State awards funds to increase food security in New Mexico

The New Mexico Economic Development Department announced Wednesday that 21 projects in 19 communities across New Mexico are recipients of the FY24 round of Healthy Food Financing Awards.

The grants flow from the Healthy Food Financing Fund as part of the Governor’s Food Initiative and are administered by EDD’s Food, Hunger and Agricultural program and Vida Mejor Capital, the HFFF state administrator.

The newly announced grants exemplify the intersection of economic development in New Mexico’s food and agricultural sector with increased food security for New Mexicans. The HFFF program prioritizes increasing food retail in rural and underserved communities and providing alternate market channels and enhanced processing capabilities for value-added and sustainable agriculture.

Investment in these diverse small- and mid-scale enterprises gives support to achieve statewide work in New Mexico’s food and agricultural economy through projects addressing sustainable food production, processing, aggregation/storage/distribution, and food retail in underserved communities.

“Building a more robust and sustainable food chain is a priority for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham,” said Acting EDD Cabinet Secretary Mark Roper. “Seeing homegrown New Mexico agriculture products becoming part of the supply chain is exciting. The Healthy Food Financing grants were awarded through a competitive process and encompass a range of investments needed to sustain a healthy, local, fresh food supply chain.”

The FY2024 grants awarded a total of $950,000 to 21 New Mexico projects. The recipients fall into four categories: food retail, processing, aggregation/distribution, and food production.

Among the projects is the Indigenous Farm Hub in Corrales. This project will enable IFH to enhance resources for Native and underserved farmers aiming for New Mexico grown certification and to develop their agricultural or value-added operations.

“These innovative and impactful projects demonstrate the potential to amplify New Mexico’s overall food system resiliency,” added Food, Hunger, and Agriculture Program Manager Erin Ortigoza. “These initiatives are part of an ever-growing food value chain network committed to strengthening New Mexico’s food ecosystem and implementation will result in increased access to healthy food for vulnerable populations.”