A Colorado Springs teen has taken on a project to try to make healthy food more accessible to Coloradans.

Jordan Hamilton, a senior at Odyssey Early College and Career Options, will plead her case in Denver this weekend at the state’s annual Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) conference.

The conference, designed to help talented youngsters acquire employable skills, features a number of competitive events including culinary arts, early childhood education, entrepreneurship and more. Hamilton, who earned a gold medal in Career Investigation as a sophomore, chose the Public Policy Advocate category this year.

“One of the things I like (about that category) is that you get to see if you can make a change,” said Hamilton, 17.

The idea for this year’s selection came from a conversation with her mother, she said.

“We were talking about the fact that some foods cost so much,” she said. “And I noticed, when we went shopping, that people go for cheaper, less healthy options and walk right past the fruits and vegetables.”

“It’s not just about the competition. It was a thought that I had, that became something bigger because of the competition.”

As Hamilton began to research the topic, she learned that processed food items are less expensive, in part, because they are less perishable, than fresh produce. Families on a budget will often buy cheaper, less healthy food to get more caloric bang for their buck, she said.

“It’s the cheaper option, but not the better option,” Hamilton said. “If healthy food was a little less expensive, people might make better choices at the supermarket.”

Hamilton spent months talking to, and exploring partnerships with, food access organizations including Food to Power and Care and Share, she said. She also took a hard look at Colorado’s farm bill, a legislation package that affects how food is grown and how accessible that food is to lower-income families across the state.

“I think we can make healthy food less expensive if certain details of the farm bill can be adjusted,” Hamilton said. “Like crop insurance. Sometimes it’s difficult for small farmers to get good crop insurance, and the process can be complicated. If they can get better crop insurance, they can afford to grow more. If they grow more, then fruits and vegetables will cost less.”

The FCCLA conference will take place Thursday through Saturday at the Colorado Community College System in Denver. If Hamilton can pull off another gold medal performance, she will head to Seattle in June compete at the national convention.

Hamilton, who plans to pursue a music education degree at University of Northern Colorado, realizes that making healthy food cheaper is an ambitious goal. She simply wants to make the case that it’s possible. She is also aware that, even if fresh produce were less expensive, many consumers would have to be convinced to make healthier choices.

“That might be a project for another day,” she said.