In this episode of the WNC Health Policy podcast, epidemiologist Dr. Patrick Baron, Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Integrated Health Sciences at Western Carolina University, helps us understand the big picture around food access and population health in WNC, and where things stand after multiple hits to food infrastructure, including: the end of emergency allotments for COVID-19 in the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program in 2023, Hurricane Helene in September 2024, cuts to the USDA in spring of 2025 and the passage of The One Big Bill Act of July 2025.

Learn more about North Carolina efforts to address health-related social needs via Medicaid and CHIP that are paving the way for a new approach to preventive healthcare and chronic disease management via non-medical social interventions, and that could serve as models for other states and Medicaid programs interested in exploring ways to address health-related social needs.