Who we are

We are a group of over 270 community leaders, parents, food workers, farmers, food businesses, food pantries, local government, healthcare providers, nonprofits, schools, and more who work together to create positive change in our local food system.

How it all started

Our organization was started in 2015 by Jefferson County Public Health to create a coalition to develop policy changes around child nutrition programs. Over the next seven years, JCFPC hosted events and trainings and built a network of collaborative organizations.
In 2022, we became our own community organization and are now fiscally-sponsored by Trailhead Institute. We have a structure of community leadership and a focus on grassroots advocacy for food systems change. Our policy platform brings together the issues our members are facing across the local food system. JCFPC members lead advocacy coalitions and workgroups to address these issues and create positive changes.

Our impact so far

Equitable and family-focused school food

School food has been a priority of our members since our inception. In 2022, we advocated for the statewide ballot measure, Healthy School Meals for All, through door-to-door conversations with voters. Colorado voted yes! Starting in fall 2023, all students in Jeffco Public Schools will have free lunches.We also support families to create their vision for school meals and advocate to Jeffco Public Schools to create change. So far, this has resulted in the Jeffco Public Schools agreeing to pilot four family-submitted recipes made from scratch with local ingredients in three schools.

Implementing racial equity in policy

JCFPC Racial Equity Workgroup members created a Racial Equity Policy Toolkit, released in 2022. The toolkit results in quantitative and qualitative analysis of the policies impact on racial equity in the food system.We used the toolkit to review a state bill that created a grant program for small retailers and farmers, then shared our analysis with the Colorado Department of Agriculture. This resulted in a meeting between JCFPC members and the program director to discuss how implementation of the grant can promote racial equity.

Building leadership within the community

JCFPC hosts regular training opportunities on leadership, advocacy, racial equity, and more. Since 2022, we have trained over 60 members to build their ability to lead our grassroots advocacy coalitions.These trainings have resulted in major shifts in mindset about sharing power with community, confidence of members to be leaders, and commitment to collaboration to create positive change in our food system.