Governor Stein Celebrates Eight Millionth Meals on Wheels Delivery in Forsyth County, Highlights Work to Keep North Carolinians Fed

Today Governor Josh Stein joined Meals on Wheels and Senior Services Inc. to deliver their eight millionth meal in Forsyth County to Mr. Ben Briggs, a 105-year-old retired science educator and Meals on Wheels participant.

“As grocery prices continue to rise, too many North Carolinians worry every day about where their next meal is coming from,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Delivering eight million meals is an incredible milestone, and I am grateful to the Meals on Wheels and Senior Services team and every volunteer who connects people to the food they need. North Carolina will continue working to lower costs for families and expand access to nutritious meals to fight hunger.”

Governor Stein is working to protect the approximately 1.25 million North Carolinians, including hundreds of thousands of children, veterans, people with disabilities, older adults, and working families, who rely on SNAP benefits to afford the rising cost of groceries. Last month, the Governor sent a letter to Congressional leaders and the North Carolina congressional delegation urging them to repeal the harmful work requirements in H.R. 1 that puts as many as 90,000 North Carolinians covered by SNAP at risk of losing their access to food support by shifting millions of dollars in costs to states and counties. 

Governor Stein is committed to ensuring North Carolina families can put food on the table.  

• Food Banks: In July, Governor Stein signed a budget providing more than $9 million to support food banks and North Carolina farmers. When the federal government shutdown disrupted SNAP benefits in November 2025, Governor Stein leveraged $22 million from public and private partners to support food banks across the state. 
• SUN Bucks: One in five North Carolina children live in households without consistent access to food. In July, Governor Stein signed into law a state budget that fully funds SUN Bucks for the summer of 2027. The SUN Bucks program helps families afford groceries when school is out, providing nutritious food for more than a million North Carolina children throughout the summer. The SUN Bucks program delivers a 25-to-1 return on investment, with the state receiving $25 from the federal government for every dollar contributed, ultimately bringing about $125 million to a million North Carolina children for food each summer. 
• School Breakfast: Governor Stein recommended providing free school breakfast for all North Carolina students in his proposed budget, ensuring kids can show up for school ready to learn. 
• Head Start: Last month, Governor Stein called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to protect key standards for Head Start programs as the department considers proposed changes to the federal program. Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive programs that provide more than 17,600 North Carolina children from birth to age five with high-quality early education, care, and services including nutritious foods that prepare children for school and beyond. 
• Healthy Opportunities Pilot: In July, Governor Stein signed into law a state budget that restores the Healthy Opportunities Pilot program to provide Medicaid recipients with preventative health interventions like food, housing, and transportation that are proven to reduce health care costs by an average of $164 per month. Today Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced the program will relaunch in 2027, focused exclusively on addressing food insecurity, thanks in part to a $9 million investment from the General Assembly and $16 million in matching federal funding. 

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