The Healthy Opportunities (HOP) pilot program will resume operations in early 2027, albeit on a reduced scale. Until its suspension, the program used Medicaid funds to help people in rural from North Carolina with food, housing, and transportation. In this new phase, it will only deliver boxes of healthy food.

So what announced this Monday The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced that the boxes will be delivered weekly to homes in the 33 counties participating in the program. They will be available to Medicaid recipients who are food insecure and pregnant, or who have diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

“We know that food is medicine,” said Dev Sangvai, North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services. “By focusing on food insecurity, we keep our most vulnerable neighbors healthy at home and demonstrate that proactive nutrition is one of the most effective tools we have to keep people out of the hospital.”

The program has been on hold for more than 16 months, after being suspended on July 1, 2025, when the The North Carolina General Assembly did not allocate funds to itAs of April 30, 2025, shortly before the suspension, more than 43,000 people were registered. according to NCDHHS.

Requirements to receive the boxes

The boxes are for people with a Medicaid health plan who live in one of the three regions of the programAccording to the NCDHHS, the regions do not change with the relaunch and remain the west, northeast, and southeast of the state.

In the West, Impact Health coordinates the service in 18 counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey.

In the northeast, Access East serves nine counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, and Pitt. And in the southeast, Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear serves six: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender.

The evaluation will be conducted by care managers from Medicaid health plans or organizations designated by those plans. They will review each person's eligibility and connect them with community organizations that will make the deliveries.

There is no start date yet. The NCDHHS will announce it to the organizations at least 30 days before deliveries begin. This phase will last until June 30, 2027.

>> HOP program regions

A smaller program than the original

HOP began in March 2022. It was the nation's first comprehensive program to use Medicaid funds for non-medical services and to measure their impact on health. It came to cover food, housing, transportation, and safety from violence and toxic stress.

The new phase will have less funding and, consequently, less scope. The General Assembly approved $9 million in the state budget. With the equivalent federal funding, the total investment is around $25 million. The federal government had authorized up to $650 million over five years for the program.

“While we are starting with a reduced framework to maximize current funding, we know how powerful this program is,” said Melanie Bush, NC Medicaid Assistant Secretary. “Our hope is to expand services in the future, as more resources become available, so we can continue to build on this success.”

Related:  Where to get free food assistance in North Carolina

The results of the evaluation

The relaunch is based on a study by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina, which studied the effects of the program on more than 31,000 participants.

According to the study, HOP reduced healthcare costs by an average of $164 per person per month. Participants visited the emergency room less often and had fewer hospitalizations.

Those who believe they qualify can inquire with their Medicaid health plan. The NCDHHS also answers questions at its Customer Service Center at 1-800-662-7030.

>>> You can find more information by visiting the site Healthy Opportunities Pilot from NCDHHS.

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The Healthy Opportunities program returns in 2027, but only with food boxes.

by Patricia Serrano, Enlace Latino NC
November 10, 2026

Enlace Latino NCNovember 10, 2026 The Healthy Opportunities pilot program (known as HOP) will resume operations in early 2027, albeit on a reduced scale. Until its suspension, the program used Medicaid funds to help people in rural North Carolina with food, housing, and transportation. In this new phase, it will only deliver boxes of healthy food. This was announced on Monday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). According to reports, the boxes will be delivered to homes every week in the 33 counties that are part of the program. They will be available to people with Medicaid who are food insecure and pregnant, or who have diabetes or cardiovascular disease. “We know that food is medicine,” said Dev Sangvai, North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services. “By focusing on food insecurity, we keep our most at-risk neighbors healthy at home and demonstrate that proactive nutrition is one of the most effective tools we have to keep people out of the hospital.” The program has been stalled for more than 16 months, after being suspended on July 1, 2025, when the North Carolina General Assembly did not allocate funds to it . As of April 30, 2025, shortly before the suspension, more than 43,000 people were enrolled, according to the NCDHHS . Requirements to receive the boxes The boxes are for people with a Medicaid health plan who live in one of the program's three regions . According to the NCDHHS, the regions do not change with the relaunch and remain the west, northeast, and southeast of the state. In the West, Impact Health coordinates the service in 18 counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey. In the northeast, Access East serves nine counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton and Pitt. And in the Southeast, Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear serves six: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender. The evaluation will be conducted by care managers from Medicaid health plans or organizations designated by those plans. They will check if each person qualifies and connect them with community organizations that will make the deliveries. There is no start date yet. The NCDHHS will announce it to the organizations at least 30 days before the deliveries begin. This stage will last until June 30, 2027. >> HOP program regions A smaller program than the original HOP began in March 2022. It was the first comprehensive program in the country to use Medicaid funds for non-medical services and to measure their impact on health. It came to cover food, housing, transportation and security services in the face of violence and toxic stress. The new phase will have less funding and, therefore, less scope. The General Assembly approved $9 million in the state budget. With equivalent federal funds, the total investment is around $25 million. The federal government had authorized up to $650 million over five years for the program. “While we are starting with a reduced framework to maximize current funding, we know how powerful this program is,” said Melanie Bush, NC Medicaid Assistant Secretary. “Our hope is to expand services in the future, as more resources become available, so that we can continue to build on this success.” Related: Where to get free food assistance in North Carolina The results of the evaluation The relaunch is based on a study by the Cecil G. Center. Sheps for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina, which studied the effects of the program on more than 31,000 participants . According to the study, HOP reduced healthcare costs by an average of $164 per month per person. Participants visited the emergency room less often and had fewer hospitalizations. Those who believe they qualify can inquire at their Medicaid health plan. The NCDHHS also answers questions at its Customer Service Center, at 1-800-662-7030. >>> You can find more information by visiting the NCDHHS Healthy Opportunities Pilot website. This article first appeared onEnlace Latino NCand is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://enlacelatinonc.org/vuelve-el-programa-oportunidades-saludables-en-2027-pero-solo-con-cajas-de-alimentos/", urlref: window.location.href }); } }

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