News & Stories

NC's Health Secretary advocates support for pilot health initiative North Carolina’s Health Secretary is in the mountains highlighting the need for a pilot health program to be included in the state's budget.

Western NC braces for end of Medicaid program that funded food, health supportThe first-in-the-nation Healthy Opportunities Pilot helped nearly 30,000 North Carolinians access food, housing repairs, and transportation. Without funding, the program will shut down July 1.

Advocates for North Carolina public health program lobby lawmakers in RaleighSupporters of a program that provides services to Medicaid recipients are in Raleigh June 4 to call on the legislature to fund it.

Funding for statewide health initiative uncertainA pilot program aimed at improving North Carolinians’ overall health is at risk of shuttering as state lawmakers have currently removed its funding from the proposed 2025-2027 budget.

A ‘Godsend for recipients,’ HOP may lose funding - Hendersonville LightningHendersonville, NC - The fastest name in news. Local News, Sports, Politics, Weather, etc.

They ‘won’t get food’: Healthy Opportunities advocates press lawmakers to reconsider ending fundingPartners were told Healthy Opportunities will end July 1 because proposed state spending plans eliminate its funding.

A Holistic Approach to Health Care Is Helping to Keep Rural North Carolinians HousedSeeking to combat the root causes of health disparities, an innovative initiative focuses on access to food, transportation and housing.

El primer programa piloto de prescripción de alimentos de Medicaid en WNC está pendiente de renovaciónCaja Solidaria es uno de los 57 programas piloto de Oportunidades Saludables en el oeste de Carolina del Norte. Los fondos se destinan a un enfoque preventivo de la salud, conocido como "alimentos como medicina".

‘Deep care work:’ Medicaid's first food prescription pilot in WNC up for renewalCaja Solidaria is one of 57 Healthy Opportunities Pilot programs in Western North Carolina. Funds go to a preventative approach to health, known as "food as medicine."

In North Carolina, a radical experiment targets social determinants of health with fresh produce and safe housingIn North Carolina, a pilot program aims to comprehensively test and evaluate how increasing access to healthy food and safe housing can improve health outcomes.

North Carolina’s radical Medicaid reinventionNorth Carolina Medicaid has undergone a radical transformation emphasizing preventive care and social determinants of health.

News Releases

Healthy Opportunities Pilot Fuels Local Farm Economy and Improves Health in Western NC

Since joining North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) in 2022, local nonprofit Caja Solidaria has provided health-supporting services to 532 families, including the delivery of more than $2.4 million of local food.

NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai Visits Western North Carolina and Highlights Mental Health Resources, Importance of Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program

Secretary Sangvai will tour Caja Solidaria, a human service organization serving Henderson and Transylvania Counties that is a provider for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program.

Sonya's Reflections

A big part of what we do at Caja shifts the narrative about the lives of people experiencing food insecurity. Learn more about what we see and here every day by following our stories.