Responding to Food Challenges in New Mexico During a Health Crisis

Chart: House Speaker Brian Egolf's Office

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has created many challenges around the country. In an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, municipalities and state-governments (including New Mexico) have ordered residents to stay home and have closed down non-essential businesses, schools, churches and other places where large numbers of people tend to gather.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the stay-at-home order on March 23. As of March 27, the state had reported 191 cases  where patients have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the New Mexico Political Report. 

While the magnitude of the challenge is not as high here in New Mexico as it is in states like New York, Washington,  California, Michigan and Louisiana (among others), the need for social distancing is a necessary prescription to stem potential problems down the road, including the possibility of overtaxing our heath care system.

Finding Food
One of the biggest challenges for New Mexico and other states with high levels of food insecurity is ensuring that food is available to all residents. This is not necessarily an easy task. News of the crisis diminished food supplies around the state. The natural tendency to hoard food during a time of crisis means that items like canned goods and other non-perishables are not as readily available to the food banks.

“People are going out and purchasing a lot of the items that would typically come to the food bank.” Roadrunner Food Bank spokeswoman Sonya Warwick said in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal on March 22. 

Broad Coalition Discusses Strategy
Rep. Melanie Stansbury and New Mexico First have helped bring together a broad statewide coalition to help find solutions to our challenges and coordinate a response.

On March 27, Rep. Stansbury convened a meeting via telephone, in which about 50 people participated. Many participants were already involved in a broad movement  to craft and promote legislation to address hunger in our state in the near future and over the long term.

I won't name all the participants but want to note the participation of key players, including staff from Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Deb Haaland and several state government agencies (Health, Public Education, Human Services, Indian Affairs) as well as Gov. Lujan Grisham's office.

State Reps. Phelps Anderson (Chaves, Lea & Roosevelt), Joy Garratt (Bernalillo) and Rudy Martinez (Doña Ana, Grant & Sierra) and representatives from Speaker Brian Egolf offce, as well as officials from the City of Albuquerque, and Grant County (Silver City) took part.

The food banks from around the state were represented, including Roadrunner Food Bank, the Food Depot (Santa Fe), ECHO (Four Corners), The Community Food Pantry (Gallup), and the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico (Clovis).  Other direct food providers also added their two cents to the conversation.

The rest of the participants included advocacy groups (New Mexico Appleseed and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty), agriculture-related groups (the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association and the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council). Ellen Buelow and I represented the Interfaith Hunger Coalition.

(Thank you to Lilly Irvin-Vitela from New Mexico First for taking great notes)!

 

Logo for The Community Pantry (Gallup)

A Great Job of Coordination
How did we coordinate all the input?

First, it was important to get the big picture and the challenges. This information came from the food banks and others engaged in direct service.

In addition to tight food supplies, the state's network of food banks has reported other challenges, such as a loss of traditional volunteers (many of whom are vulnerable seniors) and a reduction in operations for food-providing agencies (who are trying to keep employees and the public safe).

Furthermore, there are increased costs for transportation, a lack of sufficient cold storage capacity, the potential increase in demand due to an economic downturn, among other challenges. 

Moving Forward
After getting the big picture, the participants decided to create four task forces: 1) Volunteer Mobilization 2) Food Supply 3) Funding Coordination. 4) Coordinated Communication  You will be hearing more on each of these areas in the near future

Additionally, multiple efforts will be occurring simultaneously, such as connecting producers with food providers, creating support systems for local and tribal communities, tracking and consolidating information on what advocacy and other groups are doing.

The statewide response will be led by Patty Keane, Gov. Lujan Grisham's coordinator for hunger initiatives, with help from many other people.

Photo: Roadrunner Food Bank

How You Can Help Now
While specifics are still in the works for the broader effort, there are existing volunteer opportunities in place. Here are a couple of suggestions. Please Note: This is only a partial list.
Roadrunner Food Bank
Meals on Wheels (Albuquerque and Rio Rancho)
Meals on Wheels (Santa Fe)
Food Banks: ECHO in Farmington (505-326-3770), The Community Food Pantry in Gallup (505-726-8068), Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico in Clovis (575-763-6130), The Food Depot in Santa Fe (505-471-1633).

Stay Informed
Check out Resource and Information pages from 
Share New Mexico
Catholic Charities
City of Albuquerque
City of Las Cruces (Youth and Senior Citizens)
City of Santa Fe
State of New Mexico