February 16, 2024
Do students have enough time to eat lunch in Colorado public schools? Representative Jenny Willford (D-Adams County) recently introduced a new bill during the 2024 state legislative session that considers this important question, along with time to play.
February 8, 2024
During Black History Month, we want to celebrate and spotlight the legacy of Black activists who led national efforts for food justice with lasting impacts on children and adults. The often-vilified Black Panther Party, civil rights leaders, and other advocates catalyzed changes in U.S. public policy to better address hunger in communities – particularly for people of color who were systematically excluded and discriminated against, causing them to endure unjust hardships because they were not white.
Did you know that the Black Panthers established the first free breakfast program for children? Learn a little bit about how their community-driven response influenced significant reform of our national school meal programs.
January 31, 2024
Colorado’s summer meals program seeks sponsors, sites, and state partners to continue ensuring that Colorado children and teenagers can access healthy meals during the summer break. Sites provide youth 0 -18 years old with no-cost, nutritious meals that fuel their minds and bodies for healthy and active living, academic success, and reaching their full potential in life.
January 25, 2024
After diving into the network’s input and having many internal conversations, we’re ready to share our new framework for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger! While our vision will remain the same, the Blueprint will have a more intentional focus on activating its statewide network to collectively achieve food sovereignty for everyone living in Colorado.
Find out more about where we’re headed – including our big goals and commitments — and what’s next on our transformation journey.
January 24, 2024
Congress passed a bill last Thursday to avoid a government shutdown, but their new continuing resolution does not provide full funding for WIC, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Find out what’s at stake for Colorado families and communities — and how you can take action to protect WIC in the federal budget.
January 11, 2024
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously once said, “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education, and culture for their minds and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” On Monday, January 15, we will honor the civil rights leader who dedicated and gave his life to advancing social justice across the United States.
King fought for civil rights for all people in the face of systemic racism, oppression, ignorance, and violence. And his legacy reaches far beyond the civil rights movement, including food justice and other intersecting issues around hunger.
January 9, 2024
The health and well-being of approximately 25,000 Colorado families are in jeopardy if Congress does not sufficiently fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which supports young children and pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum adults.
Right now, the U.S. Senate and House appropriations bills do not fully fund the national program, meaning there could be a $1 billion shortfall in 2024. The current continuing resolution that provides funding for WIC is scheduled to expire on Friday, Jan. 19.
December 15, 2023
As 2023 comes to an end, let’s take a moment to reflect on and celebrate our collective accomplishments this past year. By working together, there’s evidence that we’re all truly transforming Colorado’s food systems through community engagement and investments, policy and advocacy, data and evaluation, and increased public awareness and political will. See a snapshot of what we have collectively accomplished in the last 12 months.
December 14, 2023
The Blueprint is getting ready for the 2024 state legislative session – and we’re teaming up with Nourish Colorado to ensure students have enough time to eat during the school day. Representative Jenny Willford (D-Adams County) plans to introduce a bill in early January to create a task force focused on looking at best practices for time to eat in school settings.
December 14, 2023
The SNAP Advocacy for the Houseless project team of Workgroup 4: SNAP & WIC Enrollment is leading efforts to advocate for the implementation of a restaurant meals program in Colorado, which would allow certain participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to use benefits to purchase prepared meals at participating restaurants and better access nutritionally balanced meals. This includes those who may struggle to buy and prepare meals in their homes like older adults, those experiencing homelessness, individuals with disabilities, and military veterans. The program also would support restaurant owners and operators by increasing revenue, in addition to growing the state’s workforce, which in turn benefits local economies and communities.
