Healthy Food for Denver's Kids Grant Opportunities

Grant Opportunity Closed

Are you a nonprofit, public school, or city agency interested in serving Denver youth through food access and food education? The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) is pleased to announce the seventh round of funding of the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids (HFDK) program to support healthy food and food-based education in Denver.

The Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids Commission, through Denver’s Department of Public Health & Environment, has released annual funding opportunities and several micro-grant opportunities to increase access to healthy food and food-based education for youth and their families in Denver since the establishment of the program in 2020. The City and County of Denver is investing in collaborative programs, projects and activities for non-profits, agencies of local government and Denver schools to improve child nutrition security and wellness through healthy food access, food education, and federal nutrition assistance programs. 

Additional Information

Note that this funding round is the sixth of a series of grants over the Healthy Food for Kids Initiative ten-year period (2019-2029). There will be future opportunities to apply for funds, and the focus of future grants may shift based on data gathered through evaluation, as well as Commission and community priorities. For reference, you may view previous Requests for Proposal (RFPs) that are now closed. 

HFDK Funding Values & Approach

• Center racial equity, diversity and inclusion in all Commission activities and outcomes.
• Gather information from grantees, community partners, kids and their families with lived experience of hunger. Use that information to make decisions.
• Share out and be clear on how we develop funding opportunities, distribute funds, estimate revenue and available funding amounts, and communicate evaluation results.
• Use an equity lens in our grantmaking, including making funds available to the most under-resourced communities in Denver and the organizations that serve them.
• Be flexible and allow for innovation in how grantees use funds to advance HFDK's Vision. This flexibility includes providing grants to both establish new programs and continue or expand existing programs.
• If funding decreases or the Commission’s funding priorities change, minimize negative effects for grantees and the low-income and underserved youth and their families we serve.
• Encourage grantees to have different revenue sources so they can continue their mission and work over time, after HFDK funding ends.
• Simplify and streamline funding-related processes to reduce administrative burden, making the work easier for grantees (including applications, reporting, invoicing, etc.) wherever possible. 
• Offer additional resources to grantees such as technical assistance, capacity building, and partnership support.

Note that the HFDK Commission and staff will do our best to uphold these values and approaches in how we do our work, while also complying with the requirements of the City and County of Denver and the Denver Revised Municipal Code.