The state’s top human services officials are organizing food banks and warning legislators that 400,000 New Mexico relying on SNAP food aid may be unable to pay for food starting next week following federal warnings that SNAP payments “are not funded and that they will not be issued to New Mexico families if the shutdown persists.”
Healthcare Authority Secretary Kari Armijo gave that stark warning to lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee at their Oct. 15 meeting.
She added that USDA officials stated they are also considering deauthorizing the use of the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system, which is used by 1,700 retailers in New Mexico that accept SNAP benefits. The electronic system allows SNAP recipients to use their benefits when paying for food.
Armijo said if the government reopened before November, the Healthcare Authority, formerly the State’s Human Services Department, would move swiftly to ensure SNAP participants receive their benefits, but that it currently appears those benefits will not be paid out on time.
She added that for now, the Healthcare Authority is working with food banks to alert them about the likely suspension of benefits and expedite the issuance of additional support for those entities that were approved during the special legislative session earlier this month.
Figures provided by the Healthcare Authority during a presentation to the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee last month stated that as of August, 21.5% of New Mexicans — or about 459,500 individuals – rely on monthly SNAP benefits. The USDA provided more than $80,000,000 in food aid to qualified New Mexico families in May, the latest month when federal data was available.