CDE'S SCHOOLS OF CHOICE 2023 EQUITY CONVENING

Equitable Access to School Choice: School Meals and Nutrition

Hosted by the Colorado League of Charter Schools in collaboration with the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers

Description of the Event

This site was created to collect and organize the materials and resources shared and generated at the 1-day in person convening that brought together charter school leaders and authorizers to explore the profound impact nutrition has on a student's overall well-being, educational experience, and future opportunities.

The Fall 2023 Equity Convening highlighted approaches schools, authorizers, and support organizations are taking including:

Implementation of Healthy Meals for All
Culturally Relevant School Meals
Solving Infrastructure Challenges
Food Partnerships
Federal Nutrition Programs

Thank You to Our Presenters & Panelists

Keynote Speaker

Ulcca Joshi Hansen, Educating Potential

Ulcca Joshi Hansen, PhD, JD, is first and foremost an educator, whether as a mother to her two sons, in a classroom with students, facilitating workshops, writing/blogging or working to shape policy.

Ulcca is a first-generation American who began school as an English language learner and ended up being the first in her family to complete college and graduate school. She has spent the two decades researching, advocating and working to move our education system and the players within it in the direction of being human-centered: meeting the developmental needs of young people, reflecting what we know about how learning happens, and honoring the need each person has to find, develop and live out their unique sense of purpose.

Ulcca's work includes non-profit planning, program design, evaluation and improvement, adult/teacher preparation and school-based improvement strategies, always with an eye towards incorporating cutting-edge research on human development, the learning sciences, and best practices in networked organizational change management. Her newer offerings are focused on helping adults develop the skills they need to relate more confidently and bravely to conversations about race, identity, equity and belonging – all foundational aspects of the schools and educational experiences our children deserve.

Kenote Speaker

Jessica Wright, Nourish Colorado

Chef Jessica Wright is the Director of Healthy Food in Institutions at Nourish Colorado. She brings a "chef mentality" to institutional meal programs, where she implements workshops, trains and supports staff with their culinary skills, assesses their kitchen operations and helps with community engagement. Over the last couple of years, Jessica's work focused on the development, implementation and fine-tuning of the Local Food Program which was passed via legislation in 2019 and expanded by ballot measure in 2022. She also leads the Local Procurement Colorado (LoProCO) program which is designed to build a foundation for making farm-to-institution the norm in Colorado. Along with this work, she provides additional support to institutions as they introduce more from-scratch meals and fresh produce into their programs and supports our producers with accessing these institutional markets. Her passion lies in creating systemic changes to our food system through the amazing meals offered by our institutions.