Other/Miscellaneous Request Template (Appointments; ROW; Code Changes; Zoning Action, etc.)
Date Submitted: 4-30-21
Requesting Agency: Department of Public Health and Environment
Division:
Subject Matter Expert Name:
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Name: Will Fenton & Lauren Howe |
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Email: William.fenton@denvergov.org |
Item Title & Description:
(Do not delete the following instructions)
These appear on the Council meeting agenda. Initially, the requesting agency will enter a 2-3 sentence description. Upon bill filling, the City Attorney’s Office should enter the title above the description (the title should be in bold font).
Both the title and description must be entered between the red “title” and “body” below. Do not at any time delete the red “title” or “body” markers from this template.
title
A bill for an ordinance amending Section 2-242 and Section 2-243 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code regarding the Denver Food Commission.
Amends Chapter 2 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code concerning the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids Initiative to improve the ability of the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids Commission to disburse funds more widely and equitably. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 6-30-21.
body
Affected Council District(s) or citywide? Citywide
Executive Summary with Rationale and Impact:
Detailed description of the item and why we are doing it. This can be a separate attachment.
This modification will expand the number of organizations eligible for Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids grant funds. Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids (HFDK) Commission, administered by Denver's Department of Public Health and Environment, is recommending modifications to Ordinance 302, the Healthy Food for Denver's Kids Initiative. The Commission is recommending these changes to improve the ability of the HFDK Initiative to disburse funds more widely, efficiently, and effectively. The goals and outcomes of this proposed modification are to better serve Denver's youth. The Commission currently has approximately $15 million to distribute via its next Request for Proposal.
These modifications will be more inclusive and equitable by allowing more organizations to apply for funds. The changes will also allow for greater inclusion and diversity in terms of age and residency for representatives appointed to the Healthy Food for Denver's Kids Commission. Finally, clarified language will provide more consistency and accessibility for the community stakeholders who are potentially applying for these funds.
Support/Opposition. There has been strong support for this change. The HFDK Initiative has received feedback from current/potential grantees, the HFDK Commission, community stakeholders and City Council. The HFDK Commission members and staff developed the proposed language changes and voted to approve in December 2020. Support from City Council was shown during the annual reporting presentation in December 2020, in one on one briefings, and by the two City Councilwomen who are represented on the HFDK Commission (Councilwoman Ortega and Councilwoman Torres). DDPHE has not received any opposition to the proposed ballot language changes.
The specific modifications include:
• Striking the requirement that Commissioners “be a resident” of Denver to “live or work” in Denver to be more inclusive
• Remove the minimum age requirement of 21 years (to allow youth to serve on the Commission if qualified and interested)
• Change “under 18” to “18 and under” to include high school students of all ages in grant activities and to be more aligned with standard age cut offs
• Change a “majority of activities” to “qualifying programmatic activities”, which would allow more organizations to apply (including those that may have less than 50% of their activities go towards feeding kids or providing food-based education, but who may want to increase this work)
• Clarify that distributed grant funds (rather than organizations overall) need to principally benefit Denver residents
• Strike “primary purpose” to again allow organizations that may feed kids as a smaller portion of their work to still apply
• Clarify that “public schools in Denver” can apply (including individual DPS schools and charter schools), in addition to DPS as an entity
Address/Location (if applicable):
Legal Description (if applicable):
Denver Revised Municipal Code (D.R.M.C.) Citation (if applicable):
Draft Bill Attached?