LSTA Grant Information

North Carolina libraries will provide inclusive, user-focused services that enable community-wide growth and transformation. Projects listed below address Goal 1 of the 2023-2027 LSTA Five Year Plan.

North Carolinians will have equitable access to information and technology needed to learn, live, govern, and work. Projects listed below address Goal 2 of the 2023-2027 LSTA Five Year Plan.

Appalachian Regional Library

Wilkes County Library Locker            Awarded: $35,272
The Town of Wilkesboro will collaborate with Wilkes County Public Library as a host for a Library Locker Kiosk.  The locker system will be an extension for the main library, which is located in North Wilkesboro.  It will be located in the town’s community commons area, nearby Wilkes County Heritage Museum.  Locating lockers downtown will be a great convenience to library users and will be an opportunity to decrease barriers to access.

Appalachian Regional Library

Supporting Lactation Through Library Spaces            Awarded: $22,000
The importance of breastfeeding for infant and maternal health is incontrovertible, and much has been done to raise awareness and increase support in maternal health and birthing centers. However, as families return to their homes and routines, they encounter significant barriers to breastfeeding, and many abandon the practice earlier than planned. This may indicate, as noted in the Center for Disease Control’s 2022 Breastfeeding Report Card, that “breastfeeding families may need stronger systems of support to reach their breastfeeding goals.” Our library aims to be part of the system that supports breastfeeding families by partnering with other organizations to provide a dedicated, convenient lactation space enhanced by resources to encourage families in their breastfeeding journey.

Craven-Pamlico Regional Library

Books and Babies @ Craven-Pamlico Regional Library            Awarded: $27,930
Books and Babies is a Lap time-structured program incorporating story time, singing, reading, dancing, and play to reinforce early literacy techniques in infants, toddlers, and disabled children. The program is developed for parents, legal guardians, grandparents, and caregivers. The grant will provide  52 staff kits to meet babies' and toddlers' exploratory, sensory, and literacy needs. The in-house program kits include 16 board books and interactives (scarves, bells, etc.) for participants and instructors to be shared by the six branches of CPRL in-house. In addition, circulating kits for each story time with bibliographies, reading tips, and instructions for parents and caregivers will be processed in backpacks for each library to expand access.

Elizabeth City State University, G. R. Little Library

Digital Heritage Center Satellite Digitization            Awarded: $87,155
The Elizabeth City State University Satellite for the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center allows the Center to expand its capacity and provides a more convenient drop off location for organizations in the eastern part of North Carolina. Staff at the Satellite focus on scanning print newspapers and preparing them to be shared online through DigitalNC.org.

Gaston College

Morris Library Emerging Technologies Lab            Awarded: $100,000
The Morris Library Emerging Technologies Lab will enhance the existing learning resources offered to the Gaston College community. The Lab will provide a creative and inclusive learning environment where patrons work independently or in small groups to collaborate, create, learn, and share ideas, focusing on supporting STEM identity-forming experiences through experiential learning opportunities. Located adjacent to the Learning Center and Writing Center in the Morris Library, a central nexus of Gaston College, the project will improve the library's ability to engage students and promote academic and personal success. LSTA funds will be used to purchase small equipment and supplies for the space and will meet the goals of Morris Library's 2018 strategic plan.

Gibsonville Public Library

Gathering a Community History            Awarded: $14,660
The Gibsonville Public Library will partner with the Faith Baptist Church and the Gibsonville Museum and Historical Society to gather and share the history of our local Black community.  This project was sparked by a community conversation with members of the Faith Baptist Church during the library's recent planning project. The library will hire a part-time research assistant who will work closely with area churches, local governments, and historical and cultural organizations to connect with the groups and individuals best able to share the pieces of this story. Technology for safely scanning photos and documents as well as recording equipment for collecting oral histories will be purchased.  The library will provide open access to the digital materials produced during this project.

Greensboro College, James Addison Jones Library

Chromebooks for Greensboro College            Awarded: $5,068
J. A. Jones Library would like to provide twenty additional Chromebooks for students at Greensboro College in an effort to increase retention and remove barriers that prevent students from completing their assignments due to financial circumstances.  The library will be working with the Office of Student Retention and Engagement and implementing our own marketing campaign to make sure students are aware of the Chromebook rental service that we offer.  This project will provide a more equitable learning environment for all students at Greensboro College.

Mauney Memorial Library

Moss Lake Lending Library            Awarded: $46,836
The Moss Lake Lending Library project will place a lending library kiosk and item return drop in the John H. Moss Lake Recreation Park in Kings Mountain. The lending library kiosk will be a new generation digital model that will hold up to 500 physical library materials for checkout. The kiosk will also function as a hotspot that allows patrons to download digital materials from databases that Mauney Library subscribes to. This cost effective, feasible project will expand library accessibility to patrons in an outlier area while promoting the city’s recreation center and its resources.

Person County Public Library

Teen Space Initiative            Awarded: $23,000
Person County Public Library's mission is to create a safe and welcoming environment that allows PCPL to build relationships with and between residents in the county. Research supports a need to establish a dedicated teen space in PCPL for current and future teens residing in Person County. The teen space will allow teens to access physical and digital resources, collaborate with peers and PCPL, and express themselves through creative outlets. The library will include teens when creating a teen's space, ensuring that teens become lifelong users, supporters, and friends of the library. This project will enhance the quality of the library experience for teens for decades to come.

Randolph County Public Libraries

Equal Access Tutoring            Awarded: $28,380
Randolph County Public Libraries seek to develop an inclusive program which will address the digital divide and provide educational interventions for all youth patrons. Students are struggling to catch up with academic demands post-pandemic and few families can afford tutoring services. In order to bridge the technology and education gap, our library seeks to create a tutoring lab for students to access live, online tutoring in all school subjects. Our tutoring laptops will be available for in-house tutoring and for check out, paired with hotspots for patrons without internet access. By removing barriers to educational advantages, students will be more equipped to succeed in all school settings, from public and private institutions to homeschool environments.

Rowan Public Library

Podcast Production Studio and Instructional Space            Awarded: $13,465
Rowan Public Library’s community will benefit from a dedicated studio space outfitted with professional recording equipment that will provide creative learning opportunities for RPL’s patrons. Local organizations and institutions will also be able to utilize the space, providing students, teachers, and others a platform for message delivery they might not otherwise have. Funding will provide the digital audio equipment and materials needed to create the needed space.

Southwestern Community College

Laptop Lending Program            Awarded: $40,677
Southwestern Community College increased it's course offerings that necessitate online or hybrid course work, requiring student access to computers to participate in courses. Lack of access to computers in our service area of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties ranges from 15%-22%. 42-45% of our users have only a smartphone for accessing the internet. By adding additional laptops, including chargers, backpacks and damage protection the library can better meet this growing student need.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center            Awarded: $620,108
The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center supports community engagement and lifelong learning by promoting and increasing access to North Carolina's cultural heritage. The Center does this by digitizing materials from the collections of cultural heritage institutions throughout the state and making them freely accessible online both on DigitalNC and through the Digital Public Library of America. Center staff use their extensive network to connect communities, practitioners, and local history enthusiasts and researchers. The Center is committed to providing low-barrier, flexible, and relevant services that meet the changing needs of North Carolina's cultural heritage institutions.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

March for Justice            Awarded: $92,535
March for Justice: Documenting the Greensboro Massacre will provide digital access to at least 100 linear feet of material related to the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, an event in which five protestors were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-nazis. Digitization of the Greensboro Massacre Collection at UNCG and the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Collection at Bennett College will provide researchers with access to materials that have been completely or partially unavailable for academic study. The collections span roughly 48 years, from 1973 to 2021 and document events, actions and persons connected with the Greensboro Massacre and the short-term and long-term consequential aftermath for Greensboro as it bears on racism, white supremacy and labor history.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

People Not Property Expansion Project            Awarded: $113,442
People Not Property - Slave Deeds is a collaborative endeavor led by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro University Libraries in partnership with the North Carolina Division of Archives and Records, registers of deeds across North Carolina, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and other cultural heritage organizations. An expansion of the existing Digital Library on American Slavery (http://dlas.uncg.edu/), the project builds a unique centralized database of bills of sales that index the names of enslaved people from across North Carolina and beyond. The database is made freely available via the Internet. People Not Property currently houses material and data from 17 North Carolina counties, and includes over 13,000 documents referencing over 69,000 people.

Warren County Memorial Library

Warren County Memorial Library Migration            Awarded: $10000
NC Cardinal is a growing consortium of North Carolina public libraries with the goal of sharing resources and expanding opportunities through using a single online catalog. The State Library provides initial startup/migration funding for participating libraries to join the consortium. Hardware, software support, and training contracts are funded by the LSTA Grant

North Carolina libraries will be places that all people find welcoming and accessible through sustainable organizational practices focused on inclusion, development, and community responsiveness. Projects listed below address Goal 3 of the 2023-2027 LSTA Five Year Plan.

Alamance Community College

Creating the Contemporary Learning Community            Awarded: $22,183
The Contemporary Learning Community (CLC) builds on the recent wave of online education prompted by the Covid pandemic. Two-thirds of the college's courses are now taught in a variety of online formats making attendance more flexible for students and instructors. Community college students seek personalized learning styles due to their busy work/study schedules. With funding, the ACC Library will outfit a new conference space with Hyflex technologies to accommodate interactive and engaging in-person events with a virtual (synchronous) option.

Appalachian State University

Digital Collaborations in Western North Carolina            Awarded: $25,010
Appalachian State University’s Digital Scholarship & Initiatives team (DSI) plan to conduct a needs assessment for the development of digital preservation and access programming for communities/groups/organizations in the western North Carolina (WNC) region. More specifically, the planning consultant will identify and assess the needs of organizations, small businesses, and/or community groups in the WNC region that lack and would benefit from support, training, and professional development in DSI areas of expertise, recommend formats (e.g., in-person workshops, online training resources, etc.) and content areas (e.g., copyright, 3D scanning, etc.) that would best serve the identified groups, and recommend outreach activities to engage these groups.

Catawba County Library

Oasis Spaces            Awarded: $49,250
The Catawba County Library will install five soundproof office spaces and high quality videoconferencing technology at the Main Library in Newton for all community members needing a quiet space to participate in online education, telehealth, employment, court systems, tutoring, and library programming. These Oasis Spaces will increase the library’s institutional capacity and improve the library’s physical and technology infrastructure. The library will partner with NC Works to provide workforce development services to the community using one of the Oasis Spaces as a private consultation area. The library will also partner with Kintegra Behavioral Health to make the Oasis Spaces available to their patients for telehealth visits.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Staffing Assessment Plan            Awarded: $26,250
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML) will conduct a staffing assessment planning project. There are multiple drivers for this project at this time including inconsistent staffing models across 21 Library locations, a new Main Library opening in 2025 with new expectations for public service, tremendous community growth expected over the next 15 years, COVID-19 impacts, and a program of service that now relies heavily on community outreach and partnerships. For the Library user, this planning project helps ensure that CML optimizes its public service. Data collected and subsequent recommendations provide a roadmap for increasing access to library services. An external consultant delivers an objective study, achieved through sound business management principles and data analysis.

Cleveland Community College

Evergreen Migration for CC Libraries!            Awarded: $52,353
Cleveland Community College Library, along with its twenty-five community college library partners, will employ a project management team via MOBIUS to plan and migrate the twenty-six libraries to Evergreen, an open-source ILS, and establish a shared ILS model that any community college library in the state can use. The migration process will help strengthen relationships among the participating community college library administrators in order to create lasting partnerships that center around a technologically advanced ILS that better meets the demands of the community colleges’ student populations. The Evergreen ILS will provide functionality, such as related discovery services, currently not available to community college libraries.

Cumberland County Public Library

Forward Together: Community-Based Capacity Building            Awarded: $86,600
Forward Together: A Comprehensive Community Based Strategy to Capacity Building at Cumberland County Public Library (CCPL) is a result of a community assessment process as a part of the 2020 Project Long Range Strategic Plan. It found that CCPL’s community desired innovative, science and technology programs for youth, schools and families, and collaborative spaces for groups and individuals of all ages. It highlighted the library did not have the spaces or technology to meet these needs. Forward Together will provide innovative programming and active learning spaces.

Elizabeth City State University, G. R. Little Library

G.R. Little Library Modernization and Improvement            Awarded: $60,155
The G.R. Little Library proposes to purchase and install a modern, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system for the library’s entire physical collection, along with self-checkout stations. A modern, RFID-based system will modernize the library’s inventory management system and allow for swift and accurate inventories of the library collection, leading to increased efficiency and accuracy in library operations. Self-checkout stations will lead to improved user experience through increased convenience, privacy, and efficiency. This project will modernize library operations and user experience at the G.R. Little Library.

Gardner-Webb University

Dover Library Teaching Lab            Awarded: $8,000
The goal of this project is to modernize Dover Memorial Library’s in-house Teaching Lab in order to create a more flexible, device-friendly teaching space for instructors and a more welcoming learning environment for students.  The Teaching Lab hosts over one hundred instruction sessions per year and is also available to other groups on campus for testing and other events.  It is currently configured to support up to thirty-six users, with the instructor largely tied to the teaching desk in the front of the room.  Funding from this grant would enable librarians and other instructors to teach using a variety of mobile device types and create a learning environment that allows for more personalized interaction and customization with students across a wide range of class sizes.

McDowell County Public Library

MCPL Strategic Plan 2023-2027            Awarded: $23,475
The McDowell County Public Library System's goal, with the help of a strategic planning consultant, is to develop a community needs assessment that will inform our priorities and goals over the next three to five years. By having a clearer understanding of the needs of the community, we can develop services and resources that will have a greater impact.

Methodist University

Alma Digital for the Methodist University Archives            Awarded: $7,351
Over the years, the Methodist University Archives has digitized thousands of pages and saved thousands of born-digital documents.  With no current public access, the Archives Librarian  has to individually respond to research inquiries from students, faculty, staff, and community researchers regarding to materials in the archives. The Methodist University library recently switched to the Alma library management system.  Alma has a digital assets add-on which would would meet our needs for management, display, and search of our archives materials.

Polk County Public Libraries

Expanding Community Meeting Spaces            Awarded: $73,071
Polk County Public Libraries (PCPL) will improve access to private spaces by adding six booth-style meeting rooms between two locations. Expanding the libraries' meeting spaces to accommodate identified needs within the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan will continue to ensure that vibrant, welcoming, and versatile spaces are available to the community.

Randolph County Public Libraries

Randolph County Public Library Radio Frequency ID            Awarded: $86,839
To improve visitor experiences and increase services to individuals and organizations served by library outreach, the Randolph County Public Library is seeking funding to implement Radio Frequency Identificationtechnology (RFID) throughout the seven-library system. RFID and compatible self-checkout machines will provide library patrons with reduced checkout wait times and offer them service similar to what they havebecome used to in many shopping locations. Saving of staff time also will benefit both in-house library users and those accessing library outreach by freeing staff for more substantive patron interactions. Patrons alsowill benefit from a more efficient experience seeking library materials as a result of more accurate inventory and security control made possible by RFID.

Sandhill Regional Library System

Community Centered Planning            Awarded: $37,500
The Community Centered Planning Grant will allow Sandhill Regional Library System to align library services to reflect the needs of our five-county region.  The library system seeks to work with an experienced library consultant to facilitate a comprehensive strategic planning process to garner input from library staff, county and regional leadership, community stakeholders, and citizens.  The project will include the development of a Library Strategic Plan to guide community centered services and outcomes that respond to diverse needs of our region.

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

A Room with a View: Public Speakers Forum            Awarded: $13,000
The UNC School of the Arts Library is a public library that supports the needs of our campus community, and those of our immediate geographic communities. The library is one site for the school that helps build capacity for deepened community engagement. Without appropriate audio equipment, community engagement is frequently stifled. By adding sound and audio equipment the library create a functional community space where the needed conversations of community can take place.

Warren County Memorial Library

Warren County Memorial Library Strategic Plan            Awarded: $28,500
Warren County Memorial Library will use funding to assist in implementing a comprehensive community needs assessment. The assessment will aid the library in determining: who is not using the library and why; what library resources are residents not aware we provide, and what services residents need that we can add. The information from the assessment will then be used to draft a strategic plan for future library services and resources. The plan aims to involve trustees, community stakeholders and leaders, and the citizens of Warren County.
 

Statewide Programs

Statewide Programs are those with broad, statewide impact and are developed by the State Library in response to emerging or broad-based needs that are consistent with the LSTA plan and priorities.

21st Century Libraries will provide access to the LibGuides platform for the State Library of North Carolina, 58 community college libraries, and 82 public library systems across the state.  This platform allows library staff to easily create online content for users in a hosted environment. 

#EverythingNC engages users by making State Library materials freely accessible, collaborates with other organizations to preserve and make digital content available, and engages with a growing digital preservation community. We will maintain our established collaboration with the State Archives of North Carolina (SANC) through continued testing of LibSafe for digital preservation, developing a pilot collection in the CollectionBuilder tool, and expanding access to military oral histories of North Carolina veterans. We will also develop and broaden access to our Personal Digital Archiving workshops, both onsite and across the state, while pursuing plans to establish a statewide digital preservation community.

Adult Services goal is to provide professional development opportunities and collaborative experiences to enhance or improve library staff skills in providing programs and services to the diverse group of adult users throughout the state. 

Continuing Education will support and provide professional development opportunities for library staff in order to improve services and access to resources in libraries throughout North Carolina. The Continuing Education program provides access to in-person learning opportunities and online resources that enhance library services and promote excellence and innovation. This project will also support professional development opportunities specifically for the Continuing Education Consultant so that she can continue to design high-quality, useful, and desirable learning opportunities to meet the continuing education of public and academic library staff statewide.

Data-Driven Decisions will provide access to Gale Analytics and targeted training to a self-selected group of NC public libraries for 2 years to allow them to pair their Integrated Library System (ILS) data with deep demographic and market segmentation insights. State Library staff will work with public libraries and Gale Analytics to create custom dashboards that make data actionable. Libraries will receive training on how data can be used to analyze collections and programs for alignment with community needs and interests, target outreach services, and support equity, diversity and inclusion efforts. in addition to providing access to LibPAS, the software used to report Public Library Survey data.

The Five-Year Evaluation seeks to acquire the services of a contractor with expertise in assessment and programmatic evaluation, to carry out an evaluation of North Carolina’s 2018-2022 LSTA Five Year Plan that is comprehensive and representative of all libraries eligible for this program.

NC Cardinal provides North Carolina residents with greater access to North Carolina resources by providing the tools, framework and expertise necessary to administer a common, online catalog, share catalog items among member libraries and expand opportunities for optimization of cost efficiencies and collaborative collection development. NC Cardinal seeks to improve resource sharing throughout the NC Cardinal consortium by conducting a consortium-wide assessment of resource sharing activities, focusing on the mechanisms and procedures used for resource sharing, analysis of the return on investment that a shared integrated library system and shared materials offer to Cardinal member libraries, and any possibilities for shared collection development.

New Director Orientation project will provide an orientation for North Carolina Public Library Directors who are new to their positions to share information on the services of the State Library, Library Development, Library for the Blind, Government Heritage Library, and other North Carolina partner agencies; and to provide networking opportunities with other new directors. The orientation will be provided asynchronously consisting of a virtual component in the Fall 2021 and if travel is permitted, an in-person component in the Spring 2022.

Scholarships will fund the attendance of public, academic, community college, and special library staff to local, state, and national conferences of their choice as it relates to their positions within libraries. On a quarterly basis, State Library staff will review the applications submitted to ensure that applications illustrate the relevance of the conference and how attendance ties to the State Library’s LSTA Program 5-Year Plan priorities.

SLNC Strengthening Capabilities will specifically provide educational and training opportunities at the individual and organizational levels via programming, formal training activities and conference attendance. Project activities will target the entire staff of the State Library of North Carolina; The Government and Heritage Library, The North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library Development and Library Administration. Project outcomes will result in the target group developing and maintaining essential skills and competencies, as well as broadening their knowledge of library and societal trends. These outcomes will strengthen the State Library of North Carolina’s capability to better serve and engage with libraries and the public across North Carolina.

Youth Services will provide professional development and grant opportunities centered around services for youth and families which will result in improved programs and resources in North Carolina libraries. Both in-person and online continuing education opportunities will be explored to maximize impact. This year's opportunities will concentrate on services and programs for young children as teen services will be covered by an ongoing program.

LSTA Program Administration funds the majority of LSTA administrative costs incurred by the State Library.

LSTA mini-grant awards list below are made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-249980-OLS-21).

Food Literacy Center Mini-Grants

Food Literacy mini-grants will support food literacy & nutrition programming for North Carolina's public libraries. This opportunity funds grants to public libraries to purchase mobile teaching kitchens, supplemental programming materials, and appropriate safety supplies. Food Literacy Center Mini-Grants supports Goal Two from North Carolina’s LSTA Five Year Plan; Expanding Access.. SLNC has awarded $166,945 to 11 public libraries across the state to:

Appalachian Regional Library

Awarded: $17,000
Heritage Cooking Classes

Heritage-cooking classes will be available at the library to help people rediscover and embrace healthy, sustainable joys of the “old ways” or shared cultural traditions. Along with the taste of heritage foods, we plan to introduce cultural reads for book club selections. Celebrating diversity with ethnic foods:  African, Mediterranean, Latin American, Asian, and vegetarian/vegan will bring community members together and inspire shared stories.  We will also have available a Fresh Foods Fridge in the library for our patrons, making available surplus produce and foods from area growers.  In the summer months, we will resume our Imagination Cafe, on hiatus since 2020.  This program offers meals to children who attend story times and will utilize special cooking classes for children as well.

BHM Regional Library

Awarded: $8,650
Cooking Up Food Literacy

Cooking Up Food Literacy is a program designed to instruct families in Beaufort, Hyde, and Martin Counties on healthier food preparation. Due to busy lifestyles, too often people are in a hurry and tend to pick up fast food or grab a precooked meal from the grocery store. These often are unhealthy choices that can increase risk for chronic diseases. The purpose of Cooking Up Food Literacy is to establish and demonstrate that you can eat healthier by planning meals, doing meal prep and cooking meals at home in a relatively short time.

Chatham County Public Library

Awarded: $17,000
Learn About Food at Your Library!

Chatham County Public Libraries will launch "Learn About Food at Your Library!" which will include a series of food literacy and nutrition programs. Through the purchase of a teaching kitchen and accompanying curriculum, and in partnership with Chatham County Registered Dietitians, we will address topics related to food and healthy eating habits as they relate to overall health and wellness, food safety, nutritional labeling, disease prevention, and healthy eating during times of high monetary inflation, among others. Cooking demonstrations and discussion around healthy foods and nutrition, will give participants a better understanding of the impact of food choices on their health, the environment, and on local economies.

Fontana Regional Library

Awarded: $15,915
The Kitchen Literacy Connection

Jackson County Public Library presents The Kitchen Literacy Connection, a program series about food literacy. The goal is for people to better understand where their food comes from and what to do with it. The Youth Services and Adult Services departments will each create new programs and enhance existing classes to share knowledge, skills, awareness, and enjoyment of cooking, budgeting, and nutritional topics for all ages. The centerpiece that makes these informative presentations possible is a new "Charlie Cart" portable kitchen workstation with teaching curriculum. The cart increases program options by adding a sink, oven, cook top, and all utensils for hands-on experiential classes. The project goal is to impact the health habits, confidence, and awareness of Jackson County residents.

Gaston County Public Library

Awarded: $17,000
Hands-On Nutrition at Gaston County Public Library

Gaston County Public Library will use the Charlie Cart mobile kitchen to provide food education programming at no cost to all ages. The Charlie Cart is a mobile kitchen with power, storage, and sink that is equipped with essential tools and appliances. Gaston County Public Library staff will present both in-person and virtual food literacy programming using the Charlie Cart and its hands-on curriculum for Kindergarten through 12th grade. GCPL staff will use healthy vegetables, fruits, and simple ingredients to illustrate low-cost, low-stress meals that participants can create at home. Partnering with Public Health and other local organizations, GCPL will expand the program’s reach to underserved groups to provide nutrition resources to counter the food scarcity our residents face.

Granville County Library System

Awarded: $16,930
Spice & Dice Program

The Granville County Library System seeks to implement the Spice & Dice program: an intergenerational health literacy and nutrition program to the Granville County citizens by partnering with local food agencies and organizing free food and nutrition programs. The library plans to purchase a Charlie Cart: a mobile food preparation station with kitchen supplies and curriculum guide to engage participants in hands-on cooking and healthy eating using locally sourced foods, as well as additional culinary supplies, kitchen safety items, and the necessary food for implementing the program.

Harnett County Public Library

Awarded: $16,800
Charlie Cart Project at HCPL

Food literacy and access is an ongoing struggle in our local communities. The Charlie Cart Project is an initiative that seeks to increase nutrition awareness and access to healthy meals by providing affordable and comprehensive food education programs that empower people to make positive eating choices. The Charlie Cart Project includes a fully-equipped mobile food kitchen, a programming curriculum, and training for library staff. The Harnett County Public Library will work with local community partners to employ the Charlie Cart and the included curriculum to offer cooking classes and nutrition training for community members of all ages and backgrounds, including families and community members that are at risk for food insecurity and harmful health behaviors.

Haywood County Public Library

Awarded: $11,450
Healthy Haywood Food Literacy Project

Healthy Haywood, a Food Literacy Project of the Haywood County Public Library, will benefit community members in many ways, including: receiving information about healthy foods; attending demonstrations in food preparation; receiving access to seeds; and, accessing fresh produce. Grant funds will be used to purchase pre-fabricated mobile demonstration tables, a mobile cart for food distribution, kitchen and program supplies, and teaching resources. The Healthy Haywood Food Literacy Project will positively impact community members of all ages affected by food insecurity and health issues. Participants in the Healthy Haywood project will have the opportunity to engage with, learn along with, and benefit from programs presented by library staff experienced in food literacy.

Hickory Public Library

Awarded: $12,200
Book Bistro

The Hickory Public Library aims to provide hands-on nutrition based cooking classes for the benefit of adults in our community who live with food insecurity, diabetes, and obesity. These are the three main dietary issues adults face in Hickory, NC. Through consultation with project partners, Hickory Public Library has devised a plan to create a comprehensive, fully equipped kitchen cart. This kitchen cart will enable the Library to offer food and cooking related classes. The purpose of these classes is to teach how to cook fresh food and make healthy dietary changes. Our community partners will provide programming that teaches participants how to source locally grown seasonal ingredients and utilize physician-approved curriculum to address chronic illness with a plant-based diet.

Madison County Public Libraries

Awarded: $17,000
Feed, Seed, and Read

It’s no secret that healthy eating is essential to healthy living. The CDC defines a healthy eating plan as one that includes a variety of healthy foods including fresh herbs and a rainbow variety of fruits and vegetables; a variety of protein foods, and a plate that is low in added sugars, sodium, saturated/trans fats, and cholesterol. Healthy food has become costly food, however, which results in people on fixed incomes relying on foods that are cheaper and less healthy. A portion of Madison County residents rely on food assistance, but often they are faced with unfamiliar foods and lack the necessary skills to make healthier eating choices. The library desires to bridge the gap here and provide hands-on healthy cooking classes for all ages to combat health issues within our community.

Wilson County Public Library

Awarded: $17,000
Wilson County Public Library Food Literacy Program

The Wilson County Public Library is seeking grant funding to provide food literacy programs throughout Wilson County. Our food literacy programs will meet the needs of at-risk, food-insecure, underserved urban, and rural communities.  We will target these specific populations: low-income preschoolers and seniors, African Americans with food-related health disparities, Spanish-speaking and migrant families, special needs adults, at-risk teens, and families who live in food deserts. The program’s goals are to increase knowledge of healthful foods and how to prepare them, provide nutritious snacks or meals, improve health, and fill gaps in current food literacy services.