More than $52 million for food assistance is being distributed to the families of over 91,000 New Mexico children under the age of 6.
The funds are part of the 2021-22 childcare and summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer programs, according to a news release from the New Mexico Human Services Department. The program was created to provide emergency assistance to schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The goal of this program is to provide good nutrition to New Mexican families when they are facing financial hardship,” Angela Medrano, deputy secretary of the Human Services Department, said in the release. “We are working tirelessly to improve food security for New Mexico’s children.”
Only children who were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from August 2021 through July 2022 are eligible to receive funds. The amount each of the 91,460 children gets is determined by the number of months they were enrolled in the program, the release states.
Fund distribution began Oct. 26 and will continue through Nov. 16, according to the release. Eligible children receive $34.31 for every month they were enrolled in SNAP, Marina Piña, communications director for the agency said. Those enrolled during the summer of 2022, which includes June and July, will receive a one-time payment of $391 on Nov. 16.
“The Human Services Department is really working to continue helping New Mexico families who need it the most at this moment,” Piña said.
