As new work requirements take effect for federal food assistance, following uncertainty created by the lengthy government shutdown late last year, a Santa Fe-based organization is expanding its work providing free meals.
Founded in 1992, Kitchen Angels has been serving residents of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico communities who are homebound, experiencing a health crisis, or are ineligible for other local meal services.
Volunteers are serving locally sourced hot meals to individuals five days a week and frozen meals on the weekends. They provide a variety of options for people with different needs, including those with chronic kidney disease, people who follow a plant-based diet, or those with food allergies.
Executive Director Angie Smith said they are now providing emergency meals for more people during this uncertain time.
“In November, we were getting an increased number of calls worried about SNAP cuts and even the long term issues that will come with SNAP and Medicaid changes,” she said. “And a lot of these folks didn't necessarily meet our criteria, but we felt there was a need, and we had funders step forward. And so anybody that presents and says that something has happened with SNAP will sign them up for the emergency meal service.”
Smith said they’ve had 86 clients since November and have given out over 600 meals, so they are seeing the need in their community.
“We are pretty adamant about the fact that nobody in the United States should be hungry or should not be able to afford to feed themselves or their families,” she said. “I look at some of our clients, and I look at my parents, for example, and they're sort of in that boat. They can't really do it themselves.”
The organization said it received a lot of requests to expand services and hopes to partner with other local organizations to continue serving more people.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
