COMMON WORDS & DEFINITIONS
Here’s an alphabetical list of words and phrases — including their definitions and resources where applicable — that are commonly used by the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger and its statewide network of partners:
If you don’t see a word or phrase that you think should be included, please feel free to contact us. We welcome your input!
Accessibility: The practice of making information, activities, and/or environments usable and meaningful for as many people as possible, with special consideration for language barriers, physical or neurological disabilities, education and background, and geographic factors. For the Blueprint, this is part of our commitment to equity.
Advocacy: Taking action or engaging in policy-related activities as an individual or as part of an organization to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions (different than activism); the strategic process of informing and influencing decision-makers in support of evidence-based policy change (per the Blueprint’s policy committees).
Collaborator (instead of stakeholder): A person, group, or organization with a vested interest or stake in the decision-making and activities of an organization or project; this includes community members with no direct affiliations to any groups or organizations.
Given the colonial roots of “stakeholder”, here are options to use instead of that word (or collaborators as suggested above): Partners, participants, interested or relevant parties, those affected, those who care or are invested in, or engaging with all voices.
Collective impact: Bringing people together in a structured way to affect social change. (Learn more about this model that the Blueprint uses.)
Committee: A group of individuals and organizational representatives who care about a particular topic or area of work that advise and decide upon goals and actions together; for the Blueprint, our committees help spread power or influence more evenly among different areas – like policy, data and evaluation, and funding – that otherwise would not be accessible for most community members; they’re facilitated by a staff liaison and open to all who are interested in participating unless otherwise noted.
Community: End users at the end of the food system chain who are the most impacted by inequities due to policies and procedures – and have historically been left out of the decision-making process. The Blueprint may also use “community” when referring to our network of partners (see below for definition), which includes community members, grassroots organizations, advocacy groups, local producers, state agencies, and more who all convene around shared priorities and solutions.
Culturally relevant: Meeting the diverse tastes and needs of individuals and families based on their cultural identity and/or spirituality; holding space for food preferences and the cultural practices around the preparation and consumption of food; you also may hear it described as culturally appropriate, responsible, meaningful, or preferred.
Equity: Recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and adjust those imbalances; it’s an ongoing process that requires us to identify and overcome intentional and unintentional barriers arising from bias or systemic structures; inclusion is a key component to advance equity. (This is a core value of the Blueprint and why we’re committed to equitable practices in order to make impactful systems change. Read more about our equity framework.)
Food access: A community’s and individual’s ability to have enough resources to obtain and/or produce food on an uninterrupted and consistent basis for a nourishing diet; this includes travel time to shopping, availability of healthy foods, and food prices.
Food bank: A nonprofit organization that acquires, safely stores, and then redistributes millions of pounds of food annually that are made available or delivered to local food agencies and organizations, (like food pantries); in Colorado, the term “food bank” generally refers to a member of the national Feeding America network.
Food hub: An organization or business that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of food products from local and regional producers; they connect small- and mid-sized farmers with larger markets, including grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and other institutions, as well as individual consumers. Examples include East Denver Food Hub and Valley Roots Food Hub.
Food insecurity: Not having the ability to access enough safe and nourishing food at all times to live a meaningful, active, and healthy life, which can cause stress and anxiety related to worrying about food; this commonly includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. (This is an official term from the USDA but not considered the most accessible to use, including translation in Spanish.)
Other ways to describe it: When individuals or families can't access the food they need to live their fullest lives; when someone doesn’t know where their next meal will come from.
Food justice: A holistic and structural view of the food system(s) that views healthy, nutritious, affordable, and culturally relevant foods as a human right while addressing the structural barriers that limit the fulfillment of that right; it's a movement focused on a creating a fair and inclusive food system where everyone can thrive, and no one is left behind, that goes beyond just about having enough food but also ensuring that the food respects and reflects the diverse needs and traditions of our community. At the Blueprint, we believe that everyone, regardless of their background, has the right to access and enjoy healthy, affordable, and culturally meaningful food.
Food pantry: A local, individual site like a nonprofit, grassroots, or faith-based organization that buys food or receives donations of foods that are then directly distributed to those in its community (per CRS 26-2-139). Some that fit this definition may use “food bank” in their name, utilize a mobile unit, and/or distribute food boxes, but their reach is usually more limited and focused on a municipality or neighborhood.
Food procurement: How and from whom food is purchased by an organization and institution; when working towards food justice and sovereignty, there’s a focus on harnessing purchasing power to create more equitable food systems that focus on local food procurement.
Food sovereignty: A movement for people to
reclaim their power in the food system by rebuilding the relationships between people and the land, and between food providers and those
who
eat; it means having a food system in which the people have the ability and opportunity to produce, distribute, and consume food – and also control or influence the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution. In this, communities reap the profit from growing their own food and have the autonomy to distribute capital returns based on their own will rather than relying upon other third-party entities like for-profit corporations outside of the community. (Learn more from the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance.)
Food system(s): Complex networks that include all the inputs and outputs associated with agricultural and food production and consumption; the USDA describes local and regional food systems as “place-specific clusters of agricultural producers of all kinds (farmers, ranchers, and fishers), along with consumers and institutions, engaged in producing, processing, distributing, and selling foods.”
Grassroots organization: An organization primarily of folks advocating for a cause to spur change at local, national, or international levels. These groups take a bottom-up approach, allowing them to define their own goals and how to achieve them. They authentically represent their community, composed of local people focused on local issues.
Hunger: An uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy; chronic hunger is when a person does not consume a sufficient amount of calories, known as dietary energy, on a regular basis to lead an active and healthy life (per the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations).
Inclusion: Ensuring there are conditions where we can connect, respect, and value all people, such as by providing welcoming spaces that allow all to participate as they wish so long as it honors diversity and rejects assimilation and suppression of differences. (Read more about the Blueprint’s equity framework, which covers inclusion.)
Land acknowledgment: A formal statement that respects Indigenous peoples as original stewards of the land, as well as recognizes the purposeful atrocities committed against them and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories. (Here’s access to the Blueprint’s land acknowledgment.)
Language justice: A practice to create space for participants to speak in the language they feel most comfortable with – the language of their heart – such as Spanish and American Sign Language. This commonly includes interpretation during meetings and events, in addition to translation of print and digital communication. It’s a key way to ensure welcoming and inclusive spaces, build community power, and engage directly with those who have historically been left out and oppressed like non-English speakers. (The Blueprint works with Community Language Cooperative for simultaneous interpretation and translation of some materials.)
Network of partners: A cross-section group, including people of different backgrounds and experiences, that align around and work towards a common goal, such as with the Blueprint.
Project: A group of individuals and organizational representatives who care about a particular topic and choose to collaborate on an identified, actionable project that aligns with the Blueprint’s vision, mission, and four commitments; Blueprint projects are actionable and usually time-limited to less than two years (but can be longer), focused on a specific area, and have one or more team leads. (Find out more about our current projects.)
Political will: Key decision-makers in government are fully committed to supporting a specific solution to a problem, like tackling hunger and improving food access; this commitment is influenced and powered by the desires and demands of the public.
Public will: A shared recognition within a community, state, or other social system that a particular problem exists and there’s a shared resolve to address the situation in a certain way through sustained collective action.
Root causes of hunger: Hunger and poverty are driven by economic and social hardships – including insufficient wages, lack of affordable housing, inadequate health care, and more – and by systemic discrimination. (Food Research & Action Center)
Social determinants of health: The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks; access to nutritious foods, along with other factors like safe housing, racism, discrimination, education, job opportunities, income, and more, are examples. (Learn more from the World Health Organization. Avoid using the acronym, SDOH or SDH, when possible.)
Recommended language to use (from Frameworks Institute): “The places where people live, learn, work, and play shape health in many ways. For example, some neighborhoods have plenty of places to get affordable, nutritious food, while others are cut off from the supply of fresh produce. Place affects diet, which affects health. For everyone to have a full opportunity for health, we must ensure all neighborhoods have access to fresh, nutritious foods and expand programs that make healthy food affordable for all.”