EXPANSION OF BENEFITS TO PROMOTE FOOD SECURITY AMONG STUDENTS IN CLEVELAND COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

Healthy People 2030 targets several social determinants of health (SDOH) for improvement, including eliminating very low food security in children (VLFS-C). VLFS-C is the most extreme version of food insecurity (FI) and is associated with negative outcomes in the short- and long-term. In Cleveland County (CC), North Carolina (NC), 23.2% of children under 18 years of age experience FI. Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer-CC (SEBT-CC) and Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) utilize proven methodologies within existing federal and school-level structures to increase food access in students under 18 in CC. SEBT-CC targets families receiving free and reduced lunch (FRL) at baseline to receive $60 monthly food benefits during school breaks, while CEP extends FRL benefits to all students in CC. The goal of SEBTCC and CEP is to provoke a 30% reduction in CC childhood VLFS over a three-year implementation period.Master of Public Healt