North Carolina

NC Celebrates A Half Century Of Helping Feed Women And Infants – The Rhino Times of Greensboro

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2024

NC Celebrates A Half Century Of Helping Feed Women And Infants – The Rhino Times of Greensboro

In 2024, the State of North Carolina is celebrating 50 years of a well-known food benefits program titled “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children” – better known as WIC.

The program has grown tremendously over the years, and now Guilford County, to take just one example of that growth, operates a WIC van that takes services to clients rather than making them come down to a county building.

The North Carolina WIC program helps ensure that mothers, babies and young children across the state have the food and other support they need so the youngsters have a strong and healthy start in life.

Over the decades, multiple studies have found that WIC programs improve pregnancy and birth outcomes, resulting in healthier babies.

Also, children who receive WIC support have demonstrated better intellectual development later in life than those who didn’t benefit from the program.

According to state officials, the current WIC program helps out over 230,000 women, infants and children in North Carolina. Each year, the program provides access to supplemental healthy foods, nutrition education, and breastfeeding training – and it also offers support and referrals for health care and social services.

The WIC program brings roughly $200 million in federal funds into North Carolina and allows families to buy approved foods and other items at over 1,500 stores and other food retailers.

Director of the NC Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child and Family Well-Being Yvonne Copeland stated in a Monday, June 10 press release celebrating the 50-year milestone of the program, that it is critical to supporting women, kids and infants in the state.

“WIC supports half of all infants born in North Carolina by providing access to the best resources and services for mothers and children,” she said. “This year, we recognize an incredible milestone in the evolution of maternal and child health care with the 50th anniversary of the WIC program. Since the opening of the first clinic in 1974, WIC has been an unwavering beacon of support committed to improving public health outcomes for women, infants and children.”

In 1974, the federal WIC program provided supplemental food to 88,000 people across the entire country. Back then, their average food benefit was $15.88 per month.

Since then, like many government programs, it has grown exponentially: In 2023, WIC provided food for 6.6 million women, infants, and children nationally whose average food benefit was $56 a month.

WIC food benefits provide a wide range of foods for clients – including fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals and dairy products.

The monetary value of these benefits can reach up to $240 a month.

WIC is available to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, and infants and children up to the age of 5.

Foster families with qualifying individuals may also be eligible to receive WIC benefits.

To qualify, NC WIC participants have to live in the state and have a family income of less than 185 percent of the US Poverty Income Guidelines. That’s roughly less than $57,720 in annual income for a family of four.

Those who are receiving Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – also known as Work First – or NC Food and Nutrition Services, automatically meet the WIC Income Guidelines.

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North Carolina

‘It was dire’: NC State professor returns from Qatar after being trapped during Iran war

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

‘It was dire’: NC State professor returns from Qatar after being trapped during Iran war

An North Carolina State University professor is back home Monday night after he was trapped in the Middle East as war with Iran broke out.

Rich Spontak was stuck in Qatar while traveling from Bangkok to Spain and was forced to stay in the country for about a week. Several travelers were trapped for days in the Middle East after Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several defense leaders were
killed in joint strikes by the United States and Israel.

Spontak, like many travelers, found himself stranded in the Middle East after the initial attacks, which quickly entangled more surrounding countries, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where seven U.S. service members were killed in retaliatory attacks from Iran.

Spontak said there were times he thought he wouldn’t make it out.

“I would just keep looking out and looking for the missiles,” Spontak said. “Some people that I met along the way were hit by shrapnel from the missles. It was dire.”

Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria remained closed, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. Azerbaijan also shut the southern sector of its airspace on Thursday after accusing Iran of a drone attack that injured four civilians and damaged an airport building.

Lilia Austin, a Chapel Hill woman who was part of a group of 100 women who went to Israel for a trip the day before Khamenei was killed, also returned home on Sunday after she left Israel through Egypt.

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North Carolina

Gov. Stein proposes $1.4B ‘critical needs’ budget for North Carolina

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Stein proposes .4B ‘critical needs’ budget for North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WLOS) — With North Carolina still without a new state budget, Gov. Josh Stein is urging state lawmakers to approve a $1.4 billion “Critical Needs Budget.” Stein says this budget will address the state’s most urgent priorities while the General Assembly works on a full spending plan.

“North Carolina has gone nearly two and a half years without passing a new state budget – the only state in the country to finish 2025 without one[…]This budget invests in critical public safety, education and health care services for the people of North Carolina that cannot wait,” Gov. Stein said in a press release Monday.

A major part of Stein’s proposal is $319 million to fully fund Medicaid, which provides health coverage to over three million North Carolinians. This program also supports rural hospitals, nursing homes and statewide health care providers, per the release.

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The “Critical Needs Budget” would target public safety staffing and pay. According to the governor’s office, North Carolina currently ranks 49th in starting salaries for state troopers and correctional officers, and low pay has contributed to staffing shortages and vacancy rates. This budget would bring pay raises to correctional officers, law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers and more.

Stein’s proposed budget calls for raising starting and average teacher pay, as well as increasing pay for senior teachers and other education staff. The governor’s office said the state remains in the bottom 10 nationally in average teacher pay.

The budget proposal also includes pay increases for state employees and a cost-of-living adjustment for retired state employees, citing rising inflation costs and increasing health care premiums. Stein’s plan also includes targeted funding to maintain essential services, such as support for child care access and affordability.

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North Carolina

The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two

Published

2 days ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum has announced a new season of “Spring Into the Arb!”

The “Spring Into the Arb!” is in its second year, with its series of plant shows and sales, science and nature activities, music, and art, allowing people to reemerge and reconnect with nature.

The season begins with Nature Play Day on Saturday, March 14, continuing through April, May, and June with new activities every weekend.

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According to a news release, throughout the season, guests can enjoy the following:

Asheville Orchid Festival, annual Ikebana and Rose shows
Purchase plants at the Spring Plant Sale and Market
Get back to their native roots with Native Azalea Day, Mountain Science Expo, and Nature Play Day

The series culminates with Bonsai in the Blue Ridge in June, according to the release.

The release says guests and members are invited to drop in on the newly-opened Arbor Eatery in the Arboretum’s Education Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Hours extend to 5 p.m. beginning April 1.

Spring Into the Arb events and programs are included with the regular Arboretum parking fee of $25 per vehicle. Arboretum Society Members get in free.

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According to the release, additional admission is required for the Asheville Orchid Festival and Bonsai in the Blue Ridge.

A full list of the Spring Into the Arb 2026 events includes: