U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury paid a visit to the University of New Mexico’s Lobo Food Pantry Thursday afternoon, as part of a larger tour of food banks around her district. She’s been speaking with staff, touring facilities and finding out what they most need.
According to the latest basic needs assessment, 58% of UNM students experience some sort of food insecurity. Director of the LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center, which oversees the pantry, Lisa Lindquist, says the pantry can go through 2,000 to 5,000 pounds of food a week.
“Our biggest thing that we try to think about is that we want people to feel comfortable using the space,” she said. “What we see a lot are students saying, ‘Well, other people deserve it more than I do.’ And the truth is, is that that's, that's just not true. That's a myth, right? Yeah, anybody who needs food should come in and use it.”
Stansbury has been touring food pantries across her district as funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been withheld during the ongoing government shutdown. A federal judge ordered on Thursday mere hours before Stansbury’s visit, that the Trump Administration pay full SNAP benefits for November using the designated emergency funds.
But Stansbury said it’s important for the public to be aware of all the resources available to them regardless.
“I would say we have one of the best programs in the country, and that is actually what has enabled us, for example, during the pandemic, to make sure that even communities like our Pueblo communities who were completely closed, were able to access food,” she said.
Stansbury lays the blame for the government shutdown and the stop in SNAP benefits at the feet of Republicans. She says the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies Democrats want the Republicans to fund have already received extensions in the past, and that they were intentionally left out of the budget reconciliation bill by Republican leadership earlier this summer.
“They knew this crisis was coming,” she said. “When Democrats reached out to the White House to negotiate over a month ago, the President literally said, ‘go **** yourself.’ That is a direct quote. So this is a manufactured crisis. There is no reason why we have to be here.”
Until SNAP is fully funded, however, Stansbury encourages New Mexicans to take advantage of resources like the Lobo Pantry, Roadrunner Foodbank, and the Food Depot if they need assistance, and to donate if they’re in a position to support those services.
Cande Martinez, basic needs specialist for LoboRESPECT, said the Lobo Pantry goes through ready to eat, or easy to prepare pantry items, the fastest, like granola bars and other grab-and-go snacks.
“Think about how many students who live on campus only may have access to a microwave,” she said. “So that's like things that don't require a lot of prep, thinking about time when they have to work and they have to study. So it's just those items that go faster.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called a special session Monday to finance food assistance with state funds.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
