March 21, 2024
Throughout the week of March 25, we will join community leaders, union members, and many others across Colorado in celebrating César Chávez Day on Sunday, March 31. This commemorative holiday recognizes the legacy of the national labor and civil rights activist on his birthday and promotes community service in honor of the Chicano and Mexican American efforts for labor rights.
The bread is always baking at Delta County Schools on the Western Slope of Colorado. What’s also always happening is Jeri Main, the district’s food service coordinator, and her staff are always on the hunt for new recipes.
March 13, 2024
The Blueprint’s Workgroup #2/3: Healthy Food Access in Communities launched a new microgrant program in 2023, awarding $30,000 to community members and grassroots organizations during its first round of funding. With support from the Colorado Community Health Alliance, they’re now pledging a total of $24,000 to support more small projects that aim to increase access to nutritious, affordable food in local communities. The application opens on Friday, March 15.
March 12, 2023
Last Friday, Congress passed a 2024 federal budget bill with full funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This means eligible families won’t have to worry about waitlists or being turned away.
While a crisis was averted this year, it’s concerning that a historically bipartisan success was even up for debate. That’s why we must turn our attention to the future – and how policymakers can ensure WIC continues to create bright futures for infants, young children, and new and expecting parents.
March 7, 2024
During National Nutrition Month®, the Blueprint team restates our commitment to becoming a regenerative organization, reversing historical inequities in our food systems. In this blog post, our policy director (who’s also a registered dietitian) reflects on instances where our food justice work meets nutrition and the importance of balancing food access against diet quality and food choice.
March 6, 2024
The Colorado Community Health Alliance recently awarded a grant to bolster the efforts of two project teams of the Blueprint’s Workgroup #2/3: Healthy Food Access in Communities.
February 26, 2024
The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger envisions a Colorado where everyone who lives here can access the food they choose, where they want it, and when they need it. Healthy School Meals For All and its associated grant programs take our state closer to that vision.
The successful program has exceeded expectations in student participation – so much so that there’s a significant funding shortfall to cover all associated costs. We’re working towards sustainable funding that Colorado families, schools, and producers can rely upon every school year.
The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s State Policy Committee aims to create, execute, and manage an anti-hunger policy platform that advocates for sustainable, equitable, and effective food and farm systems in Colorado. See their state policy platform for 2024.
February 22, 2024
The Colorado Health Insitute recently released its 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey. With input from nearly 10,000 Colorado households, the data reveals substantial changes in health, health access, and social stressors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response to it. This includes food insecurity, along with disparities by race, ethnicity, gender, and more.
February 21, 2024
The Blueprint and members of its Connecting Food and Health project team of Workgroup 4: SNAP & WIC Enrollment advocated for the inclusion of food and nutrition supports as part of the Regional Accountable Entity Contracts for the Accountable Care Collaborative Phase III. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance recently released the draft contracts, and we’re pleased that they included several of our collective recommendations. We’ll lead various opportunities to advocate that these supports remain a part of the final contracts and that Regional Accountable Entities are made more explicitly responsible for their members’ food and nutrition access.
