Denver Approves Up to $749,695 for Early-Childhood Nutrition Programs; Mayor Mike Johnston Signs Agreement
Denver is a city in Denver County, Colorado (a consolidated city-county). The Denver City Council has approved an agreement with the Regents of the University of Colorado authorizing up to $749,694.78 for nutrition education and food-access programs through Denver Great Kids Head Start and four Denver Public Schools early-childhood hubs. City Council Bill 26-1380 passed on October 13, and Mayor Mike Johnston signed it on October 15. Payments are subject to annual City Council appropriations.
The program plans hands-on classroom nutrition lessons, with teachers leading monthly activities that include food for tasting or preparation and lesson materials. The agreement targets six lessons per school year in 94 classrooms, reaching an estimated 1,880 children annually. The participating hubs are Escalante-Biggs Academy, Pascual LeDoux Academy, Sandra Todd-Williams Academy and the Stephen Knight Center for Early Education.
Families are also slated to receive food-access supports, including pantry tables with shelf-stable foods, culturally responsive farmers markets and multilingual nutrition materials. The plan calls for virtual cooking and nutrition classes in multiple languages, with ingredients or kitchen tools provided to families in some cases.
The agreement runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029.
Sources: Denver City Council bill records; The Badger.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Denver City and County Building。Larry D. Moore 摄，CC BY 4.0，经维基共享资源。Image: The Denver City and County Building. Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
