OUR PROJECTS

Let’s work together to alleviate hunger now while building more responsive, equitable, and sustainable food systems for the future!

Projects of the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger translate ideas from our collective spaces into actionable initiatives. They bridge the gap between policy recommendations and tangible outcomes, driving real-world change in our collaborative efforts for food justice and sovereignty. They align with one or more of our four organizational commitments, have a specific timeline, and are monitored for their impact on Colorado communities.

Interested in joining one of our committees? Please contact the staff liaison listed below. All new members must attend an orientation before officially joining.

As part of our commitment to equity, we offer simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, closed captioning, and compensation to those who participate outside of their regular job. (Please contact us if you have other accessibility requests to fully participate.)

Here’s more about our currently active and time-limited projects (in alphabetical order):

Community Events

  • Goal: Connecting community and creating welcoming and inclusive spaces focused on increasing food access and advancing food justice in communities across Colorado

  • Project Lead: Andrea Fuller, community member

  • Staff Liaison: Michelle Ray, Communications Director

  • Meetings: Not on a recurring schedule right now — contact the staff liaison to find out when the next meeting is planned.

  • Participation: Welcoming a limited number of new project team members; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

    • Previously planned to co-host an in-person, invitation-only event with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Western Slope Native American Resource Center in late October 2024; canceled due to winter weather and travel safety concerns

    • Transition to supporting a community-led convening for Montezuma County in 2025 with funding and event planning (as of November 2024)

Connecting Food & Health in Colorado

  • Goal: Building a diverse, cross-sector coalition, alongside partners and advocates across the state, to organize around policy and implementation opportunities that link food access to health outcomes in Colorado

  • Project Lead: Samantha Fields, community expert

  • Staff Liaison: Greta Allen, Policy Director

  • Meetings: Fourth Monday of every month from 10 a.m. - 12 noon on Zoom

  • Participation: Open to new members; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

Farm Equity Coalition

  • Goal: Convene a coalition driven by local female farmers and farmers of color to help create a legislative strategy for the creation of a Farm Equity Office in Colorado.

  • Project Leads: Shannon Francis of Spirit of the Sun; Lucia Trejo, promotora in Northeastern Colorado

  • Staff Liaison: Joël McClurg, Executive Director of Systems

  • Meetings: Second Friday of each month from 10 - 11 a.m.

  • Participation: Only open to farmers and farm organizations, especially female farmers, farmers of color, and LGBTQIA2+ farmers; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

    • Supported the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) in a state budget request for additional positions in their workforce development unit to focus on farm equity.

    • Worked with CDA for their new roles involving farm equity; provided technical assistance to interested applicants who represent farmers from historically under-resourced communities.

Food Access for the Unhoused

  • Goal: Research and elevate ways that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can be more accessible for those in Colorado who are older adults, unhoused, transitioning into housing, or facing instability in their housing.

  • Project Lead: Julie Hall, community member

  • Staff Liaison: Greta Allen, Policy Director

  • Meetings: Fourth Thursday of every month from 12 - 1 p.m. on Zoom (jointly with the Restaurants in Community pilot project)

  • Participation: Open to new members; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

Healthy School Meals for All Microgrants

  • Goal: Launch a statewide marketing and outreach campaign to support the successful implementation of Healthy School Meals for All in Colorado public schools, including a microgrant initiative for community-based organizations to lead local marketing and outreach efforts. The campaign broadly focuses on the following:

    • Promote the benefits of the new program;

    • Help ensure students in participating schools can access no-cost breakfasts and lunches;

    • Encourage family completion of school benefit forms; and

    • Help fill position vacancies in school dining rooms

  • Staff Liaison: Justice Onwordi, Impact Director

  • Meetings:  No longer meeting; wrapping up with a project report

  • Participation: Not open to new members

  • Updates:

Liderazgo Comunitario (Community Leadership)

  • Goal: Support community leaders and community-led initiatives that are already advancing food access and justice within their towns, counties, and/or neighborhoods

  • Project Leads: Ivon Romo of MIEL Language and Barbarita San Pedro of SANA

  • Staff Liaison: Dolores Ramriez, Executive Director of Community

  • Meetings: Varies

  • Participation: No longer accepting members

  • Updates:

    • Wrapped up a monthly workshop series on topics identified by community leaders as of May 2024

    • Currently in the process of planning a BIPOC-led summit

Microfunding to Increase Healthy Food Access

  • Goal: Develop and implement a microgrants initiative to support small, grassroots organizations in expanding local, healthy food access within their communities

  • Project Lead: Erika Righter of Hope Tank

  • Staff Liaison: Dolores Ramriez, Executive Director of Community

  • Meetings: No longer meeting; closing out and transitioning to broader Grant Review Committee

  • Participation: No longer accepting members

  • Updates:

    • Launched a new microgrant initiative in 2023, awarding $30,000 to community members and grassroots organizations during its first round of funding

    • With support from the Colorado Community Health Alliance, they pledged a total of $24,000 for the second round of funding in 2024. Eight grassroots projects received $3,000 microgrants. Meet our new microgrant partners.

    • Upcoming: Development of an assessment to gather feedback from micro-grantees related to the application process and opportunities for increased accessibility

Project UP: Unlocking the Potential of WIC and Medicaid to Improve Nutrition and Health

  • Goals: Support state advocacy to improve access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); identify and share promising practices; and publish resources on these approaches.

  • Staff Liaison: Greta Allen, Policy Director

  • Meetings: Aligns with the Colorado Healthcare Providers & WIC Collaborative

  • Participation: Only open to WIC program staff and healthcare providers or entities

  • Updates:

Restaurants in Community Pilot

  • Goals: Creatively help the unhoused, older adults, and others (who would eventually qualify for a state-implemented Restaurant Meals Program, RMP) access and enjoy fully-prepared meals; also demonstrate the impacts these partnerships can have on community members and restaurant owners, gathering important qualitative and quantitative data to support Colorado’s future implementation of the USDA’s RMP program.

  • Project Lead: Julie Hall, community member

  • Staff Liaison: Greta Allen, Policy Director

  • Meetings: Fourth Thursday of every month from 12 - 1 p.m. on Zoom (jointly with the Food Access for the Unhoused project)

  • Participation: Open to new members; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

    • Pilot a partnership between restaurant owners and local organizations in Arapahoe County beginning in September 2024

    • Looking to partner with food truck operators who would like guaranteed sales and can operate in Centennial — If you or someone else is interested, please contact the staff liaison.

SNAP & WIC Retailers

  • Goal: Provide technical assistance to small grocers and retailers seeking certification for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC), and/or Double Up Food Bucks

  • Team Leads: Maria Judith Alvarez of SANA and Jennifer Gueddiche

  • Staff Liaison: Dolores Ramriez, Executive Director of Community

  • Meetings: Second Monday of the month from 1 - 2 p.m. via Zoom

  • Participation: Open to new project team members; contact the staff liaison to learn more, participate in the required orientation, and access the calendar invitations.

  • Updates:

    • Piloting four strategies to support small grocers and retailers in their efforts to expand healthy food offerings, including technical assistance to support those seeking to become certified in accepting SNAP benefits

    • Created and released the SNAP Certification for Retailers Toolkit, aiming to bolster the number of small grocery stores and corner stores that accept SNAP benefits while also increasing the affordability and availability of healthy and culturally preferable food offered by small businesses in Colorado.