NACCHO’s Podcast from Washington: NACCHO’s Local Public Health on the Hill Update and How Durham County Department of Public Health is Addressing Food Insecurity for Local Families

Washington, DC, March 20, 2026 —This month’s podcast episode from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) includes an update on NACCHO’s Local Public Health on the Hill event, where more than 100 public health professionals from across the country traveled to Washington, DC to meet with their federal elected officials. Participants shared the importance of federal investments in local public health to help communities prepare for emergencies, prevent disease, and improve health outcomes. You can see visuals from the day here. Now that FY 2026 funding is law, NACCHO is focused on securing FY 2027 funding, including through a new action alert for members to engage. New advocacy training modules are now available on NACCHO University and include Engaging with Policy Change, Federal Legislative Process, and Federal Budget and Appropriations. For weekly updates, subscribe to NACCHO’s News from Washington newsletter: www.naccho.org/advocacy/news.

 

Later in the program (6:05), Kelly Warnock, Nutrition Program Manager at Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) in North Carolina, joins the podcast to discuss how the department works to address food insecurity and the lack of nutritious food options for families with children in Durham County.  For nearly a decade, Durham County has identified food access as a public health priority, with more than 1 in 6 families with children experiencing food insecurity. DCoDPH has focused on forming strategic community partnerships to increase education and access to nutrient-dense foods throughout the county. Some of these partnerships include working with early education and childcare centers to improve nutritional programs for underserved families with children under 5, the Durham Public School System to teach nutrition and cooking lessons to more than 30,000 students, and farmers’ markets to increase access to healthier food options by implementing a SNAP benefits incentive program called, “Double Bucks.”

 

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About NACCHO

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the over 3,300 local governmental health departments across the country. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information, visit www.naccho.org.