Fwd: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Building A Healthy Colorado For All: Governor Polis Takes Action to Encourage Healthy Eating and Improve Health
Zinth - CDHS, Kyle
From: Sullivan - GOVOffice, Ally <ally.s...@state.co.us>
Date: Thu, May 21, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Subject: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Building A Healthy Colorado For All: Governor Polis Takes Action to Encourage Healthy Eating and Improve Health
To:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Ally Sullivan | ally.s...@state.co.us | (720) 668-1681
Building A Healthy Colorado For All: Governor Polis Takes Action to Encourage Healthy Eating and Improve Health
DENVER - Today, Governor Polis signed an Executive Order moving forward with a statewide plan to supporting healthy eating and food access. It will also ensure taxpayer money goes to healthy beverage options for state official functions.
“Colorado is one of the healthiest states in the nation, and this is an opportunity to build on our success. A healthy and nutritious diet plays an important role in our quality of life, and today we are stepping up to encourage healthier eating, expand access to healthy foods, and promote healthy outdoor activity. Reducing obesity through healthy eating and keeping Coloradans active makes us healthier and lowers health care costs for everyone. We are lucky to have so much incredible, delicious produce grown across our state, and we want to help showcase these foods and increase access for everyone,” said Governor Polis.
The Executive Order outlines actions to encourage healthy eating, expands access to healthy foods, and prohibits the use of state funds to purchase soft drinks and alcohol for state official functions and more to help Coloradans lead healthy and strong lives.
Colorado is an active state with a thriving agricultural and outdoor recreation sector that employs thousands of Coloradans, boosts Colorado's economy, and helps make Colorado one of the healthiest states. Governor Polis is directing state agencies to take action and develop strategies to keep Coloradans healthy by expanding food access, education, and outdoor opportunities. Examples of some of the agencies’ actions directed today include:
The Colorado Department of Human Services:
Will further advocate for approval of Colorado’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) hot foods waiver, increasing access to nutritious foods like rotisserie chicken.
Improve and expand the geographic diversity of SNAP incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks and the Electronic Healthy Incentives Program, which help Coloradans stretch their SNAP benefits further when purchasing fruit and vegetables .
The Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing:
Collaborate with the Office of eHealth Innovation to launch an improved Provider Tool, which helps connect Medicaid members to community food banks and healthy nutrition supports and programs, by 2028.
Office of Economic Development and International Trade:
In alignment with Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy, OEDIT will create a plan for emphasizing healthy habits and activities within the Rural Technical Assistance (RTAP) and Colorado State Outdoor Recreation Grant Program (COSORG). This plan is about promoting healthy activities and lifestyles.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife:
Utilize newsletters to promote the benefits of outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife photography, cycling and other forms of outdoor recreation.
The Colorado Department of Education:
Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year CDE will be ramping up efforts to encourage healthy habits and boost student well-being by expanding access to nutritious school breakfasts and the use of Colorado-grown foods in the School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, and Healthy School Meals for All Program with the goal of increasing the number of schools offering alternative breakfast service models by 10% and the number of school districts that spend more than 20% of their total food service budget on local foods and feature local products on menus at least once a month.
The Colorado Department of Higher Education:
Build a broad, talented, and engaged agricultural and food workforce through the national Together We Grow consortium which works with Coloradans, companies, non-governmental organizations, universities, and government agencies committed to building a modern food and agricultural workforce that reflects the communities in which we live and work.
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