SUNLAND PARK – Sunland Park residents in need of food will receive more help thanks to a significant increase in relief payments sent to the city.
The main nonprofit that distributes food aid in the city of 17,700, the Southern New Mexico Project, now hosts two food distribution events per month – up from one per month at the end of last year. These events, held in the parking lot of City Hall, are a vital source of free aid for many families and individuals in the area.
Rafael Ramos-Lacen, president and founder of the nonprofit, says his group now distributes about 400 baskets of food per month, about double what it used to. He is grateful for the increase, but there is still an unmet need for food in the city and surrounding areas.
“That’s more than we distributed last year, but it’s not enough,” he said in an interview with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative.
In early 2023, residents in southern New Mexico faced cuts to food assistance and other benefits as pandemic relief efforts ended. At the same time, grocery store prices have continued to soar, leaving many residents feeling increasing financial strain.
Advocates have said there is a high level of food insecurity in the southern part of Doña Ana County. Sunland Park does not have a building for a permanent food bank, which would increase the capacity to serve residents. Local officials and advocates are planning one, but ran into a roadblock earlier this year when lawmakers only partially funded their request for the new bank.
The Southern New Mexico Project was able to increase the amount of food distributed to the community thanks to increased deliveries from its primary supplier, the Albuquerque-based Roadrunner Food Bank. The food bank provides emergency food to communities throughout southern New Mexico.
Roadrunner Food Bank delivers more food
According to Sonya Warwick, Roadrunner’s communications director, the Roadrunner Food Bank delivered just over 21,600 pounds of food to SNMP in May and June 2023. This year, it delivered more than 40,600 pounds in the same months – an increase of nearly 90%.
“This site is now receiving a lot more food,” she said. “Now they’re getting enough food to feed 400 to 500 families.”
The Roadrunner Food Bank transports food to Sunland Park for SNMP’s twice-monthly food distribution events. With a small group of volunteers, SNMP takes the food in bulk and portions it into family-sized baskets that people then pick up.
Due to high demand last year, SNMP had a client list of nearly 1,200 people requesting food. But it could only deliver to about 200 people per month, meaning families had to wait up to six months for their next food basket.
Ramos-Lacen said the number of food baskets distributed increased in early February. He said the additional food had eased some of the pressure residents felt about accessing food assistance, but it had not completely eliminated it.
SNMP is not the only food distribution site in Sunland Park, but it is the largest. Several others, also supplied by Roadrunner Food Bank, serve more specific or smaller groups. In May and June of this year, Viva Health distributed 2,000 pounds of food, Villa del Sol Senior Housing distributed 5,320 pounds of food, and Santa Teresa High School distributed 7,743 pounds of food.
As for the evolution of food insecurity in New Mexico, Warwick said that “most of our food distribution partners are seeing an increase in need.” This is due to higher costs across the board, such as utilities and rent. And there tends to be more hunger in rural areas because of less access to food.
According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap Index, 16.4% of people in Doña Ana County were considered food insecure in 2022, up from 13.8% in 2021.
Warwick said Roadrunner is looking for additional food distribution partner organizations in Sunland Park that could help alleviate hunger. Those interested in food distribution can find more information here: www.rrfb.org/new-partners
Ramos-Lacen said SNMP benefits from grants that Roadrunner receives to cover or reduce the cost of food deliveries to Sunland Park. But if that agency doesn’t receive grants, SNMP will have to cover the $450 cost of each delivery itself. That’s a challenge for his volunteer-run organization.
“You pray every day that it will continue like this,” he said. “It’s about continuing to function. When you depend on donations, you never know if you’ll make it next month.”
If you are interested in donating or volunteering with SNMP, please contact [email protected].
The Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative is a partnership of local news organizations covering important issues in the southern half of the state. For more information: southNMnews.org or surNMnoticias.org
