HHS Homework and Resources

Review the resources and tackle the assignments below before joining your class via Zoom in February. Everything in the “Homework” section, including reviewing the Making Ends Meet materials and watching the instructional video, is required. Many additional resources are also included below for you to explore before or after session.

Session Workbook

Your HHS session workbook can be found through the link below. Explore the workbook in advance and make sure you have it accessible throughout the HHS session.

XXIX HHS Session Workbook

HHS Session Homework–Required

Review the Making Ends Meet materials and the resources that follow before the session kicks off on February 1.

Making Ends Meet Simulation Preparation This is your most important homework
Thursday morning’s program will include the “Making Ends Meet” simulation. To get the most out of this exercise, please do the following before Thursday morning:

Review the simulation instructions and materials under “Thursday Program Materials” in the Session Workbook. Get familiar with your assigned scenario, and start thinking about your shopping list.
Watch this 15-minute Making Ends Meet instructional video explaining simulation instructions and resources. The simulation will be done in your Learning Teams, not in the smaller groups mentioned in the video.
Review the resources linked below and be prepared to ask any questions about WIC or SNAP or food insecurity in general during Thursday’s “Food Insecurity” presentation or during the simulation instructions segment.
Consider volunteering to serve as your team’s Shopping Navigator or Expense Tracker.

Making Ends Meet Simulation Resources

Explore these online resources in advance. It will be helpful for everyone to also have access to them during the simulation on Thursday morning.

WIC Shopping Guide
SNAP Shopping Guide
MyPlate Kitchen and Good and Cheap
Your Team’s Tracking Spreadsheet
- Unique links for each Learning Team are included in the session workbook
Walmart Grocery Website
Food Insecurity in NC–Interactive Map Click “Play Map Overview” to learn how the map works and then explore the map yourself.
Bountiful Blessings Food Pantry Watch this short video.

Review these additional required resources before February 1.

America’s Health Rankings–full website. Links to select NC reports recommended for pre-reading included below.
“Racism Is a Public Health Crisis,” American Public Health Association

HHS Session Resources–Recommended

The following links are resources recommended by session presenters, planning committee members, and past LNC speakers. Exploring those that interest you will enrich your experience both during and after the February Health and Human Services Session. The required pieces from above are also included in their appropriate categories below.

Food Insecurity and Additional SNAP and WIC Resources

“NC Ranks 10th in Hunger in the Nation,” North Carolina Justice Center, January 25, 2021
“An Already Food-Insecure NC Sees Hunger on the Rise,” North Carolina Justice Center, July 7, 2021
The SNAP Challenge from Foodshare
SNAP Challenge Video
“SNAP Helps Struggling Families Put Food on the Table” Report from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
USDA SNAP-Ed Connection
“Voices of Hunger” podcast
Food and Nutrition Services Resource Page from NC DHHS
WIC FAQs
NC WIC Resources
NC eWIC Overview
SNAP Eligibility
USDA’s MyPlate–Healthy Eating on a Budget
Food Insecurity in NC–Interactive Map Click “Play Map Overview” to learn how the map works and then explore the map yourself.
Bountiful Blessings Food Pantry Watch this short video.
Feeding the Carolinas–includes links to 10 North Carolina Food Banks
Virtual Food Drives–includes resources for starting or contributing to a virtual food drive to support your local food bank

Healthcare Costs, Data, and Report Cards

Poverty, Equity, Economic Mobility, and Health

State and Community Resources

Rural Health and Healthcare Data

Rural Health Information Hub–North Carolina

Behavioral Health, Substance Use, and Violence Prevention

Safety Net and Child Welfare

“What If?” video from the federal Children’s Bureau
Family Forward NC
“Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)”, report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA)

Aging and End-of-Life Resources

Additional Resources

NC Medical Journal
“County and Municipal Government in North Carolina: Chapter 39, Social Services” from the UNC School of Government
ncIMPACT Episodes on UNC-TV
- Includes programs on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), rural healthcare shortages, mental health and incarceration, rural health transportation, and many more topics connected to all of LNC’s focus areas.
Kaiser Family Foundation
The Commonwealth Fund Blog