Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online tool could help more school districts participate.

The effort is a key component of the Healthy School Meals for All initiative approved by voters in 2022.

Taylor Frederick - culinary programs manager with Nourish Colorado - said over the past couple of years, school meal operators have identified best practices that can be adopted by other school districts, including how to work with local farms and ranches.

"How you can find your local producer," said Frederick, "and even how to put out specific bids for specific local items, and how to work these sorts of things into your menus."

The new Colorado Local Food Program Guidebook, available online at 'guidebook.nourishcolorado.org,' offers tips and tools for launching and sustaining farm-to-school programs.

The guide also offers ways for parents and community members to engage with their local school district, to encourage them to opt into the voluntary program or make menu recommendations.

Frederick explained that the guide begins with a short quiz that helps direct users to the right resources.

For example, food producers who want to sell their produce to reliable kiddo customers can learn how school district cafeterias operate and purchase food.

"To better understand the school market channels," said Frederick, "the bid process, the price points that school districts are working with, their timing, and a little bit about their menus and products that they are looking for."

He said school meal operators can also get tips on how to transition from serving canned and processed foods to preparing meals with fresh ingredients through a series of training videos.

"Some different types of kitchen equipment that might be in the schools, we have training videos on those," said Frederick. "Some vegetable cookery techniques. Those were the big things that school districts and school meal authorities were really saying that they wanted."




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This is National Farmers Market Week, but almost every week, fresh fruits and vegetables and local products attract customers to more than 8,000 farmers markets nationwide.

Pennsylvania has 287 farmers markets that cultivate community and offer access to locally grown food.

Jenny Lester Moffitt, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said these markets pay a vital role in the local food and farm economy. She highlighted a USDA grant awarded to strengthen the food-supply chain.

"One of our grant recipients is an organization called Food Trust, and what they're doing is they are creating small, pop-up farmers markets in areas around Philadelphia that don't have access to healthy, fresh produce," she said. "They're increasing access to fresh, healthy, locally grown produce."

She said Adagio Health in Pittsburgh addresses food insecurity by hosting farmers markets at Women's, Infants and Children's clinics. This ensures that low-income families can get fresh local foods through programs such as SNAP and WIC, which promotes healthy eating and supports local farmers.

Moffitt said farmers markets are especially important to Pennsylvania's rural communities, as they connect farmers and ranchers with local customers.

"We know that when shopping at mainstream supply chains, farmers are getting about 14 to 15 cents of the food dollar back in their pocket," she said. "But when farmers can sell direct to consumers, they keep much more of that food dollar back in their pocket. And then, of course, that money is then circulating in the community."

In Gov. Josh Shapiro's latest budget, Pennsylvania received new investments for agriculture innovation and conservation. And this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture encouraged farmers to apply for $13 million in tax credits to enhance soil health and water quality.


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Reports continue to roll out underscoring food insecurity facing many Texans, and newly released numbers paint a troubling picture of hunger issues affecting older adults across the state.

The North Texas Food Bank has said nearly 1.1 million older adults are experiencing food insecurity in the Lone Star State, second highest in the country.

In a post-pandemic world, said Trisha Cunningham, the food bank's president and CEO, those 50 and older keep having to make tradeoffs when it comes to securing basic necessities.

"Do I buy food or do I pay my rent? Or, do I buy my medicine - because all of the costs have gone up so significantly," she said, "including housing and rent costs and insurance."

Officials have said food-assistance programs are a critical lifeline. However, many eligible seniors don't participate due to a range of barriers and stigmas. The heightened awareness comes as Congress debates a reauthorization of the Farm Bill, which not only funds SNAP benefits, but also the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for seniors.

For that specific program, Cunningham said, there is a waiting list in the areas they serve.

Cunningham said pandemic aid was helping many people on fixed incomes stay afloat, but when that extra support dried up, these individuals had to adjust in an era of higher-consumer prices.

"So, now we're seeing those families and senior citizens, they're now also having to go to a local food pantry to get assistance as well," she said, "just because they don't have enough monthly income to be able to meet their needs."

This latest report also reinforces previous research showing that seniors and older adults of color experience food insecurity at disproportionately higher rates compared with whites. Meanwhile, Cunningham said boosting food access among seniors helps reduce chronic health conditions.


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The number of Kentucky kids who ate free breakfast and lunch through Summer Nutrition Programs jumped by 65% between the summers of 2022 and 2023, bucking a nationwide downward trend, according to a new report by the Food Research and Action Center.

The findings highlight the Commonwealth's commitment to providing universal school meals through high district-level participation in the Community Eligibility Provision program, which eliminates the cost of school meals for students.

John Cain, Kentucky Kids Eat program director for Feeding Kentucky, noted participation has been strong.

"More than 90% of Kentucky schools actually have adopted CEP, which eliminates that cost for children and their families," Cain explained.

A recent survey by the group No Kid Hungry found more than half of rural families report not having enough money for food during the summer. More than 80% of parents said they spend more on groceries when their children are out of school, an average of $168 more each month.

Cain emphasized the benefits add up for kids who eat school breakfasts regularly, noting they are more likely to do better on standardized tests, and have fewer behavioral problems in the classroom.

"We have to eliminate barriers that could keep them from doing that," Cain urged. "Because we know it not only improves health and academic achievement, but it's a real solution for the children in Kentucky that are considered food insecure."

Experts said this summer offers important opportunities to increase access to summer nutrition by supporting and expanding summer programming, the provision of non-congregate meals in underserved rural areas, and the permanent Summer EBT Program.


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