Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) announced her plans to stand against hunger in the state.
In the executive budget proposal, Grisham included $24 million to go to the New Mexico Food, Farm, and Hunger Initiative. The proposal would ensure that thousands of New Mexicans who don’t have a reliable source of food are fed.
“Addressing hunger in our state has been a priority of this administration from day one, and we’ve already seen meaningful progress,” Lujan Grisham said in a press release. She continued, “But there is more work to do, and this funding will fundamentally change the way our food distribution system works to get food on the tables of more New Mexicans.”
Funding will be spread across eight different agencies, which will support food banks as well as local agriculture producers who grow food. One of these agencies is Meal Gap Funding, which will be responsible for offering food assistance to an additional 127,000 citizens of New Mexico spread across high-need counties.
$10 million will be used to support infrastructure surrounding food delivery and food preparation, the release said.
A coalition of farmers, lawmakers, nutritionists, and community members came together to develop this proposal.