Voters around the state received their ballots for November’s election this week. I want to urge all Coloradans to vote YES on Prop FF, Healthy School Meals for All. If passed, it will provide free, nutritious meals to all public school students in Colorado. No child should go hungry because they don’t have lunch money. For many students, the meals they get in school may be the only real meals they eat each day.

There are more than 60,000 kids in Colorado who can’t afford school meals and don’t qualify for free or reduced-price meals. We can do better than that! Providing children with a healthy breakfast and lunch makes them more attentive and engaged in the classroom, leading to better grades, higher attendance and higher graduation rates. Better educated kids benefit Colorado’s overall success.

A bonus for the state: Prop FF will help schools use locally-sourced, fresh food from Colorado farmers, which will strengthen Colorado’s food systems and students’ health. As a heart disease survivor turned health coach, I advocate for eating nutritious food from a young age to ensure our kids can focus at school, and set the foundation for long, healthy lives free of chronic disease.

Vote YES on FF so children don’t go hungry.

Carrie Lehtonen, Evergreen