I have two children, age 9 and 5, in the Pueblo School District, and I’m worried I’m going to need to find more than $100 a month to pay for their school lunches. That’s because their access to free meals through federal child-nutrition programs is under threat. When federal pandemic support expires at the end […]
nutrition
Posted inNews
A rural Colorado school goes back for seconds to honor a legendary lunch lady
COLLBRAN – Far from the neon lure of fast food and smack-dab in the middle of prime Grand Mesa farming country, a rural school is celebrating an unlikely hero today: a lunch lady named Betty Lou Hawkins. Betty Lou died seven years ago, but enduring love for her cinnamon rolls, her baked ham and cheese […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: When you make fresh produce available in stores, families ask for more
As the COVID-19 shutdown cratered the economy, one of the most enduring images from the early months will undoubtedly be long lines at food banks across the country. Food access quickly emerged as a critical inequity exacerbated by the pandemic – leading to endless lines at food banks, families struggling to put food on the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Food is medicine, so insurance should cover it
A few years ago, my mother had a heart attack that required several long, frightening days in the hospital. When the initial crisis passed, she returned home under strict doctor’s orders about the types of food she should have in her diet (and the types she shouldn’t). As a family, we figured we could easily […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, News
Coronavirus has spoiled Colorado schools’ decade of planning to improve nutrition, get kids exercising
In Colorado Springs, gym teachers are shooting videos of their own kids making jump ropes out of plastic grocery bags. All across the state, kids are growing weary of pancakes on a stick and calorie-packed Uncrustables PB&Js. In Denver, high schoolers are wondering how to get their PE graduation requirements in a pandemic year when […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Health, News
Meals on Wheels is still delivering in western Colorado — but without the side of conversation
Ninety-year-old Rose Konola misses the conversations she used to have with Meals on Wheels volunteers who bring hot lunches to her home four days a week. COVID-19 has changed the way the Mesa County chapter of the program provides meals to the elderly. While crucial to ensuring the safety of both clients and drivers, the necessary distancing […]
Posted inColoradans, News
Colorado’s newest farmers are YouTube-taught, social justice-minded and preaching the gospel of microgreens
BENNETT — A fire smolders in a metal barrel laid on its side, a makeshift fireplace warding off the late-afternoon chill and lending a wood-smoke aroma to the farm’s open-air “hangout spot.” A tea kettle balances on top. The Emerald Gardens farm, rising bit by bit on 35 acres north of town, has a rustic, […]