As Students Go Back to School Healthy School Meals for All Ballot Measure Campaign Kicks Off
JESPA and our Allies Urge YES Vote for Kids
Edgewater, CO – Today, JESPA stood in support of the Healthy School Meals for All campaign, which officially launched marking a remarkable moment in Colorado’s future.
This November, voters can ensure access to free, nutritious meals made with quality ingredients for all students in Colorado public schools, provide funding for our schools to use healthy and nutritious ingredients instead of processed foods, and give schools funding to purchase locally-produced ingredients from Colorado farmers and ranchers to use in school meals.
As Coloradoans experience a harsh economy, families should not be worried if their children will receive a meal from school.
Zander Kaschub, elementary school kitchen manager, JESPA member and president of the Jeffco Food Service union says, “I know that for some of my students, the meals we serve are the only meals they’re eating.”
“Right now, 44% of Colorado families struggle to put food on the table for their children. Because of this extreme food insecurity, our students are more likely to skip meals, more likely to eat cheap unhealthy junk food and more likely to go into debt for meals they cannot afford,” Kaschub continued.
JCEA leader Genevieve Bassett, a social studies teacher at Alameda International Jr/Sr High School in Lakewood experiences the effects of hungry students. “When they are hungry you see it – they are tired, lack motivation, and they have such a hard time concentrating.”
Kaschub concluded by saying, “When we commit to providing every kid in Colorado a healthy meal made with local, Colorado-grown products, just as Healthy School Meals For All does, we make a commitment to the long term health and well-being of
kids across the entire state.”
