Food System Policies

Food policy shapes how food is grown, distributed, accessed, purchased and valued across Denver.

What do we mean by Food Policy?

Food policy refers to the decisions, systems and practices that influence how people access food and how food systems operate in Denver. Food policy is about more than food – it is about accessing that food, as well.

When we talk about policy, we mean more than legislation. Policy covers formal government rules and requirements, and it also includes the organizational practices, funding priorities and institutional commitments that are just as powerful in shaping outcomes.

Examples of formal government action that creates rules, laws or official requirements include:

  • City ordinances
  • Zoning changes
  • Executive orders
  • Formal agency regulations

The everyday practices, procedures, funding decisions and institutional commitments that shape systems and outcomes includes:

  • Organizational purchasing standards
  • Grantmaking priorities
  • Community engagement processes
  • Program guidelines
  • Partnership agreements

Types of Policy DDPHE Supports 

Planning Policy: Helps answer the critical question, “How can neighborhoods support food access?” It guides long-term community development and shapes how food systems are considered in city planning, land use, infrastructure and neighborhood investment. Planning Policy initiatives include:

Financial Policy: Shapes how city resources are invested, distributed and prioritized to support food systems and community health. Financial Policy initiatives include:

Regulatory Policy: Establishes rules, standards and requirements that shape food environments and public health outcomes. Regulator Policy initiatives include:

Good Food Purchasing Program

The Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) uses the food buying power of institutions to purchase from vendors that care about the health and well-being of people, animals, and the environment.

Denver Food Vision

Denver Food Vision sets an ambitious, comprehensive policy approach to develop, create and sustain a more inclusive, healthy, vibrant and resilient food system in Denver.

Sustainable Food Policy Council

Our mission is to influence policy that fosters food security for all community members and promotes a healthy, equitable, and sustainable local food system with consideration for economic vitality and environmental impact.

Related Programs and Information

Health Beverage Partnership

Healthy Beverage Partnership

The Healthy Beverage Partnership (HBP) is a regional collaborative effort that is focused on addressing health inequities and the urgent issue of children reaching an unhealthy weight status experienced by children and communities of color. 

The HBP is made up of six public health agencies: Boulder County Public Health, City and County of Broomfield Public Health and Environment, the City and County of Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, The Public Health Institute at Denver Health, and Jefferson County Public Health and is sponsored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment through the Cancer, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grants Program.

The HBP is a unique regional partnership in Colorado focused on sugary drink education and policy strategies to reduce sugary drink consumption and reverse the upward trend of children at an unhealthy weight. This is accomplished  by decreasing deceptive sugary drink marketing in public spaces and restaurants, decreasing availability of harmful sugary drinks to children (especially children of color), and improving healthy norms and options for all families. Too much weight for health (a body mass index above 25) significantly increases the risk of preventable and costly short and long term health issues, such as type II diabetes, cancer, fatty liver, asthma, cavities, and heart disease.  The efforts of the HBP have contributed to the stabilization of weight gain in children in the Metro Denver region. 

The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment can provide the following services to assist you and your organization in developing healthier food and beverage policies and practices: Conducting baseline assessments of food and beverage environments and policies. Providing technical assistance in the creation and adoption of healthy food and beverage policies and practices

  • Healthy Meetings
  • Healthier Vending
  • Healthier Concessions and Cafeterias
  • Implementing educational and public information campaigns, including the Hidden Sugar Campaign Toolkit.

For more information contact: Andrea Pascual, Denver Health and Hospital Authority  andrea.pascual@dhha.org

Executive Order No. 70 – Healthier City Vending Machines – was signed May 25, 2018, by Mayor Michael B. Hancock, establishing a policy to provide healthier food and beverage options in City vending machines.

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