Written By: Various Members of the North Carolina CSNS Team
The Coordinating SNAP and Nutrition Supports (CSNS) program strengthens access to human services by aligning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with other nutrition supports. CSNS also works to center individuals with lived experience by giving them a voice through the Community Impact Council (CIC), which guides the funding of innovative projects. The blog post below is part of a series from APHSA that will share insights and stories from each team involved, highlighting the program’s impact on service delivery and community engagement.
Last fall saw the conclusion of two wonderful years of partnership as the North Carolina Coordinating SNAP and Nutrition Supports (CSNS) Cohort 2 team. During that time, our work has expanded and evolved as we navigated both unanticipated challenges and unexpected opportunities. Together, we have worked hard to meet families where they are by creating open doors to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Medicaid through K-12 school partnerships and health partnerships. Along the way, we have modernized the work of enrollment support partners across North Carolina by creating a pathway for benefit navigators to engage directly with our state enrollment website.
Increasing access to basic needs programs is collaborative work. It is work that requires connections and relationships across state agencies, county agencies, community partners, and community members. Our North Carolina CSNS team is a collective of more than 70 team members, 9 family champions, and 3 student champions working across 22 organizations. The best way to reflect on this shared experience is to hear from our team members in their own words. Here, we share a collection of moments that stand out from our two years as the NC CSNS team.
CSNS Team Member Reflections
While there are many successful examples that demonstrate the power of the partnerships developed through the CSNS initiative in Western NC, one of my favorite moments came after the disaster caused by Hurricane Helene.
When North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) announced the rollout of Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) benefits for the region with a short window for enrollment, the CSNS collaborative kicked into action. Meals4Families quickly mocked up outreach materials with information about D-SNAP and sent these to a local printer for production; MANNA FoodBank received and distributed these materials at temporary food distribution sites set up immediately after the storm and also delivered a set of materials to the central office of Buncombe County Schools; and the [school district’s] Child Nutrition Director herself delivered packages of the materials to three county football games happening that Friday night!
At a UNETE Community event, I witnessed a quiet but powerful moment between a mom and one of our Community Health Workers (CHW). In a lively room filled with music, children, and resource tables, the trust between them stood out. Our CHW later shared how proud mom was, as well as relieved [to have successfully enrolled in SUN Bucks]. She also wanted to double-check how to use the brand new SUN Bucks card with her CHW.
That exchange, filled with trust and care, showed what true access looks like. It wasn’t just about benefits—it was about dignity. That mom now knows she’s not alone. She has someone by her side for whatever comes next.
A moment that stands out to me is when a partner questioned why we were focusing on SNAP outreach in Buncombe County, one of North Carolina’s more prosperous areas. Thanks to CSNS, I was able to explain that county-level statistics often mask deep, localized need. In some census tracts [in the county], child poverty exceeds 20%. Without targeted outreach, kids go hungry, which undermines their ability to learn, exacerbates health issues, and often lowers lifetime earnings. CSNS has reinforced that our role isn’t just service coordination—it’s about helping partners see beyond averages to identify who’s being left out, and where. It’s about making equity actionable through better data and deeper engagement.
Participating in the CSNS “SNAP in Schools” grant project has given our team the time and space to intentionally focus on SNAP challenges. These include issues facing working caretakers with school-age children and the goal of better meeting families where they are. Our Benefits Outreach team supported SNAP enrollment in schools by training all Summer Food Service volunteers on the Food Bank’s SNAP Outreach program to allow families to connect with benefits while picking up non-congregate Summer meals in Vance County.
The turnout at each distribution showed not only the need in the community but also the trust placed in our organization as a supportive resource for the whole person. We know when people ask us, “When are you going to be back onsite?” that it means there is a need for consistent and accessible resources in rural counties of North Carolina.
One of the greatest barriers rural families are facing is language access. In our outreach, a Spanish-speaking team member connected with a mother who only spoke Spanish. She had tried to apply on her own for SNAP several times but was denied each time, as she struggled with the language barrier, complicated policies, and confusing documents that were not in her preferred language. When we can be a bridge, we witness the relief on a person’s face when they realize that not only do we care but we can also eliminate access barriers. We get to see the real-world expression of why we do what we do, and why no one should be hungry.
Alyzia McAlmon
Associate Director of Community and Family Engagement of the Community Schools Model
Thanks to the CSNS grant, Vance County Schools introduced Family and Student Champion positions to elevate community voice and leadership. Family Champions—parents or guardians—support school resource centers and gather feedback on food access and benefit enrollment. Student Champions—11th and 12th graders—lead peer financial literacy efforts and assist in managing school resource materials. Both roles offer paid, hands-on leadership opportunities that foster equity and engagement throughout the school community.
Chelsea Swanson
Assistant Research Director of Child and Family Health Policy
One of the most powerful moments in developing the CSNS model was interviewing the staff behind the data flows and integration. While data sharing and integration may seem straightforward in theory, these conversations revealed the complex, behind-the-scenes work marked by constant iteration and problem-solving that made it all possible. Every staff member showed a deep commitment to supporting families, working tirelessly to ensure they had access to the services and resources essential to their well-being.
One interviewee shared the following quote: “The…group that meets really is diverse in terms of their purposes and their day-to-day work and yet they’ve all come to that place with this [health partnerships] pilot where they’re all on one page trying to get to one outcome which has been a beautiful thing to witness…”
As a member of the NC Medicaid team, it was eye-opening to hear from CSNS project partners regarding some of the challenges they faced trying to connect individuals to nutrition and healthcare resources simultaneously, particularly when using our statewide enrollment system.
This project helped to advance NC Medicaid’s goal to meet members’ health-related needs and was critical in uncovering the biggest barriers to that work for our health plans and community partners. There is continued interest in finding new and innovative ways to increase Medicaid member enrollment in SNAP and provide additional nutrition supports as this project winds down.
Contributing Authors
- Kate Hanson, Executive Director, Meals4Families
- Konnie Khánh Tran, SNAP Education & Outreach Coordinator, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS
- Glenn Wise, CSNS Consulting Support, Former Director of Programs, MANNA FoodBank
- Norma Duran Brown J.D., Executive Director, UNETE
- Jenna Bryant, Senior Program Director, MDC
- Emily Kraft, Director of Community Outreach, Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina
- Alyzia McAlmon, Associate Director of Community and Family Engagement of the Community Schools Model, Student U Durham
- Chelsea Swanson, Assistant Research Director, Child and Family Health Policy, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy
- Chavanne Lamb, Special Projects Evaluator, NC Medicaid