Vaccinations offer protection from common infectious diseases. Colorado law requires every child who is attending school in the state to present an up-to-date certificate of immunization. State law also allows for a student to be exempt from the immunization requirements for medical reasons, religious beliefs, or personal beliefs.
This issue brief focuses on healthy food recovery in Colorado. It provides an overview of food waste issues within the state, the current and potential role for grocery retailers in decreasing waste and increasing healthy food distribution, and the role of food assistance programs today such as food banks and pantries as well as direct redistribution models, to facilitate the movement of healthy food from retail to food redistribution.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps) benefits play an important role in meeting the food needs of low-income Coloradoans. Farmers markets provide a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables direct from the farm to consumers. This brief presents key findings of the barriers and opportunities to grow the use of SNAP at farmers markets and direct market producer points of sale. Such efforts have been shown to connect food insecure residents with healthy Colorado products and support Colorado's economy.
In lieu of issuing bonds, or using another form of long-term debt, the state often uses a form of lease-purchase agreement called certificates of participation (COPs) to finance the construction of its new facilities. A certificate refers to an investor's proportionate interest in the state's lease payments. COPs give the state the flexibility to build capital facilities even when funds are not available to pay for projects on a pay-as-you-go basis.