The Good Government Show talks healthy eating, smart savings, and showing up with Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOGELSVILLE, PA, September 29, 2026: French fries have ad budgets. Cauliflower doesn’t. Boulder County, Colorado decided to change that.
On the latest episode of The Good Government Show, host Dave Martin talks with Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann about the county’s healthy eating program, which won a National Association of Counties Achievement Award.
The idea is simple. The county’s communications team creates beautiful photos of local produce to compete with junk food advertising. “That broccoli looks really sexy,” Stolzmann says, laughing. The county also partners with the local farmers market on Double Up Food Bucks. Families using SNAP benefits get twice as much fresh produce for every dollar they spend.
The program works on several fronts at once. Families get healthier food. Local farmers get new customers and better prices than they can get from big chains. And it challenges a common assumption. “There’s a perception that farmers markets are boutique, bougie, expensive places,” Stolzmann says. “It’s not the reality.”
Doing more with less
Stolzmann, a chemical engineer by training, also walks through a project she calls boring and is clearly thrilled about. After the pandemic changed how residents use county services, Boulder County found it had far more office space than it needed.
The county is moving from 100,000 square feet to 40,000 in a renovated, net-zero building bought in a soft commercial real estate market. Selling the old site, a former tuberculosis hospital, covers the cost of the move, and the property will become new housing. The county expects conservative savings of about $15 million over eight years, and the new building will be far more accessible.
“Sometimes doing nothing is a waste of money,” she says.
Show up
Stolzmann got into public service by helping save her town’s historic grain elevator. She later served as mayor of Louisville, where she led the community’s recovery from the devastating Marshall Fire. Her advice for frustrated residents is direct: posting online isn’t getting involved. “Getting involved means coming to the meeting, signing up for a board, having a sit-down conversation with someone,” she says.
And if you want to find her, try the Saturday farmers market.
The episode, “Eat Your Vegetables, They Are Sexy, Really,” is available now on all major podcast platforms and at goodgovinstitute.org.
About The Good Government Institute
The Good Government Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to civic engagement and civic education. Its flagship podcast, The Good Government Show, hosted by Dave Martin, features mayors, public servants, and civic leaders from across the country. Each episode extends GGI’s core mission of demonstrating that government works.