Nourish Colorado

Through our healthy food incentives work, we utilize local and state funding to attract additional federal funding into Colorado so participants of federally funded food programs have increased access to healthy, colorado-grown products. Double up food bucks, our largest nutritious food incentive program, enables participants in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (snap) to use incentives to purchase colorado-grown produce at nearly 100 farmers markets, grocery stores, and innovative local retailers (including community supported agriculture, food co-operatives, corner stores, and urban agriculture marketplaces) across the state. Snap families can receive vouchers for up to 20 per visit toward the purchase of colorado-grown fruits and vegetables. In 2021, nearly 570,000 in double up incentives were redeemed, with a 72% redemption rate. An estimated 400 farmers participated in the program. This program helps snap customers with increased access to healthy food, gives producers access to new and/or expanded markets for their products, and contributes to the local economy. Importantly, nearly 85% of customers participating in the program report they are eating more fruits and vegetables. The program is enhanced through strong partnerships with cooking matters, which offers on-site nutrition education at farmers markets, the Colorado farmers market association, boiler county public health, and the Colorado department of human services, which also facilitates a postcard marketing campaign for the program in denver. Nourish Colorado works with community food navigators to provide community-based outreach throughout various regions in the state. Navigators are typically snap participants who provide program outreach and planning. In addition to double up, Nourish Colorado provides the Colorado nutrition incentive program (cnip), which distributed nearly 600,000 to farmers throughout the state in 2021 to purchase community supported agriculture (csa) shares that are distributed to participants in the women, infants, and children (wic) program and the older adult congregate meal program. Program evaluation demonstrated that over 90% of wic participants and nearly 85% of older adult participants reported an increase in food security through the program. Additionally, in 2021, Nourish Colorado partnered with the Colorado department of public health & environment to provide the farmers market nutrition program, which distributed healthy food incentives to wic participants to purchase nutritious food at farmers markets throughout the state. This program distributed over 60,000 in incentives to wic participants in 2021.

Through our healthy food policy work, Nourish Colorado advances comprehensive federal and state level policy agendas that support a fair and nutritious food system by addressing structural inequities in the food system and supporting policies that mitigate the root causes of poverty. In 2021, we relaunched the food bill action team, which met biweekly throughout the year. Fbat members include market managers, state leaders, and community members who are focused on learning about policy and brainstorming new ideas that could be implemented through federal and state legislation. Additionally, we developed outlines for two state bills to be introduced in early 2022, including double up/electronic benefits transfer integration (in conjunction with the Colorado department of human services), and additional house bill 19-1132 (Colorado school food purchasing program) technical amendments to strengthen the program's impact. We also drafted a three-year state policy priority list, contracted with a new state lobbying firm to better align and represent our mission and values, and secured an additional 300,000 for the healthy food incentive fund in the 2021 legislative session (which partially funds incentives for double up food bucks and cnip).

Nourish Colorado's healthy food in institutions initiatives work with institutions, like schools, early childhood education centers, and older adult meal programs, to grow and strengthen local and regional food systems by increasing the purchasing power of those institutions that procure and prepare food, while also connecting those institutions to local and regional producers. We have been supporting local institutional procurement since 2018 through two programs: local procurement Colorado (loproco) and the local food program. The loproco program is focusing on partners in southeast Colorado, which include schools, early childcare centers, hospitals, public senior care facilities, and community colleges. A series of three workshops are designed to convene agricultural producers, food service directors, community leaders, and extension specialists and provide in-depth training on how to build successful farm to institution programs. Nourish Colorado used 2021 to plan for the three-part series. The first workshop was held in march 2022. Additionally, Nourish Colorado, working with multiple partners, amended and updated house bill 1132 via house bill 20-1300, the Colorado school food purchasing program, a three-year pilot program providing a .05 cent per lunch reimbursement for participating schools to purchase Colorado grown, raised, or minimally processed products. The program also provides technical assistance to producers, food system intermediaries, and school nutrition program staff. In 2021, the first year of the pilot program, Nourish Colorado worked with 16 school districts as part of the program.