Communications and Special Initiatives

Shared Technology System 

The School Nutrition Unit and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) have been collaborating to streamline the administrative processes (e.g. applications, claim submissions, and reviews) related to operating federal nutrition programs. The agencies have been working with a vendor to develop and implement a new shared technology solution for all child nutrition programs. The new system will be in place by Oct. 2020 and will look and function very similar to the current system to ensure a smooth transition. Both state agencies are confident this technology system will improve program efficiency and integrity, reduce errors and increase customer satisfaction. 

Technology Innovation Grant (TIG) Overview (PDF) 

School Nutrition's Needs Assessment: The Results are IN!

Our office continues to serve as a key partner in addressing Goal 5 (maximizing participation in federal child nutrition programs) for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger.

School Nutrition is thrilled to announce that we have completed our statewide needs assessment in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) Evaluation Branch! As a reminder, this was geared toward all School Food Authorities (SFAs) operating the National School Lunch Program as well as the School Breakfast Program, Afterschool Snack Program and/or Summer Food Service Program.  The needs assessment included both the statewide survey and key informant interviews to provide a greater understanding of opportunities & barriers to increasing participation in/access to federal child nutrition programs. Many of you may have attended a presentation at CSNA (or elsewhere) where some preliminary results were discussed, but we’d like to take this opportunity to share the completed final report (PDF) with you all. With a robust 88% response rate, this report showcases the survey results into one document.

Thanks to your contribution to the survey and/or key informant interviews, we can better support child nutrition programs in reaching all of Colorado’s students and families. If you would like more information about this effort, please reach out to Gabriella Warner, Blueprint Project Manager via email or at 720-827-5144.