November 21, 2023

Colorado children, especially those in rural communities, will have more access to adequate, nutritious foods next summer, thanks to the actions of state lawmakers and advocates during the special legislative session. 

After advancing from both the Senate and House of Representatives, Senate Bill 23B-002 will be signed into law by Governor Polis sometime next week. The legislation supports Colorado in implementing a new federally funded program for school-age children and their families to purchase needed groceries during the summer months.

November 14, 2023

With Gov. Jared Polis’ call for a special legislative session from November 17 - 19, state lawmakers will tackle another urgent issue besides property taxes – ensuring Colorado children, especially those in rural communities, can access adequate, nourishing foods during summer break in 2024.

Learn more about the Summer EBT Nutrition bill and how you can take action.

November 2, 2023

The steering committee of the Healthy School Meals for All campaign is excited to announce its 41 community-based organization partners who will receive grants to support their work. Their efforts will focus on continuing to uplift the new school meals program, now available in every eligible school district across Colorado.

November 1, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its Household Food Security in the United States in 2022 report last week. While most U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to enough food for healthy living, about 1 in 8 households across America struggled with hunger last year. National rates were higher for those who live in rural areas, as well as for those who identify as Black or Latine. In Colorado, the report showed that hunger is decreasing, but nearly 1 in 11 households (8.9%) still report not having reliable access to sufficient, affordable, and nutritious foods. 

October 19, 2023

We recently wrapped up the second phase of the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s yearlong transformation and strategic planning process, where we gathered input from our community of network partners. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts about the Blueprint and how it can evolve to better serve our Colorado communities!

Now, we’re delving into all of the information with our strategic planning partners at Point b(e) Strategies to better understand what you, our community, collectively think the Blueprint should focus on as we look to the future. So far, the early findings are centered around five areas – much of which already align with the Blueprint’s vision of a Colorado where everyone who lives here can access the food they choose, where they want it, and when they need it.

October 5, 2023

The Blueprint and partners are advocating for more time to eat in Colorado schools – and seek advocacy support from other network partners! They’ll soon submit a letter to Colorado’s State Board of Education requesting that lunch periods be included in instructional time since research shows the positive impacts on student learning, development, and overall well-being. 

October 4, 2023

Last week, the Blueprint team joined staff from Nourish Colorado for a half-day of interactive learning about language justice from the Community Language Cooperative. Language justice ensures there’s space for participants to speak in the language that they feel most comfortable using. It’s a key practice to build community power and engage directly with those who have historically been left out and oppressed like non-English speakers. 

September 20, 2023

We would like to introduce our new co-chairs for the Blueprint’s Governing Council, LaQuetta Walker and Mark Kling. They will be instrumental in leading and guiding the Blueprint through its transformation journey.

Our team also would like to thank our outgoing co-chairs, Meighen Lovelace and Stephanie Salazar-Rodriguez, for their service.

September 8, 2023

National Hispanic Heritage Month is happening from September 15 - October 15! It’s a time to celebrate those who trace their roots to Central America, Mexico, South America, Spain, and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.

At the Blueprint, we applaud the many rich contributions of our Hispanic and Latino communities to our shared history, culture, and efforts to end hunger. But we also recognize that poverty and hunger disproportionately impact families and individuals in these communities – the result of a long history of policies that have created and maintained barriers to opportunity for people of color.

September 6, 2023

As the Blueprint continues its journey of becoming more community-centered and evolving as a connector, convener, and facilitator, we want to ensure there’s space for community voice and participation. 

Now in the second phase of our yearlong strategic planning journey, we’re seeking your input on our biggest questions around transformation. Your insights and perspectives can help shape the Blueprint’s future, so we hope you’ll participate.

Find out a little more about how we got here and where we hope to go — and how you can help inform the Blueprint’s transformation.

August 24, 2023

The new voter-created Healthy School Meals for All program kicks off this school year in most public schools across Colorado, and it’s still important for families to complete their school’s benefits form or application. It impacts students and their families, school funding, and local communities. 

Whether it’s called school, meal, community, or educational benefits, the single-page form asks families to share household income, along with race and ethnicity data. Collecting this information allows your local school to maximize state and federal funding. It also helps students qualify for school-related fee waivers like SAT/ACT testing, athletics, band, field trips, and other activities.

August 24, 2023

The Blueprint’s Federal Policy Committee recently voted to focus on finding champions in Congress to support and advocate for sufficient funding of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the U.S. federal budget. This includes partnering with the National WIC Association, Hunger Free Colorado, and others to connect with Colorado’s Members of Congress.

New data show that WIC needs a significant increase in funding – at least $7.2 billion in total this coming fiscal year – to support increased participation and provide full benefits to those enrolled across the nation.

August 24, 2023

With partners and advocates across the state, we’re building a diverse, cross-sector coalition to organize around “food and nutrition in healthcare” policy and program implementation opportunities in Colorado. This work will prioritize food and diet in an individual’s health plan, with the goal of preventing or treating costly chronic health conditions. Such nutrition interventions also can improve household food security and address health disparities.

August 24, 2023

The new Colorado voter-approved program, Healthy School Meals for All, kicks off in most public schools this school year! Members of the Blueprint’s Workgroup 5: Maximizing Child Nutrition Programs have come together to ensure a strong launch with a statewide marketing and outreach campaign this fall. 

In support of this collaborative effort, the Colorado Access Foundation and The Colorado Health Foundation have committed a combined total of $1.5 million to promote program benefits, encourage student participation and family completion of school benefit forms, and help fill position vacancies in school dining rooms.