Healthy Food Systems Policy

Policy

Nourish Colorado advances a comprehensive policy agenda that supports the transformation of our food system into one that is sustainable, equitable, and health-promoting where access to nutritious food is the norm. Our policy agenda is informed by partners across Colorado, including community coalitions, program partners, local, state and national organizations, and other policy experts. Nourish Colorado is a proud member of NSAC, COFSAC, and Good Food for All Collaborative, participant in Blueprint State and Federal Policy Committees, and partner of National Farm to School Network.

|| State Policy Initiatives ||

Healthy Food Incentive Fund

This 2024 state legislative session, Nourish is running a Joint Budget Committee bill to try to make HFIF a permanent program with increased funding. You can read more about this initiative here. The Healthy Food Incentive Fund (HFIF) is currently a footnote within CDPHE’s (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) budget of the Long Bill. HFIF has been funded to provide 1. dollars towards the Colorado Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), which provides fruit and vegetable produce boxes to low-income seniors who participate in the Older Adult Congregate Meal Program and participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and 2. local matching funds for the federal Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant which funds Colorado’s Double Up Food Bucks program.

Time to Eat Bill

 
Nourish is also co-leading a bill, HB24-1301 Noncurricular Time Programs, on Time to Eat with the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger this legislative session.. Time to Eat is an initiative to ensure that students have enough time to eat the nutritious food being served to them during the school day. The bill would create a task force to study best practices of time-to-eat policies and make recommendations for addressing this complex issue. The bill will also include Time to Play initiatives to help ensure that students have enough time and adequate resources to play at recess with their peers. You can read more about the bill here. 
 
 

Check out our newsletter and policy blog for our monthly state policy updates and actions.

|| Federal Policy Initiatives ||

2024 Farm Bill

Building on our 2018 farm bill achievements in advocating for SNAP integrity, the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), and the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) – all programs that were successfully passed to strengthen healthy food access and the development of local and regional food systems – we are now working on our 2024 Farm Bill priorities.

The farm bill is a key piece of federal legislation for both agricultural systems and our national food system. Its twelve titles cover many elements including conservation programs, crop insurance, agricultural research, land access programs for Beginning and Young Farmers, and nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Double Up Food Bucks.

However, the farm bill is faulted with deep gaps in funding for specialty crops (most fruits and vegetables), a lack of adequate support for local food system actors, structural racism, and other inequities. Communities across the country are demanding change in farm bill policies. With so much room for improvement, we want to lift up Coloradan voices in influencing this key piece of legislation and reimagining our food system

Resources

Please refer to our Federal Bill Tracker continuously updated with our current initiatives, and view federal policy resources offered by our food system partners to stay up to date: NSAC, FRACAlliance to End HungerCenter for Budget and Policy PrioritiesUnion of Concerned Scientists, National Farm to School Network. 

Check out our newsletter and policy blog for our monthly federal policy updates and actions.

Food Bill Action Team (FBAT)

The Food Bill Action Team (FBAT – “FUH-BAT”) is an advocacy and engagement group convened by Nourish to provide introductory policy trainings, mobilize community action, share food policy content or updates from Nourish and statewide partners, and build relationships with Colorado’s federal legislative delegation. FBAT was originally launched as the Farm Bill Action Team, to support Nourish Colorado’s federal policy work and integrate more community voices into Nourish Colorado’s 2017 Farm Bill platform by inviting statewide partners to discuss and guide the organization’s Farm Bill priorities. FBAT is once again focusing on Nourish’s platform for the upcoming 2024 Farm Bill, while still engaging with all other federal and state policy priorities. 

The FBAT currently meets by Zoom twice a month on Thursdays (2-2:30pm MT) to discuss any new updates or ideas, provide policy trainings, encourage civil action, and host guest speakers. The registration form is here or you can email Becca@NourishColorado.org to get involved. Live language interpretation may be provided, upon request. Click here to find FBAT’s 2024 quarterly calendar meeting schedule. Check out past calls here or in email recaps with information to access the recording.

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