DENVER - Friday may be National Food Day, but Coloradans are being invited to do more than just eat in celebration. Nutrition advocates are hoping Coloradans will join others across the U.S. in improving their diets and food policies.

One topic is whether school systems should have to follow 2012 federal nutrition improvement guidelines, after some districts, including Douglas County in Colorado, have said the new standards are impacting food sales and increasing waste.

Theresa Hafner, executive director of enterprise management with Denver Public Schools, says schools shouldn't get a "free pass."

"I don't want us to roll back the progress we've made," she says. "We're doing good things. It's interesting to read that kids are more and more obese. I don't think school lunch is making them that way, but I think we need to model the way forward."

The largest school system in the state, Denver Public Schools has 80,000 students with nearly 50,000 eating daily lunch. The school system helps supplement the need for fresh food with four farms on district property, and tries to buy food from Colorado vendors whenever possible.

Hafner says offering choices to students, like a salad bar, is also a great way to increase the appeal of school lunches.

Michael Booth, managing editor of the Colorado Health Foundation's Health Elevations, recently researched an article on the topic and found many Colorado school systems are finding ways to meet nutrition standards, and act as a "lever" in the effort to improve the health of the state.

"We shouldn't try to shame people into choosing or eating better food," says Booth. "There are bigger policy levers out there that policy makers can use to improve the food system for everyone."

While Hafner acknowledges it can be easier for larger districts to purchase food for the best price because of their buying power, she says the answer to problems small districts face with new nutrition guidelines shouldn't be found in giving up - but in looking at a team approach.

'I'm more than happy to use my trucks delivering us food from the Pueblo area," says Hafner. "If they're driving by a small school district, what if they could offload some of the produce I was able to buy under my purchasing power to a small school district in between me and them?"

Last year Colorado also increased the number of schools offering school breakfast to students. The Breakfast After the Bell program brought breakfast to an additional 40,000 new students.

The state expects to spend $170,000 in the first year of aligning with federal nutrition improvement guidelines, but the new meals bring in more than $14 million in USDA reimbursement.


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Alabama is one of 14 states opting out of the 2024 summer electronic benefit program.

As summer rolls around, there will be no programs in place to help low-income families with grocery costs.

LaTrell Clifford Wood, hunger policy advocate for the group Alabama Arise, said as a result, more than 500,000 children who usually receive free or reduced lunch could go without meals. She noted while summer feeding programs will be available, they will not reach everyone in need.

"Ninety-four percent of Alabama children who rely on free and reduced-price meals won't have access to them over the summer," Wood reported. "That means that only 6% of the children who rely on those meals during the school year are going to be fed through summer feeding programs."

Wood warned limited hours, transportation and strict program rules will hinder many families from benefiting from such vital programs. The Alabama Legislature did not allocate the necessary $15 million for the program by the end of the last session. However, Wood noted there is a chance the program will be funded in the summer of 2025.

As legislators focus on next year's budgets, Wood stressed the need for funding next summer's EBT program. She pointed out Alabama Arise is calling for lawmakers to allocate funds from the general fund or Education Trust Fund to combat child hunger, affecting one in four children in the state.

"This is a program that's been tested for 13 years," Wood emphasized. "It's had three rigorous evaluation periods, and it was shown to improve the diet of children and decrease children's food hardship by a third."

Wood believes prioritizing children's needs and addressing food insecurity is a form of preventive care and serves as an early investment in the state's overall wellness.

The Food Research and Action Center said funding the e-benefits program would also benefit the economy - adding anywhere from $98 million to $117 million. The Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee is expected to vote on the budget next week.

California's program helping low-income families buy fresh fruit and vegetables is on the chopping block and health care advocates are asking legislators to save the Market Match program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting most of the program's $35 million budget to help close the state's budget shortfall.

Sophia Vaccaro, a participant in Market Match from Echo Park, said she depends on Market Match in more ways than one.

"It helps people being able to stretch their budget further," Vaccaro explained. "Then, I think it helps the community, in that it creates a sense of camaraderie at the farmers' market and makes people more invested in the community itself."

The program matches every dollar CalFresh customers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market up to between $10 and $20 per day. It is active at 294 sites across the state and is partially paid for through federal matching funds.

Dr. John Maa, surgeon at Marin Health Medical Center and board member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Heart Association, said Market Match promotes healthy eating and boosts the local farm economy.

"An improved diet really will have long-term meaningful impacts on health, and also reduce health care costs," Maa explained. "It really helps to sustain the growers and the merchants. I guess it's a win-win-win."

Siu Han Cheung, outreach coordinator for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and board member of the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, argued the program is vital to residents across the state.

"If the Market Match will be cut, that is terrible," Cheung stressed. "That means they have less money to buy their food. So, Market Match is very important for the low-income families and the seniors."

Legislators and the governor are working toward the May budget revisions, and must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden.

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds some grocery retailers used the supply-chain disruptions of the pandemic to raise prices and collect bigger profits, even after supply chains regulated.

One South Dakota group is trying to reduce sticker shock by targeting the state sales tax on groceries. Dakotans for Health is sponsoring a citizens ballot initiative to repeal the 4.2 % tax.

Rick Weiland, co-founder of the group, said lower food bills would make a meaningful difference for some.

"People of modest means, or low income hardworking families, disproportionately spend upwards of 30% on food," Weiland pointed out. "This is going to be helpful."

South Dakota is one of only two states in the country to apply its full state sales tax rate to groceries with no exemptions, Mississippi being the other. More than 9% of South Dakotans are considered food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough healthy food.

The grocery tax has been a popular topic among state legislators in recent years. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem even campaigned on the promise to repeal it. Critics have said proposing a tax cut without a way to finance it is irresponsible.

Weiland pointed out Gov. Noem had a formula spelled out when she brought forward her bill in 2023, which was voted down.

"She had no problem defending her position in front of the Legislature, in terms of how much revenue the state was going to lose and where they could make it up," Weiland recounted.

The initiative needs about 17,500 signatures by next month to appear on the November ballot.