Colorado, weighing in with the nation’s fastest-growing child poverty rate, is moving toward better health and nutrition with Senate Bill 106, which was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Bill Ritter.

S. 106: Creation of Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council will improve access to healthy food in the state by implementing a 13-member council to develop food system recommendations.

"There isn't one single place or single group that addresses the complexities of food systems and their impact on health," said Maren C. Stewart, president and CEO of LiveWell Colorado, in a press release. "For the first time in Colorado, the Food Systems Advisory Council will convene stakeholders from the multiple sectors that impact food systems to recommend policies and programs that will increase access to healthy foods."

The number of Colorado children living at or below the federal poverty level increased 72 percent between 2000 and 2008, according to “2010 Kids Count in Colorado!”

Denver, Colo., ranked the sixth fittest city in an American College of Sports Medicine report released Monday. However, the obesity rate increased faster than the country’s from 1995 through 2008, at a rate of 89 percent, while the number of obese adults nationwide increased 67 percent, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

According to the release, the bill is expected to:

• Increase participation in federal food assistance programs. Colorado currently has one of the lowest participation rates of any state. 
• Address food deserts by providing incentives to support the economic development of healthy food retailers, including full-service grocers, mobile vendors, corner stores, and farmers' markets and stands.
• Introduce electronic benefits transfer to farmer's markets to make it easier for all Coloradans to purchase healthy foods.
• Address school food procurement regulations to make it easier for schools to purchase healthy local foods.

"The bill strengthens local and regional sustainable food systems and offers economic benefits to Colorado," said Senator Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, one of the bill’s sponsors, in the release. "In addition to combating obesity, the work of this council will promote economic development and support local agriculture." 

The 13-member council will meet later this year to establish recommendations.

"Once established, this multi-sector Council will look at issues and address barriers to getting underserved communities, particularly low income families and children, access to healthy, fresh food,” said Rep.Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, who also sponsored the bill. “There are far too many families in Colorado that struggle to put food on the table every day, and SB 106 will help address that problem and ensure our children are well nourished.”

To read the full text of the bill, review LiveWell Colorado's Food Policy Blueprint or to learn more about the nonprofit's public policy agenda, visit www.livewellcolorado.org.