Denver's kids' food tax stops collecting in 2028. Its latest grants, including Metro Caring's, are up Monday

On Monday, Nov. 2, the Denver City Council is set to approve a $747,719 contract with Metro Caring, the food pantry and market at 1100 E. 18th Ave., paid for by Healthy Food for Denver's Kids, the voter-approved sales tax for children's food and food education (agenda).

Why it matters: the tax that pays for these grants stops collecting at the end of 2028. City health officials told the Council in August that keeping it would take a new ballot measure, and that more than 1 in 3 Denver residents are food insecure.

The Metro Caring contract

26-1510 runs from Aug. 1, 2026, to July 31, 2029. According to the public health department's request, the money will expand Metro Caring's buying from local producers, "significantly increase" shopping vouchers for families with children, and add youth outreach. The department expects it to reach about 7,000 to 8,000 Denver youth and families a year. Metro Caring was chosen through a competitive process and has had city contracts before, the request says.

The Health and Safety Committee approved it by consent on Oct. 21. As a resolution, it needs one Council vote.

The seventh round of grants

Metro Caring is one of 11 groups in the program's seventh funding round, called HFDK07. In an Aug. 26 briefing to the Health and Safety Committee (meeting), the program reported:

• 38 groups sent letters of interest, 22 were invited to apply and 12 were recommended. The program's commission approved them May 29.
• One awarded organization stopped operating in June, leaving 11 contracts worth $6,503,590.90 in all.
• The largest awards are about $750,000 each over three years, to the University of Colorado Denver's Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center, Metro Caring, SustainEd Farms, Struggle of Love Foundation and GES Coalition.

What our records show: the Council has already approved five of the 11. Sun Valley Community Center (26-1378) and Struggle of Love Foundation (26-1379) were adopted Oct. 5. The University of Colorado agreement (26-1380) passed Oct. 13. SustainEd Farms (26-1488) and Slow Food Denver (26-1489) were adopted Oct. 26. Metro Caring would be the sixth.

The money, and the sunset

Denver voters approved the measure, Initiated Ordinance 302, in November 2018 with 59% of the vote, the briefing says. The tax began Jan. 1, 2019, collects through Dec. 31, 2028, and all of its money must be spent by Dec. 31, 2029, according to a Council proclamation marking the program's halfway point in June 2025 (25-0834).

From the August briefing:

• The tax raised $102.9 million from 2019 through 2025, including $16.9 million in 2025. The city projects about $138 million through 2027.
• The program has awarded $114.7 million across 202 grants since 2020.
• About $7.5 million has gone to administration through 2027. About $11.4 million is set aside for an eighth round, expected to open in fall or winter 2026.
• A 2025 city survey found 35% of Denver residents, about 260,000 people, are food insecure.

"HFDK sunset is approaching," the last slide says. "A ballot measure must be referred to the voters for reauthorization." Without one, the program winds down after 2029.

Where the Council stands

Two Council members sit on the program's 13-member commission. The Council reappointed Paul Kashmann in 2025 (25-1202) and appointed Flor Alvidrez that October (25-1501).

At the August briefing, members discussed reauthorization and the federal changes to food aid (transcript). On Sept. 21, the Council adopted a proclamation recognizing the right to food in Denver, 11-0 with one member absent (26-1388). Our records show no reauthorization measure filed yet.

What's next

• Monday, Nov. 2: Vote on the Metro Caring contract.
• Coming weeks: The remaining HFDK07 contracts reach the Council.
• Fall or winter 2026: The program expects to open its eighth funding round.
• Before 2028 ends: Any renewal would need to go to voters.