skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, December 13, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Amazon donating $1 million to Trump inaugural fund, to air event on Prime Video; Retired USAF colonel urges White House to stop gaslight NJ residents over mysterious drones; Support available for MI youths aging out of foster care; NM designates 250 miles as Outstanding National Resource Waters; One size fits all? Not so, says OSHA for construction protection gear.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Biden carries out the largest ever single-day act of clemency, voting rights advocates raise alarm over Trump's pick to lead Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and election denier Kari Lake is tapped to lead Voice of America.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Conservative voters surprised pundits by casting election votes for Trump but also against school vouchers, Pennsylvania's Black mayors work to unite their communities, and America's mental health providers try new techniques.

Hunger Free Colorado celebrates 15th birthday

play audio
Play

Monday, November 18, 2024   

Colorado's leading advocate for people experiencing hunger turns 15 this year and a new report outlined key advances and persistent challenges facing residents across the state.

Elissa Hardy, director of client services for Hunger Free Colorado, cited its work on the Healthy School Meals for All program as a major win. Students in schools opting into the program can now get the nutrition they need to learn, regardless of their parents' ability to pay. She pointed out it is also putting an end to practices such as lunch line shaming.

"This really allowed for reduction in stigma, in discrimination, for those kids on low-cost food programs," Hardy observed. "Because (with the new program) everyone was getting the meals."

Colorado became the third state in the nation to provide free, nutritious breakfast and lunch for all public-school students when voters approved Proposition FF in 2022. Hunger Free Colorado has also helped secure more than $30 million in state funding to fill food banks and pantries with culturally relevant foods communities want, produced by local farmers and ranchers.

When the group started doing outreach for SNAP enrollment in 2009, just four in 10 Coloradans eligible for the program formerly known as food stamps were getting help. Hardy reported today, nearly eight in 10 eligible families are getting food assistance.

"Colorado was one of the lower ranking states, for the number of people who are eligible but not enrolled, and now we are much higher up in that rating," Hardy emphasized. "We now have a team of 20 who are going into the community to do outreach."

Hardy acknowledged there is still work to be done. More than one in 10 Coloradans do not know where their next meal will come from and 17% of Colorado families with children do not earn enough to ensure their kids get the nutrition they need.

"I think it's really easy to think that people have what they need, and they don't," Hardy added. "There is food insecurity in our own neighborhoods, our own neighbors might be struggling. We work with many colleges across the state, and many of the students are struggling."

Disclosure: Hunger Free Colorado contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Health Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition, and Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
After some initial permit roadblocks, Summit Carbon Solutions has been gaining approval in Midwestern states for a large-scale carbon capture project involving ethanol plants. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A massive carbon capture project proposed for the Midwest has another permit under its belt after Minnesota regulators gave their approval Thursday…


Social Issues

play sound

The Environmental Protection Agency this week banned a toxic chemical commonly used in dry cleaning and other consumer products. Trichloroethylene …

Social Issues

play sound

A new study provides New York State with an outline of necessary updates to its school funding formula. The Rockefeller Institute study called for …


Virginia is one of the top 10 states in the nation for Christmas tree production. (jannoon028/Freepik)

Social Issues

play sound

As families across the country prepare to celebrate the holiday season, the joy of decorating a Christmas tree is a time-honored tradition. But the …

Social Issues

play sound

With winter underway, outdoor construction workers in North Dakota are likely wearing safety vests over their heavy coats and a new federal rule was …

A bill to allow interim legislative appointments passed in the Maryland Senate last session, but died in a House of Delegates subcommittee on elections. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Lawmakers in Annapolis plan to introduce a bill to require a special election if a lawmaker is appointed to a seat in the first half of their term…

Social Issues

play sound

A new report from the Michigan League for Public Policy reveals that eviction injustice is locking many Michigan families out of safe, stable housing…

Environment

play sound

Nevada climate advocates say the impacts of climate change are only getting worse in the Silver State. They're now demanding Congress make it a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021