Culture of Data 2025

The Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids initiative (HFDK), created through a 2018 ballot measure, aspires to improve access to healthy food and food-based education for children and families throughout Denver. Administered by the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, HFDK allocates grants to nonprofits and public entities in Denver. CAI, the external evaluator, utilizes cluster and multi-level evaluation strategies to measure and assess HFDK’s outcomes and impact. We will present two innovative ways CAI uses data systems and visual analytics to promote community collaboration to improve hunger and nutrition for families in Denver. 

As part of CAI’s HFDK evaluation, grantees submit quarterly and annual-level data on their programmatic activities through Quickbase (QB), a cloud-based project management platform. Data consists of process and outcomes metrics, as well as client-level feedback, on food access and distribution; food and nutrition assistance; food and nutrition education; food production; reach; community engagement; and partnerships. Using QB, we compile and analyze grantee data to produce reports, showcasing key trends and insights to share with stakeholders, commission members, and the funder. These reports support strategic decision-making and provide transparency on program performance. Grantees can also access their data in real-time, visualize outputs and outcomes via data dashboards, and utilize data to enhance their programming, services, and reach. 

The evaluation includes a thorough review of secondary data, utilizing grantee-submitted information and publicly available food and nutrition data from city sources to benchmark HFDK's contributions to improvements. This also includes geospatial analysis and detailed maps, visualizations highlighting the geographic distribution of services across Denver’s 61 high-priority neighborhoods where food insecurity remains prevalent.

The presentation will showcase our evaluation approaches and how grantee and citywide data, accessible through real-time and highly visual platforms, equips HFDK stakeholders with actionable insights for advocacy, education, partnership-building, and informed strategic planning.