2024 AGENDA

NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference

The NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference is hosted by the Carolina Hunger Initiative, based at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Thank you to this year’s conference sponsors: the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC and the national No Kid Hungry campaign.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

8:00am

Registration and Breakfast

8:30am

Opening Ceremony

  • UNC Brass Quintet performs the Olympic theme song

8:45am

Welcome 

  • Ryan Mitchell, 2022 NC Western Region Teacher of the Year, and Lead Conference Sportscaster
  • Lou Anne Crumpler, Director, Carolina Hunger Initiative (CHI), UNC-Chapel Hill 
  • Video message from Billy Shore, Founder and Executive Chariman, Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry

9:00am

Olympic Keynote

  • Introduction by Alice Ammerman, Director, UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
  • Sue Walsh, Olympian, NC Sports Hall of Fame Member, and Cancer Research Fundraiser

9:15am

Getting Innovative with School Breakfast

  • Geoff Coltrane, Senior Education Advisor, NC Office of the Governor
  • Johnston County Schools
    • Jennifer Lawson, School Nutrition Director 
    • David Pearce, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative and Auxiliary Services 
    • Tamara Poland, Principal, Polenta Elementary 

9:35am

School Nutrition: Building Winning Teams

  • Lynn Harvey, Senior Director, Office of School Nutrition, NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI)
  • April Jordan, School Nutrition Director, Sampson County Schools
  • Lauren Weyand, School Nutrition Director, Craven County Schools 

10:00am

BREAK and NETWORKING 

10:15am

Synchronizing with School Meals for All NC

  • Alecia Sanders, Partner Engagement Coordinator, North Carolina Alliance for Health
  • Kayla Holland, Food & Nutrition Program Manager, The Center for Black Health & Equity
  • Shanice Roache, Food & Nutrition Program Manager, The Center for Black Health & Equity
  • Chester B. Williams, Chief Empowerment Officer, A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2)
  • Amina Smallwood, student and SMFA NC Ambassador (Bertie County)
  • Amiya Smith, student and SMFA NC Ambassador (Bertie County)

Action Step

Visit SchoolMealsforAllNC.org find ways to take action, see the new videos, and much more.

10:40am

Community Champion Interview

  • Dana Ellis, Sr. Director of Child & Senior Nutrition Programs, Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC 
  • Brittany Maass, Director of Power Scholars, YMCA of the Triangle 

10:50am

Update from NC Department of Health and Human Services

  • Yvonne Copeland, Director, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS

11:00am

Champion Perspectives: “How Do You Keep the Flame Burning?”

  • Moderators:
    • Kristin Cooper, First Lady of North Carolina, Office of the Governor 
    • Gerald Owens, News Anchor, WRAL-TV 
  • Panel:
    • Kimberly Jones, 2023 NC Teacher of the Year, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools 
    • Shea Bolick, 2023 NC Northwest Region Teacher of the Year, Caldwell County Schools
    • Teena Robinson, 2023 NC Sandhills Region Teacher of the Year, Richmond County Schools
    • Julie Pittman, Special Advisor to the Superintendent for Teacher Engagement, NC DPI  

11:40am

Special Performance

  • Raleigh Rockers Crew demonstrates the new Olympic sport, breaking 

12:00pm

LUNCH 

1:00pm

Documentary Preview

  • Tim Stevens, Journalist and Documentary Producer

1:10pm

Greeting from the School Nutrition Association of NC: “Tell Your Story”

  • Janet Johnson, 2023-24 President, School Nutrition Association of NC

1:15pm

Special Performance

  • UNC Chamber Singers

1:30pm

Serving Up New Approaches to Summer Meals

  • Tamara Baker, Project and Communications Director, CHI
  • Jennifer Bailey, Section Chief, Summer and Special Nutrition Programs, Office of School Nutrition, NC DPI 
  • Stephen Misenheimer, Franklin County Boys & Girls Club 
  • Cynthia Ervin, Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS 
  • Angela Morrison, Summer-EBT Coordinator, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS 

Action Step

Sign up for a Sun Bucks/Summer EBT informational webinar for NC education stakeholders on Tuesday March 5, Wednesday March 6, or Friday March 8 at 2pm.

Resources

Visit the Sun Bucks info page for everything related to Summer EBT in North Carolina.

See the new Summer Nutrition Program graphic resources from NC DPI.

Watch our video profiles of non-congregate summer meal sponsors.

Visit SummerMeals4NCKids.org and the NC Department of Public Instruction’s summer meals page for much more related to summer nutrition in North Carolina, including county data profiles.

2:00pm

BREAK and NETWORKING 

2:15pm

Special Appearance by the Stars of the Movie “Champions”

  • Kevin Iannucci, Special Olympics Global Messenger, “Johnny” in Champions, and STAR Performer
  • Brad Edens, Special Olympics Athlete, “Showtime” in Champions, and STAR Performer
  • Terri Dollar, Director of STAR: Special Theatre Arts of Raleigh; Founder & Talent Agent, KU Talent Agency

2:30pm

Creating Stronger SNAP Connections

  • Cynthia Ervin, Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition, Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC DHHS
  • SNAP in Schools
    • Kate Hanson, Founder and Executive Director, Meals4Families 
    • Lisa Payne, School Nutrition Director, Buncombe County Schools 
    • Shannon Boyd, McKinney-Vento and Foster Care Coordinator, Buncombe County Schools 
    • Brooke Schembri, Health and Nutrition Program Manager, MANNA Food Bank 
  • Delores Ortiz, Benefits Outreach Manager, Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC
  • Jessica Soldavini, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health; Research Specialist, No Kid Hungry NC and Carolina Hunger Initiative
  • Marlee Caregnato, Nutrition Specialist, Carolina Hunger Initiative 

Action Step

Connect with the team at Meals4Families to hear about our work with partners across North Carolina to link families to benefits including SNAP, Medicaid, and tax credits.

Resources

Get connected to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC’s Benefits Outreach team.

New Olympic-themed enrichment activities for summer meals sites and more.

Check out Carolina Hunger Initiative’s growing collection of nutrition education resources.

3:00pm

“How Will YOU Keep the Flame Burning?”

  • Introduced by Helen Roberts, Program Manager, Carolina Hunger Initiative 
  • Robert Taylor, Superintendent, Wake County Public School System

3:20pm

Closing Ceremony and Medal Awards

  • NC Arts in Action, empowering elementary school students through dance and live music  

3:40pm

Raffle Prize Drawing

4:00pm

THANK YOU for Coming!