On May 11th, the Colorado legislative session wrapped up and we were finally able to catch our breath. We take our work seriously and that means that too often we do not pause and really celebrate our wins. Of course there is still a lot of work ahead to truly realize our vision and our goal of ensuring every Coloradan has access to nutritious, affordable food where and when they need it.
We are in this for the long run, but right now we are taking a moment to honor the incredible achievements we accomplished this year in the state legislature – and the fact that we did this TOGETHER!
There were many important issues up for consideration this session, but we focused our attention on three key priorities aimed at addressing food insecurity:
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- Food Pantry Grant Assistance Program: We are thrilled to share that just this week, House Bill 1364 passed, so this important program will be funded next year at $3 million. We had asked for an extension of five years to allow for more long-term stability for this critical initiative. This does mean we will need to come back next year, but it also means that emergency food providers and farmers can continue to build partnerships to purchase and provide meat, dairy and fresh produce to people in our communities.
- SNAP Outreach: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to low-income households and serves as the first line of defense against hunger for many families facing financial crisis. According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), about 40% of low-income Coloradans do not access the program. SNAP Outreach helps to close this gap, and to ensure more Coloradans in need receive the benefits they are entitled to. We sought an increase of $500,000 to maintain current funding levels, since the program has experienced a recent loss of private dollars. We were not able to get the additional funding this year. Temporary measures will ensure SNAP Outreach continues to be funded at near the current level for FFY 2022-23, but cuts will occur in FFY 2023-24 without additional funds. We will need to go back next year to ensure this does not happen. For now, we are glad that this important outreach will continue, so Coloradans will continue to be able to utilize SNAP to meet the needs of their families.
- Healthy School Meals for All: THIS IS THE BIG NEWS WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SHARE! Children need nutritious food to focus in school, stay healthy and support their well-being. Currently, all schools are temporarily able to provide school meals to any child who needs them as part of COVID-19 federal aid, but it is expiring on June 30th. Hunger Free Colorado and our partners set the lofty goal of moving legislation to find a more stable and long-term source of funding – and we did it! House Bill 1414 passed earlier this week.
This means that voters will now have the opportunity to approve a ballot question in the fall to secure stable, long-term funding for healthy school meals, support the ability of schools to purchase healthy and local foods, and increase wages for the workers who prepare and serve meals. The funding for this critical program will be provided by limiting state income tax deductions for the state’s highest earners, people making more than $300,000 a year.
This program would begin to fund meals in the 2023-2024 school year, so we also sought approval of one-time funding for next year. This was not approved, but we will continue to find other avenues in collaboration with our partners to continue to get kids what they need to be healthy, to learn and to thrive. We should not allow any child to go hungry while they are trying to learn. We must come together to get this ballot measure passed and make this program permanent in our state!
We are grateful to everyone who shared their story and provided testimony, to the advocates and partners who helped to educate and build support, to anyone who made calls or sent emails, and of course to the lawmakers who championed and voted for our priority policies.
We are excited to ramp up to pass Healthy School Meals for All through the ballot in November and to continue to work with our partners, with lawmakers and with YOU to find innovative and strategic ways to end hunger. Together, we are making a difference – and we will continue to do so! Thank you for being in this with us!