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
FRAC points out that any cuts to SNAP would also have damaging ripple effects on families’ direct access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a non-mandatory program that provides critical nutrition resources to parents, infants, and young children. Families removed from SNAP would also lose their direct link to free school meals and the Summer EBT Program, which provides families with critical funds to keep hunger at bay during the summer months.
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.
Our state missed a chance to make a statement regarding SNAP. If you recall, the state House and Senate voted unanimously during the 2025 session to support House Bill 77, which would have required the Health Care Authority (Dept. of Health) develop annual plans to promote SNAP.
"As you know, SNAP is the most effective way to address food insecurity. HB77 would institutionalize changes in SNAP administration first implemented by your administration to draw down federal funding for community based SNAP outreach and enrollment assistance," said a coalition led by Roadrunner Food Bank and the NMCLP in a letter urging Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign the legislation. "HB77 would increase administrative capacity of the Health Care Authority’s Income Support Division, by drawing federal resources to support enrollment and connect families who have greater barriers to accessing federal SNAP benefits to more personalized application assistance."
Despite the unanimous support in both chambers, Lujan Grisham vetoed the measure. "The bill is unnecessary because the HCA already does extensive outreach promoting SNAP," the governor said in a letter to the Legislature.
Higher Grocery Prices Too
The cuts come at at time when hunger is already on the increase
“I think it’s inevitable that the prices of products that people buy in places like Walmart are going to go up, and that is certainly going to affect people,” said Wendy Hansen, a professor in political science at the University of New Mexico told the online news site Source New Mexico, in relation to the broad-based tariffs announced in recent weeks by the federal administration. .
There were many positive outcomes to address hunger from the recently completed legislative session. House Bill 2 funds many important programs that help address hunger and food insecurity in New Mexico in one form or another.
- $1 million for WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program
- $430,000 for the NM Grown Approved Supplier Program
- $5 million for Ag Water Resilience Program
- $2 million for the Healthy Food Financing Fun (HFFF)
- $7.848 million for the Healthy Universal School Meals for fiscal year 2025 shortfall,
- $3.054 million for the Healthy Universal School Meals prior year shortfall
- $5 million for the Healthy Universal School Meals
- $500,000 for outdoor classrooms
- $3 million for Tribal and Local Health Councils
- $10 million for Food Assistance Programs (allocated to New Mexico food banks)
The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council offers a summary of other important initiatives supported by the council and several allies.
Legislative Town Halls
Finally, if you are interested in connecting with State House and Senate members, there are several town halls scheduled in the coming weeks. This partial list comes courtesy of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club.
- Saturday April 12 (3-5 pm) Location: Albuquerque: Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center Rep Kathleen Cates, Rep Day Hochman-Vigil and Sen Katy Duhigg (more details here)
- Sunday, April 13 (2 -4pm) Location - Albuquerque: National Dance Institute -Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Reps Cristina Parajon, Marianna Anaya, Meredith Dixon, and Janelle Anyanonu (more details here)
- Thursday, April 17 (6-7:30 pm). - Las Cruces: DACC East Mesa Auditorium, 2800 Sonoma Ranch Blvd, Las Cruces, speakers TBA (more details here)
- Saturday, April 19 (11am - 1pm) - Corrales: Council Chambers, 4324 Corrales Rd 87048 Rep Kathleen Cates and Sen. Cindy Nava (more details here)
- Saturday, April 19 (1-2:30) - Goodwill Opportunity Center Community Room, 5000 San Mateo Blvd NE 87109 Sen Heather Berghmans, Reps Cristina Parajon and E. Diane Torres-Velasquez (more details here)
- Saturday, April 19 1:30pm - Albuquerque: Robert F Kennedy High School Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero and Sen. Linda Lopez (more details here).
- Saturday April 19 (3-5pm) - Rio Rancho: Virtual - with Rep Kathleen Cates (more details here)
- Wednesday April 23 5:00 - 7:00pm - Albuquerque: Juan Tabo Library - Reps Pamela Herndon, Meredith Dixon, Cristina Parajon, Liz Thomson, E. Diane Torres-Velasques and Sens Martin Hickey and Heather Berghmans (more details here)
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