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.

This week on Let’s Talk New Mexico we’re discussing all things food insecurity in New Mexico, including the overarching causes and necessary changes.

New Mexico’s federal lawmakers are pushing bills aimed at bankrolling food assistance, which is set to stop Saturday amidst the ongoing government shutdown. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, both Democrats, are sponsoring bills aimed at stopping that, and said both the money and the votes are there.

This month marks the one year anniversary of the state’s first 24/7 statwide hotline for sexual assault survivors.

In the final installment of our series taking a look at Albuquerque’s mayoral candidates, we hear from former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who also served as the Chief Public Safety Officer for Albuquerque before stepping down after an incident involving his wife’s DWI stop. He is now the programming manager for KKOB News Radio.

Saturday’s event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. across New Mexico, with dozens of collection sites around the state. One of the Albuquerque locations is Sandia Pharmacy, located at 201 San Pedro Dr. SE Suite C, where Health Equity Council staff will be assisting.

The American Hospital Association reports that violence in the health care system has significantly increased over the past decade, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the University of New Mexico implemented a workplace violence program three years ago.

In the fifth installment of our series taking a look at each Albuquerque mayoral candidate, we have an interview from our public media compatriot, New Mexico PBS. Host of New Mexico in Focus, Nash Jones, spoke with Louie Sanchez, an Albuquerque City Councilor representing District 1 on Albuquerque’s Westside, who is running for the top office.

In the fourth installment of a series looking at Albuquerque’s mayoral candidates, KUNM’s Daniel Montano spoke with former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, Alex Uballez, who said his choice to run for mayor came from a desire to continue serving the public after leaving his position as the top federal prosecutor in the state.

In our third installment of our series looking at all of Albuquerque’s mayoral candidates, KUNM’s Daniel Montano sits down with Eddie Varela, a retired fire chief with some unconventional ideas who says his background prepared him for a career in city government.