Hunger & Health Coalition, Inc.

10/29/2026

Nearly half of the world’s population will go through menopause at some point in their lives, and yet it remains under-discussed outside of a medical provider's office. October is World Menopause Month, so let's talk about it!

Read as Andrea Brubaker (NP), Kim Carter (MA, LPA), and Maura Ward (MS, RDN, LDN) share about the physical and mental challenges of menopause and the nutrition recommendations to help.

“It's just this huge constellation of different things that makes us feel like we don't know ourselves anymore,” Kim said. “It's hard to be comfortable in your own skin.”

Read more at www.hungerandhealthcoalition.org/blog and join the conversation.

10/26/2026

A Magical Night in Our Front Yard! 🦇🎃✨

Halloween is all about neighborhood magic, and we loved seeing all of the agencies who came together to transform our parking lot for the annual celebration of Brook Hollow-een. Here’s to strong partnerships and happy, safe kids! 🍭👻

Hospitality House Northwest NC Casting Bread The Children's Council of Watauga County, Inc. Republic Services Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC The Meeting Place New River Light & Power Northwestern Regional Housing Authority

10/21/2026

Director of Development Tara Stollenmaier represented HHC at the Blue Cross NC Foundation's 2026 All-Grantee Convening in Cary, where we saw a few familiar faces from some local agencies!

Tara enjoyed conference sessions addressing barriers to care and improving health outcomes in rural communities, exploring ways to tell the impactful stories of our community, and latest developments in NC's rural health efforts. It was great connecting with other agencies that are also doing the work to strengthen our communities. Thank you, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina, for having us at this event and for your longstanding partnership and support for our Food is Medicine program.

10/20/2026

Staff spotlight alert for National Pharmacy Technician Day! 🚨💊

At 8:30 a.m. when Pharmacy Technician Alyssia Medina walks into the agency's free pharmacy, she’s listening to voicemails left by patients and providers, checking the queue of medications to be dispensed, starting to print out clients’ prescriptions for the day, and boxing up medications to be taken to the post office by an HHC staff member to be mailed to patients.

Half an hour goes by, and she and the other three pharmacy team members start the marathon of the day when HHC begins serving folks at 9 a.m. The day is nonstop until 4:30 p.m. between the team gathering free prescriptions for patients who drive up, answering incoming patient phone calls, managing pharmacy transfers to and from other pharmacies, calling providers’ offices on behalf of patients, and getting orders ready to purchase medications for the next day. By the time the week has ended, the pharmacy team typically has filled around 500 prescriptions.

“There is never a boring day in the pharmacy; every day comes with a problem where I can help our clients find a solution,” Alyssia said.

Thank you for all you do for us, Alyssia! ❤

To read more of our spotlight on Alyssia, visit www.hungerandhealthcoalition.org/blog. Help us share our appreciation with Alyssia and our pharmacy team in the comments!

10/15/2026

We have great news! Between the donations we've received and insurance coverage, we're able to replenish our emergency funds used to replace two HVAC units! Any additional donations we continue to receive will go into our emergency fund to help us stay prepared for any future emergencies that may come our way.

If you've been considering donating to HHC but haven't yet, keep us in mind for end-of-year giving as we go into the colder months and holiday season. Thank you to our donors who contributed to help replenish our emergency funds, and to Edmisten Heating and Cooling for the installation and continued partnership. 💕

10/14/2026

Want to participate in National Dessert Day but want a healthier option? Try these sweet and fudgy Black Bean Brownies packed with protein and fiber.

We know what you're thinking: "I don't know about putting black beans in brownies." We promise, it's delicious and it doesn't at all taste like black beans. Plus, you get to have a dessert AND know you're getting grams of protein and fiber!

Find the recipe card at www.hungerandhealthcoalition.org/recipes-and-demos. The recipe card can also be found below in the comments.

Try out the recipe and let us know what you think!

10/12/2026

As we've been enjoying fall weather lately, Food Recovery Kitchen Coordinator Laura Loomis and volunteers cooked up this Fall Harvest Soup last week, using some squash and green peppers from Full Moon Farm.

We're grateful to be able to provide local produce from our community to our community, and to have partners like Blue Ridge Energy that provide funds to make that happen. Thank you, Blue Ridge Energy, for your continued support of our efforts to provide local produce to our neighbors and for having us at your awards dinner last week.

We couldn’t fill our neighbors' plates — or in this case, soup bowls — without our wonderful community partnerships. 🍲🍂

10/08/2026

Thankful for our friends at OASIS Inc.! Our continued partnership together combines trauma-informed services for those experiencing peer and intimate partner violence with our access to free food, medication, and primary care.

Real community wellness takes a village. We’re proud to partner with local agencies to be a part of that village. ❤️

10/05/2026

📣 Calling all pharmacists: Our community needs your expertise! 💊

During this American Pharmacists Month, we want to acknowledge how our Pharmacist, Brianne Wolf, is working each day to ensure our folks have access to the medications that they need. We'd love to ensure she gets a break AND our community can still access their medications while she's gone.

We're looking for a volunteer pharmacist to fill in for Brianne in November. If you're a licensed pharmacist and can volunteer your time Nov. 12, Nov. 13, Nov. 16-20, or Nov. 23, please contact Manager of Health Access Morgan Baker at [email protected] or 828-262-1628. Hours are flexible between 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Partial days are also welcome!

Come and help your community by ensuring our neighbors have the medications they need to stay healthy! ❤️‍🩹

10/01/2026