The latest on SNAP in New Mexico

 

It shouldn't be that complicated. If a person or family legally qualifies for food under the Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance (SNAP), that benefit should be provided. No one should have to jump through hurdles to keep food on the table. As people of faith, that is our moral obligation. But that is not the reality facing families in New Mexico and elsewhere. So what is the status of SNAP benefits following the passage of budget reconciliation and compromises reached following the end of the federal shutdown?  

Rather than write our own recap, here is a list of resources with useful updates. 

• Farm to Table New Mexico Implications of Federal Budget Cuts
• New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty Where New Mexico SNAP Stands Today
• New Mexico Voices for Children  One Big Beautiful Bill Act Implementation Timeline
• Roadrunner Food Bank  SNAP Outreach Program

Also, we would like to offer recaps and powerful opinion pieces from friends and allies. 

Field Notes (Farm to Table New Mexico)
In a piece in Field Notes, December 2025, Farm to Table New Mexico recaps the short-term funding approved by the New Mexico State Legislature to cover shortfalls caused by the government shutdown and also explores the myths put forth by the administration to create new hurdles for qualfied participants to access SNAP benefits.  

Read the full issue of Field Notes and the section on SNAP in the Farm to Table website. Incidentally, the newsletter also has an article on the government shutdown.  Also, take a look at the Second Annual Food Charter Report Card, which is also mentioned in Field Notes. The report card includes information on mprovements to accessing nutritious food for vulnerable populations, recommendations for prioritizing regenerative farming and clean water access and much more.. 

Op-Ed in Source New Mexico
Sovereign Hager, public benefits director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, also gives us an update on SNAP in an opinion piece published in Source New Mexico, dated Nov, 10

In New Mexico, we’ve seen what works. When families have access to healthy food, healthcare, and stable housing, our whole state is stronger. We’ve made progress in recent years: expanding child hunger programs, improving access to affordable healthcare, and creating state initiatives that keep working parents on their feet. That progress is now under direct threat from Washington DC....

We don’t have to accept a future where federal politics decide who in our communities eats, who gets medical care, or who is left behind. The values that define New Mexico — community, resilience, and compassion — are stronger than any budget cut.

The shutdown will end. But our responsibility to one another will not.  Read full Op-Ed

Rep. Sarah Silva Op-Ed in Albuquerque Journal 
New Mexico State Rep. Sara Silva. who represents District 53 (Doña Ana and Otero Counties), wrote a powerful opinion piece entitled, End the Stigma Over SNAP Benefita

New Mexico’s state legislators, including me, gathered in the Roundhouse last Monday to shore up our state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because the president is withholding money and making people go hungry to win a political fight. Even though the government shutdown — which further disrupted the flow of SNAP benefits — is over, program recipients are still facing uncertainty. For example, the One Big Beautiful Act signed in July added new work requirements and removed benefits for legal immigrants....

I want to share this: When you choose to target, shame and blame people who are struggling to feed their kids, you are not a protector of our society’s children. It’s quite the opposite; you are attacking our youth.

 Read Full  Op-Ed  (Article is behind a pay wall)  Rep. Silva wrote a similar Op-Ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican

The long-term 

(Graphic courtesy of Farm to Table New Mexico)

As the Op-Ed authors pointed out, the special sessions only covered immediate food needs. What remains a problem are the deep cuts to SNAP and other programs, as well as new elegibility and enrollment restrictions, prescribed in the budget reconciliation i.e. "Big Beautiful Bill." The issue is bound to come up in the New Mexico State legislative session, which runs from Jan. 20 until Feb. 19. Watch for information from the Food/Hunger/Water/Ag Policy Workgroup ahead of the legislative session.

In addition to direct food benefits, there is concern about cuts to important programs like nutrition education. Albuquerque based Kids Cook! and Santa Fe based Cooking with Kids both stand to lose funding because of cuts to the SNAP-Ed program.  Funding is also uncertain for GUSNIP (Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program), which provides funding for the highly successful Double-Up Food Bucks program in New Mexico. 

Civil society is not standing idle in the face of the cuts. In mid-November, The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), and nearly 1,500 national, state, and community-based organizations signed a letter urging Congress to repeal the recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by cosponsoring the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025. Our New Mexico signators include Roadrunner Food Bank, The Food Depot, the Rio Grande Food Project, Kids Cook!, the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, New Mexico Voices for Children and others.  Read More from FRAC  

Join Us at the State Legislature in Santa Fe


Mark your calendars for three special dates during the 2026 State Legislative Session.
(Watch for Registration and Program Information)

• Friday, January 30, 2026  Food and Farms Day, NM Food and Agriculture Policy Council and Farm to Table New Mexico, contact Pam Roy, pam@farmtotablenm.org
• Wednesday, February 4, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico Bishop's Luncheon, contact Kurt Rager, krager@rmselca.org 
• Wednesday, February 18, Hunger Action Day, Roadrunner Coalition to End Hunger  Contact Katy Anderson, katy.anderson@rrfb.org