SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico higher education officials announced $1 million in grants for eight colleges and universities to address campus food insecurity.

Funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act and will go toward projects addressing this issue among students, faculty and staff.

Among the projects is the University of New Mexico Basic Needs Project. They will receive $45,000, allowing them to publish and promote the first statewide college basic needs report.

Project officials conducted a recent survey of 10,000 college students in New Mexico. They found that 58% of students are food insecure. In comparison, 13% of all households are food insecure.

The funds will allow them to transition to become the New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium.

Here is a list of the other recipients receiving the money the New Mexico Higher Education Department is allocating to address food insecurity.

• Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso – $235,000

The university will launch the “Campus Connections” project with these funds. The project is aimed at establishing community kitchens where students can access and prepare nutritious food, take cooking classes and receive a weekly food box.

The project will also develop a hunger task force with area partners. The goal is to connect students with area resources.

• Western New Mexico University – $220,000

The money will support phase two of their food security and farm program. The “Grow Our Own” program will integrate academic programs and bring local experts together with students, faculty and staff to promote growing food on campus.

The goal is to provide fresh produce to the campus community. They also hope to provide food cultivation and cooking classes for college and high school students. 

• Clovis Community College – $150,000

Expand Campus Cabinet Program, host a hunger awareness program, install snack stations on-campus and expand community partnerships with local farms to provide fresh produce.

• Navajo Technical University – $125,000

Funds will support a project integrating cultural practices and traditional knowledge about agriculture and wild plant identification, plant a raised garden, provide cooking demonstrations and develop a cookbook.

The funds will also allow them to develop nutritious food boxes that they will provide to students, faculty and staff. Student organizations will also host events emphasizing budgeting for food and destigmatizing hunger.

• San Juan College – $125,000

Funds to conduct outreach to vulnerable groups, coordinate cross-campus initiatives, conduct a hunger awareness campaign and collaborate with local farmers and entrepreneurs.

• Eastern New Mexico University, Roswell – $50,000

Funds for the Cosmo’s Cupboard food pantry. Support existing college, adult education and early college high school students served by the pantry. They hope to expand services to meet the needs of faculty and staff.

• New Mexico State University, Grants – $50,000

Continue the existing food pantry, expand the hoop house garden, launch campaigns to destigmatize hunger, and provide nutritious food and snacks to go. 

MORE:

Students from Los Alamos Public Schools pose for a photo on the campus of New Mexico Tech in Socorro prior to the start of the 2024 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy LAPS

Students from across the state converged on the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair last Saturday at New Mexico Tech, including 19 students from Los Alamos Public Schools.

“The students worked hard and I am very proud of them,” said County Science Fair Director Eva
Abeyta. “They represented Los Alamos well.”

Los Alamos High School students Helena Welch and Tate Plohr qualified and will be attending
the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, CA in May.

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at the competition:

Junior Division
Animal Science, 3rd place: Andres Trujillo, Los Alamos Online Learning Academy
Chemistry, 3rd place: Ellen White, Piñon Elementary
Chemistry, Honorable Mention: Nora Whitton, Piñon Elementary
Chemistry, Honorable Mention: James Work, Barranca Mesa Elementary
Engineering, 1st place: Natan Svyatsky and John Fung, Los Alamos Middle School
Mathematics, 2nd place: Linus Plohr, Los Alamos Middle School
Physics & Astronomy, 2nd place: Kalliope Welch (homeschool)
Systems & Software, Honorable Mention: Patrick Avery, Piñon Elementary

Special Awards
Linus Plohr: 3rd place Paper Competition
Ellen White: American Chemical Society
Jane Smith: NM Network for Women and CO2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Honorable Mention)
Benjamin Minko: Association for Women Geoscientists
Brandon Keller: CO2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction (1st place)

Senior Division
Mathematics, 3rd place: Helena Welch, Los Alamos High School
Physics & Astronomy, 2nd place: Tate Plohr, Los Alamos High School
Special Awards
Brayden Allen: Climate Change NM, US Air Force, and CO2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award
(1st place)
Helena Welch: NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering
Photo caption: Students from Los Alamos Public Schools pose for a photo on the campus of New
Mexico Tech prior to the start of the 2024 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair.

Related

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — $4.5 billion has been allocated for hundreds of projects throughout New Mexico, but it’s just sitting unspent. That’s the total state lawmakers discovered in their latest capital outlay quarterly report.

There are six pages of what’s called red-rated projects – plans with state money already set aside that have made almost no progress.

For example, in 2022, lawmakers approved $10 million for pedestrian improvements in Old Town and the Sawmill District in Albuquerque. None of that money has been spent.

Over at UNM, $2 million was dedicated to health care lab improvements in 2021. Only around half a million has been spent.

Lawmakers awarded $1 million to renovate Santa Fe’s Midtown Campus in 2021. Officials haven’t spent a dime. So what’s the problem?

“It’s 112 different people making 112 different decisions without a lot of planning or coordination,” said Kristina Fisher, the associate director of Think New Mexico.

Fisher says the state’s capital outlay process is unique and outdated.

“Big projects don’t get fully funded and so a lot of the time there is money sitting on the sidelines because it is for a project that needs $10 million and a legislator was able to give them $2 million,” Fisher said.

Fisher said paying for projects in layers adds up because construction costs grow every year, so they’re perpetually underfunded. On top of that, communication is another problem.

“Sometimes funding will go to projects that the local government didn’t know about, didn’t request, doesn’t want, so that can slow that down,” Fisher said.

Think New Mexico is one of the groups calling for changes to the way the state handles capital outlay. Instead of allocating money for each lawmaker to spend on projects in their districts, Fisher believes the state should pool the money together and then distribute it more evenly and efficiently.

“So you would have local governments and agencies saying, this is what we need for higher ed construction, this is what we need for roads, for water systems, and figure out, gosh, we have a high priority need for pipelines over here and over there, and let’s make sure those get fully funded and are on track to go right now,” Fisher said.

This past legislative session, the governor signed a bill ensuring there’s better tracking of those capital outlay funds being spent.

To see the capital outlay quarterly report and all of the red-rated projects, click here.