Meets monthly on the second Monday from 1 - 3 p.m. via Zoom
Next meeting:
Monday, May 13, 2024
Agenda coming soon!
Past meeting notes & recordings (2024):
April 8, March 11, February 12, January 8
Anyone is welcome to join!
As part of our commitment to equity, all Blueprint meetings and activities are hosted in both English and Spanish, and closed captioning is offered. Compensation is also available to anyone who voluntarily participates and is not representing an organization as a paid employee. View the Blueprint’s stipend guide to learn more.
Interested in joining this workgroup and any of its project teams? Contact Justice Onwordi, the Blueprint’s Impact Director, to learn more and get added to the member list for calendar invitations.
Meet the Workgroup Team
Staff liaison:
Justice Onwordi, Impact Director
Co-chair:
Rainey Wilstrom, consultant and School Wellness Director for Colorado League of Charter Schools
Workgroup Vision & Goals
Goal #5: Maximize participation in federal child nutrition programs, making Colorado a national leader in delivering these vital programs.
Vision (Guiding Star): Move to a Colorado where all children have equitable, stigma-free, geographically convenient, regular (all day, year-round) access to healthy food and adequate time to eat it.
Metrics:
Eligible vs. enrolled vs. participating in National School Lunch Program (NLSP) by Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) eligible and enrolled
Number of meals served through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
School Breakfast Program participation rate
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) participation rate
Percent of schools with universal free breakfast and lunch
Workgroup Focus Areas (Project Teams)
Acceptance, Marketing, and Awareness:
Goals: Promote initiatives to reduce stigma around school meals by modernizing the perception; support the implementation of Healthy School Meals for All (voter-approved Proposition FF); and provide support for scratch cooking in schools.
Meetings: During the latter part of WG5’s monthly meetings
Advocacy and Support for Systems Changes:
Goals: Develop and fund pilot programs to demonstrate feasibility and impact of specific food programs; integrate and support existing advocacy efforts; and facilitate local connections to food resources.
Meetings: During the latter part of WG5’s monthly meetings
Outreach and Community Acceptance:
Goals: Provide public education and improve perception around food services; provide resources year-round by increasing access and participation for child nutrition programs, including community sites and program sponsors; and support campaigns and partnerships that can be shared with the community that utilize language and cultural justice.
Meetings: During the latter part of WG5’s monthly meetings
Interested in joining one of these project teams? Contact Justice Onwordi from the Blueprint to learn more and gain access to meeting agendas, notes, and calendar invitations.
Key Updates
Healthy School Meals for All campaign: The Acceptance, Marketing & Awareness project team is supporting a statewide marketing and outreach campaign for the new universal school meals program. This involves a campaign steering committee, along with a microgrant program for community-based organizations for the 2023 - 2024 and 2024 - 2025 school years. Learn more about the campaign and its current status.
Preparing for summer: 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. The Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, and Hunger Free Colorado are working together to increase the number of children receiving summer meals by encouraging community-based organizations to serve as program sites. Find out more.
Black History Month & school meals: Did you know that the Black Panthers established the first free breakfast program for children? Read more about how their community-driven response influenced significant reform of our national school meal programs.
Data dashboard: Access the Blueprint’s data dashboard, which hosts publicly available data in one place. This includes local, state, and national data for poverty, food access, food insecurity, SNAP and WIC participation, child nutrition, and public perception of hunger in Colorado.
Community Eligibility Provision: The workgroup voted for the Blueprint to submit public comment on the USDA’s proposed changes to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in 2023.