Donor Stories
The New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger
One of the Foundation’s leadership initiatives is participation in The New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger.
One in four children and one in ten seniors do not know where they will get their next meal. The root issues of hunger in New Mexico can be attributed to the high poverty rate and fact that 32 of 33 counties qualify as “rural” by federal standards.
In early 2007, a three-year plan was created: The New Mexico Plan to End Hunger and a Collaboration was formed to accomplish the goals of the Plan. The overarching goal of the Plan was accomplished late last year: To move New Mexico from the worst in the nation in hunger (2007, USDA) to the 45th in hunger. Based on the USDA food insecurity data released in November 2009, New Mexico became 45th in food insecurity in the nation.
The Collaboration recently completed another successful Intergenerational Summer Food Program reaching the goal of feeding 7,600 children at 62 sites across New Mexico. Besides free breakfast and lunch at most sites, 58,000 weekend food bags were distributed and 24 community gardens were planted and are currently being harvested. The summer months are the highest months of hunger because children are not in school receiving USDA free breakfasts and lunches. Both of these programs will continue in the years to come.
5,000 volunteers, the Storehouse, Adelante Development Center and generous funders made the program a successful.
Other goals of the plan are to provide adequate food for seniors, improve access to food in rural and underserved communities, to encourage full participation in public food assistance programs and to create awareness of hunger in New Mexico.
The Collaboration’s Advisory Council is now planning for the next 5 years and has created a new Vision and Mission:
Vision: Organization working together to end hunger in New Mexico.
Mission: Connect, convene, communicate, collaborate and build capacity of the public and private organizations whose strategic partnership is focused on ending hunger in New Mexico.
If you would like more information on donating money or volunteering to help feed New Mexicans, visit www.endnmhunger.org
