{"id":289,"date":"2026-05-21T20:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=289"},"modified":"2026-05-21T20:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:03:52","slug":"polis-signs-executive-order-banning-sugary-drinks-at-state-functions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=289","title":{"rendered":"Polis signs executive order banning sugary drinks at state functions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday prohibited the state from buying soda and other sugary drinks for official state functions, part of a multi-department effort to promote healthy eating and drinking for Coloradans.<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado senator will bring amendment to stop Trump\u2019s $1.8B compensation fund from paying Tina Peters, others who affected elections<\/a><\/p>\n

The executive order comes after a governor-appointed human services board refused to pass a Polis plan to prohibit Coloradans from using food stamps to buy soda. Members of the nine-member board said in March that they were unwilling to impose the sugary drink ban on \u201cpoor people\u201d when the rest of Coloradans were free to make their own food choices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s order prohibits state agencies from using state funds to buy soft drinks or alcohol for official state functions, including meetings, conferences or training events. Sugary beverages excluded from the ban are those containing milk or milk alternatives and those made of at least 50% vegetable or fruit juice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The executive order calls on the state Department of Human Services to continue pursuing changes to the food-assistance program, including prohibiting spending food stamps on sugary drinks. It also directs the department to continue seeking federal approval for a \u201chot food waiver\u201d that would allow recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to buy rotisserie chickens and other hot foods in grocery stores, and to improve a perk that incentivizes purchases of fruits and vegetables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly every state department has an edict from the executive order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Agriculture must expand its \u201cColorado Proud\u201d school meal program, which emphasizes state-grown food, by 10% statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife must work together to promote the message that hunting and fishing \u201cprovides a more sustainable option for fresh, lean, organic, and healthy sources of protein.\u201d The departments were ordered to share fish and game recipes on social media and in the Colorado Outdoors magazine beginning in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The state health department must increase participation in its diabetes prevention program to 31,000 people by 2029, from 26,362 in 2024. And the Department of Revenue must create a Colorado Proud lottery scratch ticket celebrating Colorado-grown \u201cdelicious and healthy Palisade peaches, Rocky Ford cantaloupe, Olathe sweet corn, and Pueblo chiles\u201d by this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Watch: The Colorado Sun discusses the 2026 legislative session with Gov. Jared Polis<\/a><\/p>\n

The Department of Corrections is required to evaluate the daily nutrition of prisoners to ensure a \u201cnourishing and well-balanced diet,\u201d and the Department of Early Childhood must notify childcare centers every three months about seasonal healthy foods. The Department of Education must boost healthy eating by pushing school districts to spend more than 20% of their food service budgets on local products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are lucky to have so much incredible, delicious produce grown across our state, and we want to help showcase these foods and increase access for everyone,\u201d Polis said in a news release.<\/p>\n

While Colorado ranks among the healthiest states, five of the top 10 causes of death in Colorado are related to diet, the governor\u2019s office said. Those are heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and chronic liver disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 38% of Coloradans do not eat fruit daily and 18% do not eat even one vegetable a day, according to 2021 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet Colorado has more than 50 farmers markets and more than 200 farms, ranches and roadside stands selling locally sourced products, the governor\u2019s office said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Polis announced in August that he had won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the \u201chealthy choice\u201d plan for SNAP. He needed the human services board to put the rules in place, but the board stalled after dozens of opponents, including 27 state lawmakers who are Democrats, argued the ban was an overreach that would harm the dignity and autonomy of low-income families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officials at the state human services department previously said the agency \u201cstands ready to deliver a comprehensive policy package\u201d regarding a SNAP ban on sugary drinks to the human services board.<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s Happening: A literary festival in the mountains<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The move comes as the Colorado governor is pushing changes to the food-assistance program, including banning purchases of soda and allowing hot grocery food<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nPolis signs executive order banning sugary drinks at state functions - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Polis signs executive order banning sugary drinks at state functions - Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The move comes as the Colorado governor is pushing changes to the food-assistance program, including banning purchases of soda and allowing hot grocery food\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T20:03:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"headline\":\"Polis signs executive order banning sugary drinks at state functions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T20:03:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289\"},\"wordCount\":687,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab3f8acae08ddac7a806f77145c75d04.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289\",\"name\":\"Polis signs executive order banning sugary drinks at state functions - Colorado Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab3f8acae08ddac7a806f77145c75d04.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T20:03:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=289#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab3f8acae08ddac7a806f77145c75d04.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab3f8acae08ddac7a806f77145c75d04.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1415,\"caption\":\"Perdita Butler, left, and Geonna King reveal a lush bed of vegetables at Butler\u2019s Quarter Acre and a Mule farm in Pueblo. 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