will be sent out to determine a suitable time for the December meeting.
  • Participants agreed to share chat information and relevant links after the meeting for broader dissemination.