The Legislative Finance Committee said earlier this week that new federal policies — like tariffs and federal funding cuts — would have an outsized effect on New Mexicans, and that means food insecurity could rise as well.
In 2023, Mexico accounted for 70% of New Mexico’s exports, and 41% of its imports, which amounts to 2.5 billion dollars, so a proposed tariff of 25% would increase prices on many products for sale in the state – including fresh produce.
That means higher grocery prices.
Joe Phy, vice president of strategic initiatives with Roadrunner Food Bank, said any increase in the cost of basic necessities means more people will need to use their services.
The state already has a higher-than-average number of people experiencing food insecurity. He said 1 in 7 in the general population, and 1 in 5 children don’t know where their next meal will come from.
“And that number actually gets higher in certain counties,” he said. “The food insecurity rate in Catron County, for example, is an astonishing 35%.”
And Phy said other federal changes, like job cuts and possible reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, make the problem even worse, and he said they’ve already seen a price increase of about 10% on food purchased from Mexico.
As the situation changes on a near daily basis, he said Roadrunner and other assistance organizations are constantly having to reevaluate their approach to prepare for the future.
“We have to be really mindful and monitor what's going on on the local level, what's going on the national level, and communicate with with each other, communicate with other food banks in our network, and try to try to strategize best we can, to just continue to fulfill our mission and get food out to people,” he said.
Phy said food banks were traditionally thought of as a source of emergency food, to bridge a gap for folks until they could get back on their feet, but that’s changed in recent years.
“I think things have sort of evolved, especially in the post-COVID economy, to where people in the community rely on food bank services on a very regular basis, because the cost of everything has increased,” he said.
Roadrunner already goes through its entire 125,000-square-foot warehouse — up to 3.5 million pounds of food — every three weeks, and encourages community members to get involved to help alleviate the problem.
“Instead of believing some system is going to take care of us, we have to see it on a community level and be willing to take care of each other, as human beings, because it's the decent, right thing to do.”
He says financial and food donations are always accepted, but volunteering your time at a local food pantry is also a great way to help fellow community members get their next meal.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
