Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It’s Thursday October 1st, and we’re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. Today we’re discussing how Coronavirus has spoiled Colorado schools’ decade of planning to improve nutrition, and get kids exercising.

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

Today, we take you back to October 1st, 1991 when thousands of people flocked to Gilpin and Teller Counties lured by more than a dozen casinos that opened that day - all in hopes of reinvigorating former mining towns. 

Now, today’s feature story. 

In Colorado Springs, gym teachers are shooting videos of their own kids making jump ropes out of plastic grocery bags. 

In Denver, high schoolers are wondering how to get their PE graduation requirements in a pandemic year when many qualifying team sports are canceled and schools drop gym classes in favor of fitting core curriculum into limited online windows. 

All across the state, kids are growing weary of pancakes on a stick and calorie-packed Uncrustables PB&Js. 

The pandemic has undone a decade of carefully laid plans to improve school nutrition choices and get sedentary kids back up and moving, according to interviews with districts across Colorado. Frustrated cooks and gym teachers are making heroic efforts to overcome the obstacles of COVID-19, through anything from portable scratch baking to crowd-sourced PE videos produced by creative families. 

Reporter Erica Breunlin is joining us on the podcast today to talk more about school provided nutrition and physical education for students during COVID-19. 

So, Erica can you talk about how meals have been distributed to students, especially those that are learning remotely?

Right, and how nutritious are these meals? 

And, finally let’s talk about P.E. what does it look like for classes that are being held remotely? 

Thanks so much Erica.

Though serving less-than-ideal lunches and breakfasts has pained many nutrition directors, they are more concerned about simply replacing much-needed calories for the same numbers of people they were serving before the pandemic. School breakfast and lunch — and weekend food packs — are the main source of nutrition for many students from families with free or reduced-price lunch status. 

A big challenge has been in estimating the number of meals needed each day and ensuring the district has enough food for all students. Numbers from last year can help indicate the volume of meals needed, but those figures are not always reliable.

Thanks for listening. And before we go here are a few stories you should know about today:

A coronavirus exposure-notification service for smartphones won’t be rolled out in Colorado until October. But state officials initially said the “Exposure Notifications Express” system would go live before the end of September.

A $5.6 million grant was awarded to help pay for work along Southwest Chief route. The grant will help pay for upgrading 12.4 miles of rail near Lamy, New Mexico and replacing thousands of ties south of Raton Pass and along another section of track.

The next four weeks will determine if Cory Gardner keeps his job. Every poll since October 2019 has shown the Republican incumbent trailing. One survey had him within 5 percentage points of John Hickenlooper, but most surveys show the  senator facing a much larger deficit. 

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And before we go, a quick word from Colorado Sun’s Carol Wood.

The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.

You can stay on top of Colorado news by signing up for free newsletters at coloradosun.com/newsletters. And you can join our Sun community by becoming a member, starting at just $5 a month. Thanks again for starting your morning with us and remember to tune in again tomorrow.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It&rsquo;s Thursday October 1st, and we&rsquo;re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every day we&rsquo;re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. Today we&rsquo;re discussing how Coronavirus has spoiled Colorado schools&rsquo; decade of planning to improve nutrition, and get kids exercising.
But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;:
Today, we take you back to October 1st, 1991 when thousands of people flocked to Gilpin and Teller Counties lured by more than a dozen casinos that opened that day - all in hopes of reinvigorating former mining towns.&nbsp;
Now, today&rsquo;s feature story.&nbsp;
In Colorado Springs, gym teachers are shooting videos of their own kids making jump ropes out of plastic grocery bags.&nbsp;
In Denver, high schoolers are wondering how to get their PE graduation requirements in a pandemic year when many qualifying team sports are canceled and schools drop gym classes in favor of fitting core curriculum into limited online windows.&nbsp;
All across the state, kids are growing weary of pancakes on a stick and calorie-packed Uncrustables PB&amp;Js.&nbsp;
The pandemic has undone <a href="https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/improve-health-schools">a decade of carefully laid plans</a> to improve school nutrition choices and get sedentary kids back up and moving, according to interviews with districts across Colorado. Frustrated cooks and gym teachers are making heroic efforts to overcome the obstacles of COVID-19, through anything from portable scratch baking to crowd-sourced PE videos produced by creative families.&nbsp;
Reporter Erica Breunlin is joining us on the podcast today to talk more about school provided nutrition and physical education for students during COVID-19.&nbsp;
So, Erica can you talk about how meals have been distributed to students, especially those that are learning remotely?
Right, and how nutritious are these meals?&nbsp;
And, finally let&rsquo;s talk about P.E. what does it look like for classes that are being held remotely?&nbsp;
Thanks so much Erica.
Though serving less-than-ideal lunches and breakfasts has pained many nutrition directors, they are more concerned about simply replacing much-needed calories for the same numbers of people they were serving before the pandemic. School breakfast and lunch &mdash; and weekend food packs &mdash; are the main source of nutrition for many students from families with free or reduced-price lunch status.&nbsp;
A big challenge has been in estimating the number of meals needed each day and ensuring the district has enough food for all students. Numbers from last year can help indicate the volume of meals needed, but those figures are not always reliable.
Thanks for listening. And before we go here are a few stories you should know about today:
A coronavirus exposure-notification service for smartphones won&rsquo;t be rolled out in Colorado until October. But state officials initially said the &ldquo;Exposure Notifications Express&rdquo; system would go live before the end of September.
A $5.6 million grant was awarded to help pay for work along Southwest Chief route. The grant will help pay for upgrading 12.4 miles of rail near Lamy, New Mexico and replacing thousands of ties south of Raton Pass and along another section of track.
The next four weeks will determine if Cory Gardner keeps his job. Every poll since October 2019 has shown the Republican incumbent trailing. One survey had him within 5 percentage points of John Hickenlooper, but most surveys show the&nbsp; senator facing a much larger deficit.&nbsp;
For more information on all of these stories, visit our website,<a href="http://www.coloradosun.com/"> www.coloradosun.com</a>. And before we go, a quick word from Colorado Sun&rsquo;s Carol Wood.
The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.
You can stay on top of Colorado news by signing up for free newsletters at<a href="http://coloradosun.com/newsletters"> coloradosun.com/newsletters</a>. And you can join our Sun community by becoming a member, starting at just $5 a month. Thanks again for starting your morning with us and remember to tune in again tomorrow.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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