Category: Policy & Advocacy

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 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.

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.

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.

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. 

November 29, 2023

The Blueprint’s State Policy Committee recently voted to endorse the Healthy Drinks in Kid’s Meal strategy, expressing support for the recommendation to ensure the automatic beverage that comes with a kids’ meal is a healthy one. The Healthy Beverage Partnership is a collaborative effort of local public health agencies and community partners to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases and address health inequities by supporting municipal-level sugary drink reduction policies across Colorado.