A federal judge on Friday ruled it’s illegal for the Trump administration to stop federal food assistance and gave it until Monday to come up with a plan. That means millions are without those benefits over the weekend. But local restaurants around the state are stepping up to provide free meals for children and families.
It’s lunchtime at Yeller Sub in Northeast Albuquerque and it’s busy, with patrons picking up food or placing orders while others sit and enjoy their sandwiches.
The Beatles song “Yellow Submarine” inspired the name and the band is still on the stereo after 46 years as new owners Cheyenne and Nate Bywater serve up sandwiches, fries and potato salad.
“It's kind of like an old school deli vibe,” said Cheyenne.
Nate said they serve up to 200 people a day and the shop has become a staple of the community, which is why they’re joining fellow restaurant owners offering free kids meals as the federal government stops payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“We've got people come in here that say that their grandparents brought them in, or their dad brought them in, and now they're bringing their kids in, and they have supported this business,” said Nate.
Cheyenne was on SNAP at one point and knows how tough this situation is for folks.
“We want to make sure that we're doing our part as a business, to make sure that there's no kids with hungry tummies at bedtime,” she said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week that the state of New Mexico will provide $30 million starting Saturday to partially cover food benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown. But that will only cover about 1o days of benefits.
Nationwide nearly 42 million people rely on SNAP benefits including about 460,000 New Mexicans. That’s 21% of the state’s population, the highest percentage in the nation.
Nate said that they’re prepared to eat the cost of providing free meals but the community and other local non-food businesses have also donated to the cause.
“We've had enough donations to cover probably 40 to 50 kids' meals. So Albuquerque is showing up in full force, and they're showing what New Mexicans are really made of,” said Nate.
More than 30 restaurants around Albuquerque have announced on social media that they will offer free meals to children, seniors, or the disabled and will be collecting food donations until the end of the government shutdown.
Chuck Ruiz, owner of Richie B's Pizza, heard about the movement through social media.
“And immediately I was like, ‘yes, I want to get involved. That's what I want to do, too,’” he said.
Richie B’s Pizza is in the same plaza as Yeller Sub and has served big New York style pizzas for over 10 years. Ruiz said despite recent donations, September and October are their slowest months of the year.
“So it is hard times for us and hard for us to step up, but we're a community here, and we wouldn't be here without the city,” he said.
Ruiz said he’s seen the growing number of other restaurants joining the movement.
“There's so many restaurants that are doing this right now that I don't think any of us have to worry about taking the whole city on,” he said.
Like most other restaurants, Richie B’s said families don’t need to show proof of SNAP benefits.
“Gotta show proof of a kid,” he said.
The movement has grown to neighboring towns like Rio Rancho and the Hopper Pub and Pizzeria
Destiny Schermerhorn always loved the restaurant and bought it four years ago. She said she wanted to bring back some of its old character. Schermerhorn said she heard of small businesses speaking out, but it was primarily in Albuquerque.
“And I was like, ‘Wait, what about Rio Rancho? What about this side and our west side?’ And we decided we can do our part and kind of help this part of town,” she said.
She said the pizzeria has been a Rio Rancho fixture.
“Our community has shown up for us multiple times, and we want to give back to our community and help support them,” she said.
Schermerhorn said she believes in doing what’s right and doing what you can for the community.
“So yes, we're going to lose money on this, and yes, it's going to be a little bit of a struggle, but hopefully we'll be remembered, as you know, one of the strong pillars in the community that's been there doing the good things during the hard times,” she said.
Restaurants say they will continue to serve free meals until the end of the shutdown.
List of local New Mexican restaurants participating in offering free meals:
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
