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.

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. 

December 13, 2023

What progress have we made together? Find out in our new multi-year impact report! Covering the first four years of the Blueprint’s efforts, this report provides a comprehensive overview of our collaborative journey thus far. It showcases the collective progress we have made in achieving our five big goals and recognizes the dedicated individuals and organizations who have made it all possible. 

November 30, 2023

What else did we learn from our network during the input phase of the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s yearlong transformation journey? Watch a video message from Dolores Ramírez, our Executive Director of Vision, to find out more about the key findings and opportunities, which will be instrumental as we begin developing the Blueprint’s new framework. You also can read the full report from our strategic planning partner, Point B(e) Strategies. 

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.

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.