SNAP & Other Nutrition Programs Under Threat

 

These are uncertain and turbulent times. The federal administration and Congress have made some policy decisions that are likely to increase hunger in New Mexico. On April 10, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the Senate version of the budget blueprint 

According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), the budget blueprint calls on congressional committees to slash billions of dollars (about $230 billion) from programs within their jurisdictions, which include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school meals.

This blueprint comes at a time when hunger is on the rise and families are facing higher food costs. "Proposals to cut SNAP would strip food from individuals and families and make dramatic structural changes to the program, shifting the burden to local governments and charities — who cannot fill the gap," said FRAC. "These proposals would harm local economies, especially for our nation’s farmers and food retailers. Health care costs would increase, as food insecurity is linked to higher rates of chronic illness and poor health outcomes."  See FRAC's New Mexico SNAP data
 

New Mexico Would Have to Boost Spending


And states like New Mexico would have to absorb some of the costs related to the federal budget cut. "That kind of a cut can't happen without cuts to SNAP," Sovereign Hager, Legal Director at the NM Center on Law and Poverty (NMCLP), said at the April Zoom presentation sponsored by the Food/Hunger/Water/Ag Policy Workgroup. 

"So the proposals that are on the table, probably the biggest sweeping one would be to transfer some of the costs of SNAP to states and have a matching system," said Hager.  

To maintain our current level of support for SNAP recipients, New Mexico would have to increase spending by an additional $100 million, noted Hager. The alternative would be to cover fewer people. 

Read More in IHC Blog

Speaking with One Voice on SNAP Outreach

 

Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D) &  Rep. Gail Amstrong (R) at Food and Farms Day

We want to highlight a remarkable bipartisan outcome in the 2025 New Mexico State Legislature: HB77.The bill, sponsored by Rep. Liz Thomson of Albuquerque, requires the Health Care Authority (NM Dept. of Health) to develop a plan to reach out to promote access to the benefits of the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP).  See full text of HB77

And guess what? On Feb. 21, the full House of Representatives voted 63-0 in support of HB77.The Senate followed suit with 36-0 vote on March 21. This unanimous support for HB77 is a recognition that SNAP is an important tool in our efforts to address hunger and food insecurity in our state. And how often do we get full bipartisan agreement on anything?

See full piece in IHC New Mexico blog

Promoting Our Offerings of Letters

Here is a sampling of bulletin/newsletter articles showing how our New Mexico congregations promoted their Offerings of Letters. 

Central United Methodist Church 

February 23 (writing)   March 2 blessing/dedication    Newsletter link

First Presbyterian Church (Albuquerque) 

    February 23- March 23    Bulletin link

First Presbyterian Church (Santa Fe)

March 16    Blog link

All Saints Lutheran Church (Albuquerque) 

March 16 (writing) March 23 dedication    Newsletter link

Albuquerque Mennonite Church 

Offering of Letters Dates in New Mexico

These congregations/organizations have chosen the following dates to write letters around the Nourish Our Future campaign.  These are in chronological order. We will update this page as we get new information, so bookmark the link. 

**  Running total of 529 letters written from Central UMC, First Presbyterian-SF,  All Saints Lutheran, Albuquerque Mennonite Church, and First Presbyterian-ABQ **

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Central United Methodist Church (Albuquerque)  

February 23 (writing)   March 2 blessing/dedication

(Thank You Dodie Hawkins and Abbey Reed)

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First Presbyterian Church (Albuquerque)

February 23- March 23 (ongoing) 

(Thank You Carol Marr and Mission Committee)

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First Presbyterian Church (Santa Fe)

March 16   

(Thank You Judy Crawford)

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All Saints Lutheran Church (Albuquerque)

March 16 (writing) March 23 dedication  

(Thank You Judy Messal, Rae Vondemotter, Rozy Kalsbeek and Outreach, Advocacy and Rapid Response Committe)

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Albuquerque Mennonite Church 

March 30  during Breads of the world potluck

April 6 dedication

(Thank You Jeanne Elmhorst and Daniel Erdman)

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St. John XXIII Catholic Community (Albuquerque)

April 26-27  (in conjunction with Earth Day celebration at 11:30 Mass)

Carlos Navarro

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Peace Lutheran Church (Las Cruces)

April 27

(Thank You Lynette Schurdevin)

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-- St, Andrew Presbyterian Church (Albuquerque)

April 27

(Thank You Paula Mills)

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-- St. Paul Lutheran Church (Albuquerque)

May 4 or May 11

(Thank You Ivan Westergaard)

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-- La Mesa Presbyterian Church (Albuquerque)

May 4 and May 11

(Thank Louisa Doran)

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Committed

-- Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community (Albuquerque)

TBD

-- Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church (Truchas)

TBD

Other Possibilities

--Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (Los Alamos)

TBD

Photos from World Food Day 2023

Such a beautiful day at Tingley Beach Overlook this morning. We are so appreciative of all the great folks who shared a reflection, prayer and blessing at our World Food Day (Albuquerque) event. We will have a video soon, courtesy of Duncan Sill. We also observed the Solar eclipse (with the special sunglasses, of course) and prayers for the Rio Grande.

Videos below: Helga Garza Offers Prayer to the River, Surgite singers and dancers sing traditional World Food Day song. 

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World Food Day 2024 (Part 2)

 The Interfaith Hunger Coalition and the Roadrunner Coalition to End Hunger hosted a virtual commemoration of World Food Day on Wednesday, October 16, 12:30-2:00 p.m. 

We heard from five communities in different corners of the state. Food providers in each location highlighted innovative ways in which their organizations  are handling an increase in demand for food. We created two videos from the Zoom recording. We also offer comments from the videos (taken from the transcript) Some of the comments are paraphrased to make them more concise.

In the second video, we learned about challenges and solutions in Catron County (JoAnn Young); Hagerman in southeastern New Mexico (LeeAnn Sandoval of Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry); Las Cruces and Doña Ana County (Lorenzo Alba of Casa de Peregrinos); and Taos (Cami Hartman of UNM Taos and Rev. Cheri Lyon of Shared Table). 

JoAnn Young 
Community Members Help Each Other
Catron County spans 7,000 square miles, with a population of about 3,500. There are five small communities Quemado, Datil, Luna, Glenwood, and Reserve. Ms. Young oversees Roadrunner food distributions in Reserve.

"Reserve itself serves about 100 families every month...The operation in reserve is not a pantry we just have a monthly distribution we're a mobile we're considered a mobile pantry so we don't have any place to store food...So we are very blessed to be such a small community and we help each other.

We do well with our feeding efforts for seniors: our real challenge is people under 50, a lot of them who fall through the cracks. But we just found out recently that students in Quemado and Reserve started a food closet in their school. Now Reserves, has free breakfast and free lunches for the kids. But of course, that's just Monday through Thursday. So they have gotten non-perishables and they send it home with the kids so they can have something to eat over the weekend."

LeaAnn Sandoval
A Challenge to Reach People in Outlying Areas
Loaves and Fishes operates an all-volunteer food pantry open to anyone in need living in Dexter, Hagerman, Midway, or Lake Arthur. Chavez County ranks 23rd among New Mexico's 33 counties for food insecurity."

"The community where our pantry is located has a school that now gives out food from Roadrunner once a week. We also have a center where seniors are fed daily, and they have to buy their meals, but they also receive food from our pantries...

Our biggest challenge right now is transportation for the people that in the outer reaches of our area, it's an agricultural area, lots of ranching, farming, and sometimes they just can't get into the pantry because they don't have transportation. So that's one of our biggest challenges right now is how to get how to get the food to them  We also have a challenge with reaching, we reach a lot of seniors, a lot of disabled people, families with a lot of children..."

Lorenzo Alba
'Hunger Strike' Raises Funds, Awareness
Casa de Peregrinos serves thousands of families each year in 23 separate locations in Southern New Mexico.

"How do you reach everybody? It's a difficult thing that we do in New Mexico, in a very rural state, so we've taken a different approach here. We feel very strongly about adding infrastructure, and that is what we are doing. We added a food pantry in the Hatch area, and in the last week, we've broken ground on two pantries in the southern part of the county. One in Chaparral which is already fully funded and by this time next year we should be having ribbon-cutting. And then one in Sunland Park and that one is still a little bit off we're still about a million dollars off from getting a complete funded completely funded but we should have that ready to go fully funded after this legislative session and really moving quickly.

:Because we opened a new facility in Las Cruces last year for the fiscal year, we were able to offer more services to this community, which is really incredible. Because of that, our numbers (increased) year over year, We're about 24% up. I think it's not just the demand and the need, but also that we're giving food out different ways.

We do an annual hunger strike (Sept. 26-27 this year), which raises money for us, where we actually do a 24-hour fast, and basically in solidarity with our friends that are going through food insecurity. In the six years that we've been doing this, it's probably raised about $600,000 or $700,000. So very proud of the initiative. Even if we didn't raise a dime, just the fact that we actually were there with our clients for 24 is amazing"



Rev. Cheri Lyon
Utility Trucks Help Deliver Food Boxes
"Shared Table serves about 500 households twice a month and has a home delivery program. A  challenge for some communities is being able to have year-round drivers for, we do about 60 food boxes for home deliveries. And so we are blessed with the local electric utility company. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative actually helped us start by funding the home delivery program and by providing drivers. And the great news about that is those utility trucks can go anywhere, anytime. And it's really connected us as with an additional partner that was unlikely. So utility companies may be a source of support. They have a lot of heart for the community. A huge shout out to the Food Depot for all their support. They are our partner in Central and Northern New Mexico."

Cami Hartman
'Mini Grocery Store' helps Address Campus Hunger
"In 2021, learned that over a third of our students, so one out of three students was experiencing food insecurity and at the time we didn't have any food services on campus. So we got a little support from our student government at the time to open a small cupboard outside under a portal that had some canned goods and it was successful. So we really learned that we could do more and got even further support this last year to open what we now have as a, I always call it like a little mini grocery store.

And we got that support from locally based Lohr Foundation and our current student government. And they were able to buy, you know, three door glass refrigerators and a nice freezer. And because of that, we can now have fresh produce and wonderful things. And the wonderful things we've been getting are coming from El Pueblito United Methodist Church/Shared Table, who's been really generous with their support. We also have a great  partnership with St. James Episcopal Church. At the end of their food distribution day, we are benefiting from all kinds of extra goodies that they didn't quite give away that day, and they tend to give us a lot. Our program is called Thrive Food and Resource Center, and so it's pretty awesome." See Slides of Study of Basic Needs Gap at UNM Taos, September 2023

World Food Day 2024 (Part 1)

The Interfaith Hunger Coalition and the Roadrunner Coalition to End Hunger hosted a virtual commemoration of World Food Day on Wednesday, October 16, 12:30-2:00 p.m. 

We heard from five communities in different corners of the state. Food providers in each location highlighted innovative ways in which their organizations  are handling an increase in demand for food. We created two videos from the Zoom recording. We also offer comments from the videos (taken from the transcript) Some of the comments are paraphrased to make them more concise.



First Video
In the first video, we heard an introduction from Aamna Nayyar from Sisters Food Project and Carlos Navarro from the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, followed by a presentation by Ari Herring from the Rio Grande Food Project    .

   

Aamna Nayyar 
Open to the Community at Large 
Sisters' Food Project, which is which is under the umbrella of Islamic Center of New Mexico, formally started in April 2020,not only for the Muslim community, but for everyone in the Albuquerque and the community at large. We are serving on average 100 families per month. This program is completely supported by the volunteer sponsors and the community members.

Carlos Navarro
A Universal Right to Food
"The Interfaith Hunger Coalition has observed World Food Day since 2016, and we are excited to commemorate World Food Day again in 2024..The state of New Mexico, including the governor's office and the state legislature, with input from many, many of us from civil society, is making great strides in fighting hunger in New Mexico through the food initiative in the state legislature.

The effort connects all the dots, looking at all the factors that are connected to addressing hunger, of enhancing school meals, connecting small farming operations with schools and other institutions, addressing infrastructure issues and finding ways to provide direct assistance to some of the providers who will present in this panel. We have a long way to go in our effort to end hunger in New Mexico. Our ongoing efforts have a direct correlation to the theme of World Food Day 2024, which states that food is a right every day for everyone everywhere."

Ari Herring
A Community Resources Hub
"The Food Project is located in a food desert. It spans Albuquerque's low-income and underserved South Valley and West Side neighborhoods. We're a food pantry addressing immediate food needs where households are welcome and encouraged to pick up food with us every single week if needed. But we're also a community resources hub cultivating more long-term food security....We are also an urban produce garden and a mini orchard operated by and with community year round. We have a 34 year long history of serving our community and about a third of our food recipients are children and a fourth are seniors."

We have bill assistance, we have SNAP enrollment, we have warm referrals to job search specialists. And (one client) was especially moved by our emphasis on healthy foods. And this isn't easy to do in the food pantry world. .I think many of us know that. It takes a real collective effort to source fresh local foods best we can to ensure that it's not just the stream of, you know, the excess Oreos from Halloween. Food is better than no food, but certainly healthy food and food that is appropriate for your diet and for your health conditions for your cultural preferences is medicine

Basic Needs Study, UNM Taos (September 2023)

 

Videos from Nourish Our Future Workshop in Albuquerque, September 2024

The Bread for the World Nourish Our Future workshop at All Saints Lutheran Church in Albuquerque on Saturday, September 21, drew dozens of in-person and virtual participants

We were fortunate to host a couple of great experts share their knowledge with us. We have created special videos featuring each of the two experts.

Emily Wildau, from New Mexico Voices for Children, offered a broad perspective on the Child Tax Credit and the WIC program and how the two programs affect residents of New Mexico.

Sarita Cargas, a professor in the Honors Program at the University of New Mexico spoke about college hunger in our state. Dr. Cargas and her colleagues conducted a survey of students, faculty and staff at 27 institutions of higher learning to measure the gap in basic needs at colleges and universities in our state.   

 

Here is a full unedited video, courtesy of All Saints Lutheran Church.

Every child has the right to food – Music Video

 World Food Day 2024

 

Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future For a better life and future

 Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future For a better life and future

Tell me Why kids go to sleep hungry? We got the right to eat no matter what country!

Why we see famine in the news? Doesn’t make sense cos this world has enough food! 

Why some people are denied, The right to eat even though the earth can provide?

Why all the pain and conflict? It’s insane we can’t move beyond this! 

Why is it the climate, the economy? Too many still living through inequality! 

Why is hunger still here? 

Even though we’ve been trying to challenge it for years! 

Why From the fields to our plates, We don’t yet have a food system that’s safe Why can’t the world live in peace? and Nobody should control when and how we eat. 

 Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future

 For a better life and future Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future For a better life and future 

From each grain to each green Food isn’t just a word it’s a right, it’s a need You can be a food hero with an open mind with healthy habits, gotta know your rights. 

We can Innovate while keeping with tradition, Greener planet, clean air, better living. 

Give a helping hand even just a little bit Stay informed __ become label literate 

Choose wisely, reduce waste, educate Empower your community to elevate The world, easy access, that’s the mission Safe and affordable food that’s nutritious, Plant the seeds of change It’s a matter of time before we lead the way

We don’t want our hope to fade So we raise our voice on a global stage Let’s go! 

 Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future For a better life and future 

 Every child has the right to food So raise your voice For a better life and future   For a better life and future

Interim Committee Addresses Food & Hunger

 

Observations from a meeting of the  Water & Natural Resources Interim Committee  Reps. Bill Rehm, Tara Lujan, Cristina Parajón, Sen. Liz Stefanics, Sen. Pat Woods, Rep. Debra Sariñana From Carlos Navarro Members of the State Legislature often perform some of their duties outside of the regular 30 or 60-day session (or any special session called by the governor). Legislators take part in interim committees to learn more about the issues that might be coming before them in the (jam-packed) regular session. While some committee meetings begin as early as April or May, most of the meetings occur between June and November. Legislators often invite officials from the administration as well as community representatives, organizational leaders and citizens (in this case several farmers and environmental advocates) to become more informed about relevant issues..  Wearing multiple hats (Farm to Table, Interfaith Hunger Coalition, Food Initiative, Interfaith Power & Light-New Mexico), I had the privilege of attending a July meeting of the interim committee on Water and Natural Resources, which took place at the CNM Workforce Training Center in Albuquerque. Here is the agenda for the two-day hearing. The first day addressed water, environment and climate issues. I attended the second day, which addressed food, farming and hunger.  Observations, July 23 Civil Dialogue: In this day of political polarization, it was quite refreshing to listen to polite and informed dialogue. Even though different points of view and approaches were presented, the comments all had one theme in mind: We must take actions that benefit the residents of New Mexico.  First Panel Deals with Policy: I took most of my notes after the first panel, which included three members of Gov. Lujan Grisham's administration: hunger advisor, Kendal Chavez; Erin Ortigosa (Economic Development);and Jason New (Agriculture). The fourth panelist was Susan Wilger, past chair of the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council.  The NMFAPC is a project of Farm to Table (of which I am a board member. (Photo: Sen. Pete Campos, Rep. Marianne Matthews, Rep. Susan Herrera) Following up on Hunger Initiative (Background) It's been several years since then State Rep. Melanie Stansbury shepherded through an omnibus legislative initiative that sought to address hunger in New Mexico in a broad manner (similar to the federal farm bill); That  2021 initiative did not move forward because the omnibus bill  was not accompanied by budget allocations.  The next step by the coalition (community groups, agricultural organizations, state legislators) was to work more closely with the governor's office to ensure that our programs were included in the general budget  This effort helped move the "food initiative" forward. Our collaborative efforts include the participation of Kendal Chavez and several Cabinet officials and staff. And the list of organizations, farm groups and others supporting the initiative continues to grow.  What's On Your Mind?: The discussions in the Water and Natural Resources Committee are important, as they give us a window into what legislators are thinking as we craft the next set of requests for the food initiative. Here are a few issues brought up by legislators during the question and answer period following the first panel. Sen. Liz Stefanics (Bernalillo, Lincoln, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Torrance & Valencia Counties) Suggested that the administration and the legislature examine the quality of food available at senior centers. A way to address this is create a trust fund. Also urged state subsidies to encourage the establishment of grocery stores in small rural communities   (Erin Ortigosa of the State Economic Development said increasing grocery stories in rural areas was a goal the New Mexico Healthy Food Financing Fund)  Sen. Pat Woods (Curry, Quay & Union Counties)  Praised the double-up food bucks program, but suggested that users be allowed to use the benefits for proteins, i.e. meats. (Denise Miller from the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, which manages Double-Up Food bucks in New Mexico), said federal guidelines prohibit the use of double-up food bucks for protein. Sen. Woods  Also urged the state to promote more veterinarians in rural areas). Rep. Kathleen Cates (Bernalillo & Sandoval Counties) Raised concerns about "historically low" labor shortages in agriculture. She said she would be willing to pay more for chile if we are able to address this difficult issue.  Rep. Gail Armstrong (Catron, Sierra, Socorro & Valencia Counties) Echoed Sen. Woods' concerns/suggestions about veterinary shortages in rural areas, suggesting that the state ease debt-relief rules for veterinary education. She also endorsed the inclusion of proteins in the Double-Up Food Bucks program. She supported the idea that excess meat from game be made available though the food assistance channels. She also urged greater geographical equity in the approval of projects promoted via the New Mexico Healthy Food Financing Fund) Rep. Tara Lujan (Santa Fe County)  Endorsed the concept of regenerative agriculture,  a holistic approach to farming that aims to improve soil health, water, and biodiversity, and the climate. This approach is known to increase farm productivity and profitability.  Rep. Susan Herrera (Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe & Taos Counties) Suggested rural infrastructure is inadequate. She pointed to a recent incident where the Rio Chama flooded and damaged nearby farming communities. She also endorsed the concept of harvesting elk meat and sending it to local food banks. She pointed to a successful program in Wyoming.  Rep. Andrea Romero (Santa Fe County) Asked the question of whether we are able to meet demand in the state with current agricultural production.  Photo: Meredith Lorenz, the Food Depot, Tsiporah Nephesh (New Mexico Thrives), Rep. Kathleen Cates, James Skeet (Spirit Farm), Rep. Debra Sariñana, and Athena Christodoulou (candidate for NM Senate District 21) This and That  The second and third panels were also important, in that they lifted up several key components of the hunger initiative, including the role of farmers markets in addressing hunger in New Mexico (particularly the Double-Up Food bucks program, which uses the SNAP program to help low-income families gain access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are some points brought up by a handful of those who testified.  Denise Miller, New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association. The Double-up Food Bucks program has a broad reach in New Mexico, connecting 800 farmers with 80 growers markets and distributors and about 8,400 beneficiaries. She also discussed FreshRx, a produce prescription program of the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association that provides free fruits and vegetables to nutritionally-at-risk patients and their families living in tribal, rural, and underserved communities throughout the state. A third topic she brought up was New Mexico Grown Approved Supplier Program (supporting institutional sales across the state). Watch for more extensive coverage of the latter two programs. Jason New, New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Thirty three percent of New Mexico farms are less than 9 acres. Ninety percent of farms in the state are family owned.  Susan Wilger, New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council: presented on the soon-to-be-released New Mexico Food Charter, which offers a practice-based approach to addressing food security in an ever-changing climate. The document suggests investments in local production and local food consumption, with an emphasis on equitable and sustainable practices.