Hunger Free Colorado

Colorado advocates share their priorities for a #FarmBill, healthy #schoolmeals4all the #childtaxcredit, and more at the #hungerpc24 Lobby Day!

The Hike to End Hunger month-long challenge just started! Happy hiking! The cumulative, 15-mile statewide hiking challenge can be completed anywhere in Colorado throughout May. You can register as an individual or as a team and then start fundraising to support all Coloradans' access to nutritious food. Learn more or register today by going to HiketoEndHunger.org

Congress is nearing a potential deal to fully fund WIC in upcoming appropriations. Unfortunately, the deal could involve the adoption of a “SNAP-choice” pilot program, whereby participating states would restrict SNAP purchases to only “nutrient dense” foods. The “SNAP-choice” pilot program ignores the fact that many households make the food “choices” they do as a result of the many constraints on their ability to purchase healthy food, such as significant time constraints (poverty is a full-time job), the high cost of fresh and nutrient dense foods (paired with low benefit levels), and limited access to nutrient dense foods in many communities such as those characterized by food deserts. A “SNAP-choice” pilot program will not nudge SNAP participants to make ‘better’ choices. It will just be another barrier on top of the many barriers that low-income households already face in accessing food.

Today is Colorado Gives Day, the single largest day of individual giving in our state! We invite you to join the thousands of Coloradans making a difference for the nonprofit organizations they care about. Your support fuels our work to end hunger. Donate now at bit.ly/ColoradoGivesHFC

Governor Jared Polis signed the Summer EBT bill yesterday, a new federal program that will serve as an additional support for low-income households. Families with children eligible for national free or reduced-price school meals will be eligible to receive $40/month per eligible child in Summer 2024. We want to give a huge thank you to Governor Polis and the bill's sponsors: Sen. Jeff Bridges, Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, Rep. Shannon Bird, and Rep. Lorena Garcia. Also, a big round of applause to all the dedicated advocates who fought to make this important program a reality. Because of all your help and support, this bill will make a positive difference in the lives of over 300,000 Colorado children this coming summer!

We're so excited the Summer EBT bill was officially signed today by Governor Jared Polis! This will help more than 300,000 Colorado kids get the food they need when school isn't in session. Thank you to bill sponsors and our partners at Hunger Free Colorado for their leadership on this effort.

Today, in honor of the national Giving Tuesday movement, we ask that you schedule your Colorado Gives Day donation to Hunger Free Colorado. And, when you schedule your gift today, it will be doubled up to $10,000 thanks to a generous match from Hunger Free Colorado’s board, staff and close friends! Go to bit.ly/ColoradoGivesHFC to schedule a gift.

Exciting news! All eligible school districts opted into the Healthy School Meals for All program to provide free breakfast and lunch to public school students! Our team worked tirelessly to get this program approved on the ballot last November, so though we're still hard at work on implementation, today we celebrate!!

Really enjoyed speaking with Colorado Newsline about the inadequacy of current SNAP benefit levels and the importance of investing in SNAP. Appreciate the thoughtfulness of the article and the other incredible food advocates interviewed, as well as Congresswoman Caraveo's continued support for protecting and strengthening SNAP. It's wonderful to be part of this work! https://lnkd.in/g7xbV_uj

A huge congratulations to Duane Gurulé, our exceptional Senior Database Administrator, who has been selected to participate in the Boettcher Foundation Doers & Difference Makers Fellowship! This Fellowship seeks to recognize, celebrate, uplift, and connect community champions from across Colorado. Join us in celebrating Duane for this well-deserved honor! 👏🎉