This story originally appeared in Source NM, an independent, nonprofit news organization that shines a light on governments, policies and public officials in New Mexico. We publish it here with permission as a part of our commitment to support the best local journalism in New Mexico, even if we don’t write it.
By Austin Fisher, Source NM – Advocates are asking New Mexico lawmakers to ensure the state always takes the opportunity for federal help to cover the cost of outreach and support for people applying for public food benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – called SNAP – isn’t the only solution to food insecurity, but it is the most effective tool we have to ensure families have enough to eat, said Cody Jeff, poverty and public benefits attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.
“How we do that is is making sure that as many eligible New Mexicans are enrolling, especially families with children,” Jeff said.
In February, New Mexico was one of 32 states and two territories that were called out by the feds for being late in processing benefits applications.
U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines call for 95% of claims to be processed within 30 days. New Mexico was only finishing applications on time in 72% of cases, USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack wrote to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
That means some New Mexicans benefitting from SNAP that includes food support for families, children, elderly and disabled people — were missing out on benefits.
And in some cases, they have had to either go hungry or forego paying other bills, Jeff said.
Benefits are getting delayed in part because of the time it takes the New Mexico Health Care Authority to process applications, due to staffing issues, Jeff said.
Jeff and two officials from Roadrunner Food Bank asked the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday to carry a bill in the upcoming regular session in January to require a state law for the Health Care Authority to submit a SNAP outreach plan every year to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Making the outreach program permanent and expanding it would allow more outreach workers to educate the public about what SNAP is, pre-screen people for eligibility, and follow up with them as their application is being processed, Jeff said.
“How this program could work for the Health Care Authority is alleviating some of that pressure, by allowing New Mexicans to enroll in places like Roadrunner, and to help potential applicants apply for SNAP there,” Jeff said.
They also asked for $150,000 to be added to the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s budget so they can hire a dedicated staff member to manage SNAP outreach, and create an application portal so outreach workers can track people’s progress toward getting their benefits.
Not only do applicants need high-quality translation and interpretation services, they also need training to be literate in how the SNAP program works, Jeff said.
Roadrunner Food Bank outreach since 2013
The New Mexico Human Services Department turned in an application for a SNAP outreach program for the first time ever to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in October 2023. SNAP oversight along with many other health duties were later moved to the Health Care Authority.
The plan’s goal is to ensure SNAP-eligible New Mexicans are getting accurate, culturally relevant, and developmentally appropriate information and help when they are applying for it, according to the 127-page outreach plan.
For the better part of a decade, Jason Riggs, advocacy and public policy director at Roadrunner Food Bank, said he has been “tormenting anyone I can talk with” about getting a New Mexico SNAP outreach plan into law.
Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, and New Jersey already have robust outreach programs, Jeff said.
The Health Care Authority has made a lot of progress in the past year, Riggs told lawmakers on Tuesday.
The state government got $60,000 from the feds for SNAP outreach in 2023, and that helped Roadrunner Food Bank’s existing outreach program, which had existed for a decade prior, Riggs said.
“Food banks were designed to be emergency services, and SNAP is really the first line of defense against extreme hunger,” Riggs said.
The state outreach program improved communication between the Health Care Authority and people in the community asking about their applications, which eliminated people’s apprehension to apply “because of the wait time,” said Shannon Hudson, SNAP and public benefits outreach manager at Roadrunner Food Bank.
“So we can encourage people to apply because we have the information from the Health Care Authority,” Hudson said.
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