RALEIGH, North Carolina – The findings of a state review into operational and administrative issues by a nonprofit owned by the wife of North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson during the implementation of a child care food program “are politically motivated in their essence,” Robinson’s campaign said Monday.
A compliance review of Balanced Nutrition Inc.’s federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program released last week found several problems that regulators said needed to be fixed by early August. Otherwise, Yolanda Hill, the owner of Balanced Nutrition who is married to Robinson, and the nonprofit could be disqualified from the program going forward. Hill previously announced that she would close the nonprofit and that she would no longer participate in the program after April 30.
The review also led the state agency to order Balanced Nutrition to be reimburse the state more than $132,000 for what it called disallowed expenses reimbursed to daycare centers and nursing homes or incurred by the non-profit organization in carrying out its activities.
Balanced Nutrition helped daycares and nursing homes qualify to participate in the free and reduced-price meals program, filed requests for providers to be reimbursed for enrollees’ meals, and ensured that they followed program requirements.
Robinson is the Republican candidate for governor, running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was term-limited to run again in November.
Robinson campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said in a prepared statement that Balanced Nutrition “strongly disagrees” with the findings “and looks forward to challenging them on appeal.” He said that since Robinson announced his candidacy for governor in April 2023, the “Democrat-run state agency has started to move the goalposts.” Lonergan did not elaborate.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program is administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
In response to the campaign’s statement, DHHS said in an email Monday night that operators of programs like Balanced Nutrition are required to participate in compliance reviews that happen every two to three years.
The program could have issued a “serious deficiency” warning after finding problems during the 2022-23 review, but instead ordered another review the following year when additional problems led to such a warning in last week’s report, said the communicated.
The state’s compliance review covered parts of 2023 and 2024. It found new and repeated problems, including lax bureaucracy and the failure to file valid claims on behalf of child care operators or report expenses accurately. In a conclusion, the review said Balanced Nutrition submitted reimbursement requests to a daycare center for eight months when the institution reported it did not submit a reimbursement request to the nonprofit.
Lonergan provided an independent auditor’s report on Balanced Nutrition’s 2021 finances that he said contained no material conclusions. The nonprofit “has complied, in all material respects, with the types of compliance requirements referenced … that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major state programs,” wrote BAS Partners, based in Florida.
The audit report showed that Balanced Nutrition incurred nearly $1.38 million in expenses in 2021. More than $1.2 million went to programs and services, with another $140,143 for salaries and benefits.
Robinson, lieutenant governor since 2021, previously worked with his wife at Balanced Nutrition. He left years ago before running for elected office, according to his memoirwho credits the operation with the stability of his family.
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