More than 100 Cities Sign Urban Food Policy Pact Pledge to Fight Hunger

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Mayors gathered in Milan to sign pact

Cities will be vital in accomplishing the goal of feeding the world; around 15 percent of the world’s food is now grown in urban areas, and the global proportion of people living in cities will likely reach 65 percent by 2025. The Urban Food Policy Pact (UFPP) will unite city leaders worldwide for the creation of more just and sustainable urban food systems. The pact will address the potential of cities to contribute to food security through urban agriculture.  -Text of UFPP

On  World Food Day 2015, representatives from more than 100 cities signed the Urban Food Policy Pact, pledging to work together on efforts to develop sustainable food policies. The document was presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a ceremony in Milan, Italy. The project, led by the city of Milan, is modeled after an initiative that the Italian city created in 2014 with the assistance of Fundazione Caprilo. The objective is very simple: coordinate all policies dealing with food policy from a host of different perspectives: community, welfare, education, environment, well-being and international relations.

Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapa proposed the pact at the Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) Summit in 2014, and the agreement was launched during the Milan Expo 2015, whose theme was “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.”

“Today, at  the presence of metropolises from all over the world that are home  to 400 million people, we have achieved an ambitious goal: a commitment for the implementation of smart food policies in our cities," said Pisapia. "This strong commitment entails concrete actions at the local level, aimed at facing global emergencies such as hunger, malnutrition and 1,3 million tons of food wasted every year."

Five cities in the United States and two in Canada are party to this agreement:  Chicago, New York, Miami, Baltimore, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto. Our neighbors in Latin America include  Mexico City, Guatemala City (Guatemala), Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Bogota and Medellin (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo, and Porto Alegre (Brazil). New York City announced its support for the pact on Twitter.

#NYC signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact ! Follow the ceremony live: http://t.co/KMRTIO2iap #UrbanFoodPact @ComuneMi

— NYC Intl Affairs (@globalnyc) October 15, 2015

The pact includes five core actions:

1. engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure an enabling environment; 
2. promote sustainable diets and nutrition; 
3. ensure equitable access to food; 
4. promote rural-urban food production and supply; and 
5. reduce food waste.

José Graziano da Silva, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), praised the agreement, pointing out that  urban communities would play a significant role in achieving the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, especially the eradication of hunger by 2030. Read more from Inter Press Service and Xinhua. Here is how the FAO tweeted its support for the pact.

#UNFAO hails pledge by more than 100 cities 2fight hunger & improve nutrition http://t.co/fCM4KnNVU7 #UrbanFoodPact pic.twitter.com/yiUgpVc9Wv

— FAO Newsroom (@FAOnews) October 15, 2015

While Urban Food Policy Pact currently has a little more than 100 signators, the model is applicable to cities of all sizes. According to StatisticBrain, using datafrom World Atlas, there were 4,416 cities in the world with a population of over 150,000, including Albuquerque. Imagine if every single one of these cities decided to adopt the UFPP principles.

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An Unfortunate Choice of Words for the Local Holiday Food Drive

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At the risk of being called a "Debbie Downer" during this time of giving, I feel I must add my two cents to the otherwise noble effort by a group of businesses to partner with Roadrunner Food to collect non-perishable food items during the holidays.

The image on the left is a scan of the paper bag that was inserted in between the various sections of The Albuquerque Journal  this week. The paper bag presented a misleading message to the public:"Solve Hunger" by donating food. A better word would be "Help Alleviate Hunger."

To actually solve hunger, we must solve some of the structural problems that cause hunger, one of which is poverty and related factors like unemployment, underemployment, low wages, lack of access to affordable and nutritious food, a high level of debt and other causes. There are 50 million of our neighbors who do not know where their next meal is coming from, including 360,000 in New Mexico who are at risk of hunger.

"Despite the end of the Great Recession and a falling unemployment rate, the nation continues to be plagued by a very uneven recovery; low employment rates; stagnant wages; inadequate public investments; and inadequate public safety net programs. Yes, there has been progress. But it has been too slow," the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) said in its recently unveiled Plan of Action to End Hunger in America.

And how much difference does the food drive make?  It certainly helps increase the amount of food available to Roadrunner Food Bank and all the Feeding America affiliates around that country. That is an important reason why we all should participate in this holiday drive. Go to your local grocery store (instead of emptying your pantry) and buy $10 or $15 worth of non-perishable food items and leave them by your mail box on Saturday. Or better yet, take them directly to your nearest post office.

"More than half the households in New Mexico have to make really tough decisions every day," said an editorial in todays edition of The Albuquerque Journal, one of the sponsors of the food drive.  "Sixty-one percent choose between spending on food and utilities. Sixty-six percent between food and transportation. Fifty-nine percent between food and medical care. Forty-eight percent between food and housing. But there’s an easy choice more fortunate New Mexicans can make today and Saturday. That’s to fill the brown grocery bag in Thursday’s Journal with nonperishable food,"

The brown paper bag also contains some handy tips to help Roadrunner Food Bank, including signing up for programs where retailers donate a portion of your holiday purchases to our local food bank. And you are also given an opportunity to text a donation.  Here is why the financial donations are important.

"Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, annually serves 46.5 million people across the U.S. through its network of 200 food banks, according to its "Hunger in America 2014" study," said an article The Huffington Post. "But what you may not know is that these organizations have limited resources themselves. While approximately 100 million pounds of food is donated to Feeding America food banks each year via canned food drives, these items alone won’t solve the issue of hunger that so many Americans face. Tight budgets, limited volunteers, finite donations, and the short turnarounds required between receiving fresh foods and distributing them to families in need can be challenges in addressing the issue of hunger – and doing so with nutrient-rich foods."

The holiday food drive should give us at least a small opportunity to show solidarity with those who receive the food. One way to do this is to be aware of the reasons why families are in their current predicament.  It doesnt help when the campaign tells us that we are actually solving hunger through our holiday donations.

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Bernalillo County Commission to Host Food Summit on November 16

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The Bernalillo County Commission is hosting the  Cultivating Bernalillo County Food Summit on Monday, November 16, at  Hotel Albuquerque, 800 Rio Grande Blvd. NW (map), 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Anyone working with food (farming, processing, selling, redirecting, etc.) is invited to the event, which offers the ability to network with many people involved in the food industry.

Matt Rembe, executive director of Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, and Celina Aldaz-Grife of Celinas Biscochitos are featured speakers.

Organizers are  encouraging everyone to register online by Saturday, November 14. Registration is $10 and includes breakfast and lunch (and organizers need a count), Please register by  Saturday, November 14.  For more information, contact Shawn Perry-Turner by e-mail (spturner@bernco.gov) or call (505) 468-7817

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Food Month and the Goal of ZeroHunger

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 (Reprinted  from Bread Blog)

We are committed to ending hunger by 2030, but can we really achieve #ZeroHunger in 15 years?

October is traditionally “food month.” It’s the month for World Food Day (Oct. 16 this year), and it’s the time of the annual Iowa Hunger Summit and the award ceremony for the World Food Prize. (And don’t forget Bread for the World Sunday on Oct. 18.)
Bread is involved in many of these events, and you are invited to observe or participate in them as well. Bread will be reporting on these events on our blog and social media channels.

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New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps to Host World Food Day Dinner

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Mark your calendars. This great event is only about a month away!

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Learn About Roadrunner Food Banks Program to Link Health and Hunger

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Quarterly Meeting on Tuesday, February 9  12 Noon

First Presbyterian Church (I-25 and Martin Luther King Blvd.)

Alissa Barnes, director of Community Initiatives at Roadrunner Food Bank, will talk about the food banks new program on health and hunger.  Alissa is a member of the Interfaith Hunger Coalitions Advocacy Committee.

Our Education and Advocacy Committees will also present updates of their work over the past several weeks.  We are also seeking volunteers to serve on a committee to plan an Interfaith Service for World Food Day on Sunday, October 16, 2016

Data shows us that food insecurity and health go hand in hand. Food-insecure individuals are more likely to experience colds, stomach aches and migraines and suffer from generally poorer health than food secure individuals. In 2014, Feeding America conducted the Hunger in America study and found some staggering statistics  about New Mexico’s pantry clients:

• Nearly half (46%) report being in poor or fair health;
• 59% report choosing between paying for medicine or medical care or buying food at least once in the past 12 months;
• 44% of hungry households said they have medical bills to pay, and;
• 75% report purchasing inexpensive, unhealthy food as the most common way to have at least some food at home to eat.

As a food bank , we are focused on addressing Health and Wellness and leading in the national trend of food banks partnering with health organizations. We were pleased to share some of our Health and Wellness Initiatives with the Beyond Flexner Conference.  The conference brought a group of medical students, educators, and physicians together  to discuss social determinants of health.

More information in these links:
Healthy Hubs – Partnering with Organizations to Increase Health Outcomes

Working Together for a Healthy and Well Nourished New Mexico

Healthcare and Food Delivery Advisory Council Meeting Report

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Franciscan Sister Wins Food Netwoks Chopped Contest Seeks to Bring Attention to Issue of Hunger

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"Perhaps being on national TV and winning this competition will bring some attention to the issue of hunger and to the reality that Gods love is so strong and so big, he can take this little nun from Chicago who never went to culinary school to compete. ... Literally nothing is impossible with God." -Franciscan Sister Alicia Torres

Sister Alicia Torres, 30, is one of the new generation of Catholic nuns. She has her own Twitter account and she appeared on the Food Networks reality cooking show Chopped--and won!

Sister Alicia, who lives and works at the Mission of Our Lady of  the Angels on the west side of Chicago, was one of four chefs cooking with the typical makings of a conventional Thanksgiving dinner—turkey, green beans, potatoes and cranberries—on the special volunteer edition of the show.

In the appetizer segment of the contest, Torres transformed leftovers into Mexican-style quesadillas.For the entree, Sister Alicia made a Mediterranean-style dish with curry turkey, a sweet potato cranberry hash and a dipping sauce with goat cheese and green beans.

Here is what she wrote on Twitter on the day of the contest.

Chopped = major blessing + joy! Im still cooking .. for Gods glory and my friends on the West Side! Thanks @FoodNetwork! #Chopped

— Sr. Alicia Torres (@NunRun) November 12, 2015

Sister Alicia is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, which serve the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, located in Humboldt Park, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. "With the economic crisis, families and seniors in the area do not have the necessary resources for sufficient heat and nutritious meals," the mission said on its website. 

The mission  distributes food and clothing to residents of Humboldt Park on Tuesday mornings. The first Saturday of the month, the mission also serves as a model of how to efficiently run a mobile food pantry. The mobile pantry provides food and clothing for approximately 300 families.

Sister Alicias victory brought a prize of $10,000 for Our Lady of the Angels. More importantly, it provided her the opportunity to shine the spotlight on hunger and poverty on the west side of Chicago and in many places in the U.S. "Perhaps being on national TV and winning this competition will bring some attention to the issue of hunger and to the reality that Gods love is so strong and so big, he can take this little nun from Chicago who never went to culinary school to compete. ... Literally nothing is impossible with God," Sister Alica said in an interview with The Chicago Tribune.

And here is a video from an interview with Sister Alicia on WGN television in Chicago.



Siser Alicia was featured in the film Light of Love in 2013, a movie by the Imagine Sisters Movement, in which she discusses her religious calling.

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A Video from Church World Service on World Food Day 2015

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As part of its observance of World Food Day 2015, Church World Service (the organization that brings you the annual CROP Walk), created this video to raise awareness about hunger. By the way, there are five CROP Walks scheduled in New Mexico in the next several weeks, Gallup (Oct. 18),  Las Vegas (Oct. 24), Albuquerque (Nov. 1),  Carlsbad (Nov. 7), and Los Alamos (Nov. 22).  Four Corners (Farmington) held its CROP Walk on Oct. 3 and Curry County (Clovis) on April 26.

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Hobby Farming and Good Food

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Many people are starting to use simple easy to build low cost aquaponics systems to grow fish, veggies and herbs at home. It can be a rewarding and relaxing hobby, one that also produces great tasting food in a sustainable manner without using artificial fertilizers or pesticides.

These mini sized eco-friendly aqua farm units can be built as a “do it yourself” project and a family activity that provides wholesome nutritious food year round. They can be set up in the garage, basement, shed, empty building etc.

Is the idea of growing your own fish and vegetables without using chemicals, is appealing to you? If so read this article.

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Food Prescription Program Comes to Albuquerque

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 “I would rather see health care in the grocery store than in the pharmacy.”  -David Perry, program director, Zenger Farms, Portland, Oregon

 “Food should be considered a treatment option for our patients,” -Lee Hammerling, MD, chief medical officer and chief physician executive,  ProMedica, Toledo, Ohio


Food Prescription programs make it easier for low-income patients and their families to access the fresh fruits and vegetables they need in order to ensure that they are eating balanced, healthy diets. The programs generally begin with a partnership between a hospital and a local farmer’s market or CSA (community supported agriculture) to increase access for people who need access to nutritious food to improve their health.

"Although Food Prescription programs are relatively new, pilot programs have shown promising results in improving health outcomes in communities where they have been implemented," wrote Molly Miller in an article published by Stakeholder Health in 2014.

According to Miller, there is already some evidence that the food prescription programs are working.  She notes that the The Fresh Prescription Program, which seeks to build partnerships between the local food system, the healthcare system, and low-income patients in the Detroit area, has shown some signs of promise.  See above video about the Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center.  

Roadrunner Food Bank Opens Healthy Foods Center

Produce at Railyard Market

In Albuquerque, Roadrunner Food Bank has launched a food prescription pilot program in partnership with five local clinics. The program has been in place for several months but was only announced to the general public on Feb. 11 at the grand opening of the Healthy Food Center, located at the food bank, 5840 Office NE.   Read more in Albuquerque Journal.

The health partners participating in the program are three Community Dental Services clinics and two University of New Mexico Hospital clinics. Here is how it works: the five clinics do a sort of triage among their patients.  "Patients are asked about their food situation. If they answer in a way that indicates they aren’t getting enough to eat or are skipping meals, the health care partner issues a ‘prescription’ to come here,” said Alissa Barnes,  Roadrunner Food Bank’s director of community initiatives.

The prescription provides for one weekly trip to the Healthy Foods Center for a year, where the clients can “choose the products that are right for their home,” Barnes said. The caveat: only clients with these referrals can get food from the on-site pantry.

As the name of the program implies, the focus of the program is entirely on health. “We have a lot of patients with Type II Diabetes, so we don’t offer them anything with added sugar. For those with hypertension, we offer them the low-sodium vegetables. For those with vitamin D deficiencies, we offer more whole grains, tuna fish, and milk so they can get that extra Vitamin D," said Angela Smith, a diet technician with Promedica, a health care provider in Toledo, Ohio.  Read more about Promedicas Food Pharmacy.

Working Together
Promedica has partnered with the Alliance to End Hunger and several local health care providers around the country to examine the connections between health and hunger.  The two organizations held a conference on this topic in partnership with Presbyterian Community Health in June, 2015.  One of the keynote speakers was Ambassador Tony Hall, director emeritus of the Alliance to End Hunger. Other cities have hosted similar conferences, including Columbus, Ohio last fall. 

The partnerships between health care providers and CSAs has worked well in other parts of the country. In Portland, Zenger Farm partnered with Multnomah County Health Department and the National College of Natural Medicine in a program that was started in 2014.

According to Barnes, Roadrunner Food Banks pilot program in Albuquerque will continue to the end of the year, and then “other health care clinics will be slowly rolled in.” The Healthy Foods Center will eventually incorporate other services, including immunizations, tax preparation, nutrition education and health screenings, she said.

Presbyterian Community Health, which recently recently launched a program offering a free healthy meal to children and youth seven days a week, is likely to join the food prescription effort in a more direct way soon. The program has already created a strong partnership with La Cosecha CSA. (See more in this video).

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Report Examines Impact of Proposed Food Tax on Health and Hunger in New Mexico

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Reinstating a tax on the sale of food for consumption at home could harm the health of New Mexicans who are already food insecure—meaning they don’t always have enough to eat. And while the revenue generated from a tax on food could be used to mitigate some of the damage the tax would do, the report finds that it is unlikely governments would spend the new revenue toward that end. -New Mexico Voices for Childrens report“A Health Impact Assessment of a Food Tax in New Mexico

There are many efforts underway to examine the relationship of health and nutrition to hunger. This week, the Bread for the World Institute published a comprehensive report on this issue, entitled The Nourishing Effect.  On Tuesday, we posted a piece about this report earlier this week.

The New Mexico Voices for Children also published a report on the same topic this week. The report, funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, is more specific to New Mexico.  This report examines how proposals to reinstate a tax on the sale of food for consumption at home could harm the health of New Mexicans who are already food insecure. 

“When all is said and done, taxing food will hurt those New Mexicans who are already hurting the most,” said Veronica C. García, Ed.D., executive director of NM Voices. “Almost a third of our state’s children don’t get enough to eat—even with school meals, SNAP benefits and food banks. How can we, in good conscience, expect them to do with even less food?"

The report looks at three possible outcomes of a food tax: that families would maintain their current food purchasing patterns, leaving less money for other necessities such as medication and health care; that families would spend the same amount of money on food, but be able to purchase less of it (or substitute less-expensive, less-nutritious foods); and that state or local governments would collect more revenue, which could impact their spending patterns.

Health Impacts of a Food Tax on Family Economic Security: Taxing food would cost each New Mexico household around $350 per year, or $29 per month, on average. Highest-income earners in New Mexico would spend about one-half of 1 percent of their income on a food tax, while the lower half of New Mexico earners would spend around 1 percent of their income on the food tax alone—double the rate that high earners would pay. Research and calculations show that a food tax would exacerbate the tax system’s regressivity—that is it would hit low-income earners harder than it would hit high- income earners—and could harm family economic security, which could have negative impacts on mental health and stress levels, income available for other necessary purchases besides food, need and demand for public assistance, childhood development, ability to pay for health services and medicine, economic equity, and the ability to manage chronic conditions through diet.

Health Impacts of a Food Tax on Food Security, Diet, and Nutrition:Taxing food could also have an adverse impact on food security, diet, and nutrition by prompting purchases of less food or cheaper, less nutritious food. This could have important and harmful implications for health, particularly nutrition-related chronic conditions, the ability to manage chronic conditions through diet, childhood development and learning capacity, malnutrition issues, the incidence of low birth-weight and/or preterm babies, and the need and demand for food assistance from public, private, and nonprofit sources.

Health Impacts of a Food Tax on Government Spending: It is also possible that the negative health impacts of taxing food could be mitigated by how that revenue is spent. If food tax revenues lead to overall increased government spending on direct health services, food assistance and nutrition programs, programs that provide recreational opportunities, and education, then the food tax could have positive implications for health, or at the very least have no net negative implications. However, it is more likely that food tax revenue would be used to make up for decreasing revenue and so be used to maintain current service levels. Though it is possible that any increases could be spent on the programs noted above, for most program areas, it is unlikely, particularly at the municipal level.

Here are links to the executive summary and the full report

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Updates on Food Nutrition Human Needs from Recently Concluded 2016 State Legislative Session

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The New Mexico State Legislature met for 30 days (the short session) this year, and the focus was to pass a budget in a revenue-challenged environment. The House approved a 2016 budget of $6.2 billion (HB2). The depressed oil market was already evident during the 2015 budget year.

"As oil and gas prices continue to plummet policymakers were forced to shave and cut program funding across most agency budgets," said Pam Roy, director of the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council. "The House of Representatives passed a budget to the Senate that needed more than $8 million in cuts to balance it...All but Public Education and Corrections received cuts."

"This budget should have addressed high unemployment, lack of good-paying jobs, and high rates of child poverty and food insecurity," said Veronica C. García, Ed.D., executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children (NMVC). "Our already-underfunded public schools, higher education, child protective services, behavioral health services, court systems, and more, will continue to be stretched beyond effectiveness. The already glacial pace of phasing in pre-K education has essentially been halted."

Budget Woes
The tight budget had an influence across the board. Some proposals for increased funding for programs related to human needs, such as the State Housing Trust Fund, were not approved or not brought to the floor. One unpopular proposal to bring back a tax on groceries (as a means to raise additional revenue) resurfaced in the Senate Finance Committee, but the measure did not move forward. And funding for some programs, such as the Double Up Food Bucks Farmers Market Program, was mostly restored despite an initial proposal for severe cuts.

The State Legislature also allocated $225,000 (instead of the $400,000 that advocates were seeking) for the state SNAP Supplement.  In fact, the Senate Legislative Health and Human Services Committee had initially proposed the $400,000 allocation, which would have brought the SNAP supplement for seniors and people with disabilities to $30 from $25 previously. Under the approved allocation, the SNAP Supplement increases to $28, which is what Gov. Susana Martinez had proposed in her budget plan.

Below are updates on selected issues dealing with hunger, food, nutrition and other human needs from the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico and Think New Mexico.

From the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council
Double Up Food Bucks Farmers Market Program

Advocates worked hard to restore funds to the Double Up Food Bucks Farmers Market Program which received $400,000 in the 2015 Legislative session. In the first six months of the program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients had already spent nearly $200,000 of their Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB). In a January 2016 report conducted by the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, there was a 200 percent sales increase that positively impacted 60 percent of New Mexico counties and 60 percent of direct market farmers statewide at New Mexicos 45 participating farmers markets.

Coming into the 2016 session the Legislative Finance Committee had only recommended $100,000. The New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute and Farm to Table worked to encourage policymakers to restore the funds back to the $400,000 level which could leverage up to $2 million federal funds through the USDA Food Insecurity Nutrition Initiative (FINI). The final budget passed by the House and Senate has $390,000 - a true win for the new program in a tight budget year.

State-Grown Produce
The New Mexico Grown Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for School Meals hung onto $250,000 (2014-5 level funding) down from the 2015-6 funds of $364,300 appropriated last year.

Coming out of the Legislative session the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council and Farm to Table will be hosting a New Mexico Grown Fresh Fruit and Vegetables for School Meals Strategic Planning Process to determine the potential of the program and commitments by partners to further develop the program over the next three years and beyond.

Breakfast After the Bell
SB 144 sponsored by Senators Gay Kernan and Mimi Stewart, passed both the Senate and the House. The legislation amends the Public School Code to clarify that schools that establish a breakfast after the bell program are not prohibited from beginning breakfast service before the start of the instructional day provided the schools also serve breakfast after the beginning of the instructional day. The bill would allow for school breakfast to be served not only in the classroom but also in the cafeteria, on the buses, or by providing hand carried breakfast. One major concern is that the legislation may provide for too much leeway and school may choose not to participate, thus leaving children without an important meal to start the day.

Read full Wrap-up from NMFAPC

From the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico
Affordable Housing & Homelessness: SB63 
Sen. Nancy Rodriguez requested an appropriation of $5 million for the State Housing Trust Fund which provides funding to build affordable housing projects around the state. No new funding for the State Housing Trust Fund is available.

Family-Sustaining Income
LAM-NM supported increasing the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families monthly cash assistance amount. No increase is included in HB2.

SJR2 (Sen. Michael Padilla) & HJR10 (Reps. Javier Martinez & Moe Maestas)
These constitutional amendments would have allowed an increase in the distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to fund quality early childhood programs. SJR2 passed the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee and died in the Senate Finance Committee. HJR10 was tabled in the House Education Committee.

Tax Policy
HB79 (Rep. Bill McCamley) Would have increased the state Working Families Tax Credit from 10% to 20% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and to repeal the capital gains tax deduction. HB79 passed the House Business & Employment Committee without recommendation and was tabled in the House Ways & Means Committee.

Note: Ruth Hoffman, director of LAM-NM (and Louise Pocock from the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty) also provided the updates on the SNAP Supplement allocation.

See Full Legislative Update from LAM-NM

From Think New Mexico

Bill to Reimpose Food Tax Stopped In Its Tracks (Senate Bill 281)

Sen. John Arthur Smith, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced this initiative in the second week of the legislative session, and we monitored it closely until the final second. Back in 2013, legislation to reimpose the food tax was sent to the full Senate at 9:00 p.m. the night before the session concluded and we had to scramble to stop it. Fortunately, during this years session the fierce public opposition to this regressive tax prevailed, and the bill died without receiving a single hearing.

NMVC)spoke out against the initiative to reintroduce the grocery tax. “We are deeply concerned that legislation has been introduced that would increase the cost of buying groceries for New Mexico families," said Dr. Veronica C. García,. "While we agree that the state must raise new revenue in order to adequately fund programs and services that are vital for our families, communities and economy, this would be the worst possible way in which to do that." Read full report from KRWG TV

See Full Legislative Report from Think New Mexico

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Measuring Food Insecurity among Immigrants Refugees and Asylees

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"While they earn more money in the United States than in their home countries, unauthorized immigrants suffer disproportionately from food insecurity and poverty once they arrive. While legal immigrants, refugees, and guest workers all face challenges, no group of immigrants is more harmed by hunger and poverty than those without documentation."  from Immigration, Hunger and Opportunity, Bread for the World Institute and Bread for the World

How do you measure food insecurity among immigrants, refugees and people seeking asylum in the United States? Each of these groups faces a different set of circumstances. Yet, they have something in common. They came to our country to improve their circumstances or to escape from an unbearable situation. Agencies like Catholic Charities and Lutheran Family Services provide a support system for refugees and asylees, although this does not necessarily solve their hunger problems.

Photo: Bread for the World (Laura Pohl)

The situation for immigrants varies, depending on their region of origin and their legal status. A report published a couple of years ago by the Bread for the World Institute and Bread for the World, entitled Immigration, Hunger and Opportunity,  points out that most immigrants to the United States have come from Latin America. This is particularly true for unauthorized immigration. More than 80 percent of all unauthorized immigrants to the United States come from Latin America, with 60 percent coming from Mexico. 

The biggest challenge is for undocumented immigrants. "While they earn more money in the United States than in their home countries, unauthorized immigrants suffer disproportionately from food insecurity and poverty once they arrive. While legal immigrants, refugees, and guest workers all face challenges, no group of immigrants is more harmed by hunger and poverty than those without documentation," said the report. Here is the link to the report (in PDF format)

The video above tells the story of one immigrant, which is one of a set of videos on hunger an immigration that Bread for the World produced in recent years.

Data Collected from Several Small Studies

Photo: Food Research and Action Center

A more recent report from the Food Research and Action Center and Childrens HealthWatch points out that no data is collected at the national level focused on food insecurity among immigrants and refugees. However, the report--entitled Food Insecurity among Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees --cites several small studies that examined hunger among immigrants and refugees who have come to our country from various parts of the world.

"In these studies, estimates of food insecurity vary greatly, depending on the population focus, with most estimates ranging between 30 and 60 percent, though rates as high as 80 percent have been documented among some vulnerable farmworkers in the southwest U.S.," said the report.

"It is also important to note that some studies identify participants as foreign-born without indicating whether they are refugees or asylees. This makes it challenging to estimate food insecurity among these similar, but different, groups."

Here are some highlights from the report

• Research conducted by Children’s HealthWatch demonstrates high rates of food insecurity among foreign-born households with children in its five research sites, a particularly vulnerable group. For example, in a study of Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean mothers compared to U.S.-born mothers, rates of household food insecurity among foreign-born mothers were significantly higher – 46 percent for families with Mexican mothers, 30 percent for Central American mothers, and 31 percent for Caribbean mothers, compared to 16 percent for families with U.S.-born mothers.
• Rates of child food insecurity were notably different among four groups --- 34 percent among families with Mexican mothers, 19 percent for those with Central American mothers, and 18 percent for those with Caribbean mothers, compared to 6 percent among families with U.S.-born mothers.
• Similarly, in a large study of 44,919 mothers with young children, 23.7 percent of the foreign-born mothers reported some level of food insecurity compared to just 12.7 percent of U.S.-born mothers. In this study, among young children with foreign-born mothers, the odds of food insecurity were more than three times as great as compared to young children with U.S.-born mothers.

Advocacy Solutions

"In addition to improving employment and income, connecting immigrant and refugee families to public nutrition assistance programs and private emergency food assistance is an important way to reduce food insecurity among this population," said the FRAC/Childrens HealthWatch report. "In particular, rates of participation in WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) among foreign-born families are high since generally there are no immigration-related eligibility requirements with WIC. The same cannot be said for SNAP, though research has demonstrated the value of food assistance for all Americans."

"Because a substantial percentage of undocumented immigrants in the United States lives in poverty and because legalization would help them escape hunger, immigration reform fits [our domestic agenda], said Bread for the World. "We advocate for legislation that ensures a place at the table for everyone in the United States, regardless of legal status. And we anticipate that hundreds of thousands of people would be lifted out of hunger and poverty almost immediately if they are given a pathway to citizenship."

"Immigration reform also fits Bread’s international agenda. We add specific value to the immigration reform discussion by focusing on its root causes: hunger and poverty in home countries. Our longstanding advocacy for poverty-focused development assistance is one way that we help moderate the flow of immigrants to the United States," added Bread for the World.

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A Brief and very Abbreviated Account of World Food Day Commemorations in Albuquerque

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"Millions of poor people face hunger and poverty this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains as global temperatures reach new records, and because of the onset of a powerful El Niño – the climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific and brings extreme weather to several regions of the world."  -from  Oxfam America briefing note (published on Oct. 1, 2015) entitled "Entering Unchartered Waters"

World Food Day has been observed in Albuquerque every October 16 in one way or another over at least the past couple of decades. The commemoration was created by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1979, and the first observance took place globally  in 1981.

There was once a local group of volunteers that planned an event around a national telecast featuring a panel of experts. The event, which coincided with the national events held by the U.S.-Canada World Food Day organization, was usually held at the Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), which is now Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), or at the University of New Mexico. The event also included local speakers, panel discussions and special recognition for anti-hunger efforts.  For example, organizers in 2006 recognized the efforts of the (now-defunct) New Mexico Task Force to End Hunger to convince mayors of 103 communities to commit to end hunger. 

At about the same time that the momentum to hold the event faded locally, the local volunteers for New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps stepped in to hold their own commemoration of World Food Day on the Saturday closest to October 16. Over the past three years, St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church and First Congregational Church have opened their doors for the event, which has featured a Hunger Banquet, a discussion on how to support local farmers by buying food locally, the importance of women farmers, and much more.

An Invitation to the 2015 Commemoration
The fourth annual World Food Day commemoration sponsored by New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps will be held on Saturday, October 17, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard Blvd. NE (map) in Albuquerque. Enjoy a free locally sourced community dinner and live entertainment, but please RSVP online via this link.

The event will  celebrate small farmers, locally and globally, but will again place an emphasis on the impact of climate change on food production. This connection between global warming and hunger has been a common theme for local World Food Day celebrations, including the one that the previous organizing group held at UNM in 2008.

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Fourth Annual New Mexico Food and Farms Day Scheduled for Wednesday February 3 in Santa Fe

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The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council invites you to the Fourth Annual New Mexico Food and Farms Day at the State Capital.  The event is held in conjunction with  New Mexico School Nutrition Day, Cooking With Kids Day and the New Mexico Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Day at the Legislature.

"New Mexico has a vibrant food and farming culture that is significant to our rural economy and provides employment opportunities on farm; in direct, wholesale, and retail opportunities; in food processing, distribution, value-added businesses," said Pam Roy, coordinator of the NMFAC and Farm to Table.

"As a broad based group of partners and participants, were highlighting the Farm to School movement in New Mexico and the many schools that buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, school food service who care about providing meals with New Mexico grown produce, and most important, students who learn to incorporate fresh produce in their diets and enjoy experiential learning through programs like Cooking with Kids, Kids Cook, school gardens and more," added Roy. "Our children have the opportunity to enjoy New Mexico grown fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals and snack programs."

The day will include:
8:00 - 9:00am
Education Through Advocacy, room 324 at the State Capital - Participants will get a brief overview of the New Mexico legislative process before launching into a morning of fast paced activities. By Invite Only

8:30 - 11:00am
In the East Wing of the Capital (next to the Rotunda), organizations and agencies will share information and educate the public about their programs and their relationship to each other and the goals and purpose of the Day and beyond.

9:00 - 9:45am
Celebrate the 1st Annual Farm to School Award Ceremony and Press Conference. At the Rotunda, this special awards ceremony will recognize key individuals and their organizations for their work in creating educational programs in schools for children to learn about the world of food and gardening; food service and food entrepreneurs who have, through innovation and policy, changed the rules to be able to partner with local farmers to buy the freshest local produce for school meals; and, farmers who have been on the front lines for change by building partnerships with schools to purchase locally grown produce and paving the path for others. This will be the first on many occasions to honor leaders, risk takers, innovators, and believers.

10:00 - 12 noon
The New Mexico Legislature will honor New Mexico Food ad Farms Day, New Mexico School Nutrition Day, and Cooking with Kids Day in both the House and Senate Chambers. Policymakers will highlight the importance of these events and most importantly will recognize individuals and organizations for their efforts in building an important aspect of food, farming, and health initiatives in New Mexico.

12:30 - 3:00pm
Round Table celebration, discussion, and next steps by all of the groups and individuals involved. We ask ourselves what we learned, how it builds relationships and coordination, and what we commit to doing moving forward. Our discussion includes providing lunch. Venue TBD (more information forthcoming)

The organizations joining in the celebration include: New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, Farm to Table, New Mexico School Nutrition Association, Siete Del Norte, Cooking with Kids, Mid Rio Grande Council of Governments, New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico Dietetics Association, New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association, Santa Fe Food Policy Council, FoodCorps, Community Outreach Patient Empowerment (COPE - a Navajo Nation Coalition and youth group NCHO), Dine Food Sovereignty Alliance, and more.

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Super Greens are Super Food

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Super greens and power greens.  They are all the rage with foodies and nutritionists alike right now.  Everyone is crazy for kale.  I like kale as much as the next person (I even have loads of it started right now) and I have high hopes that kale can be my next chard.

By "next chard" I mean a plant that sprouts easily, thrives in the aquaponic environment, and produces an abundance of edibles.  Since the fall, we have been enjoying an abundance of chards.  We have the traditional Fordhook chard as well as the Bright Lights colored Swiss chard.  As usual, the seed from Southern Exposure had a germination rate of almost 100%.

I admit to sprouting the chard seeds in soil and a wicking bed I rigged up, but once they hit the auqaponic systems they took off.

Chard in NFT Tubes on A-Frame

Bright Lights Chard in DWC raft

Chard in expanded clay media bed, flood and drain

While they seem to have done best in the NFT tubes, they performed well using all techniques.

I have been harvesting with a "cut and come again" strategy.  This means I dont harvest the entire plant at once.  I harvest the lower leaves and the plant continues to grow from the top.  This explains the odd growth pattern you may see in the pictures. The stem may start growing a little crazy, but the plant continues to produce new leaves and that means more for us to eat.

It means so much to eat that I have been stretching my culinary capabilities to find new uses for chard.  Chard pizza anyone?  It was actually quite tasty.  I wilted the red chard before baking it on the pizza.  Chard frittata?  It made a yummy brunch.  Of course sauted chard, boiled chard, chard wilted with bacon, chard and cornbread. Chard has made its way into just about everything but the Cheerios.  But if they keep going this strong, the Cheerios might be next.

Seriously, if you are going to the trouble to grow your own food, why not make it something that will pack a nutritional punch.  Chard has at least 13 flavonoids. One of the primary flavonoids found in chard is syringic acid. Syringic acid has recently received special attention due to its blood sugar regulating properties. It has been shown to inhibit activity of an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase. When this enzyme gets inhibited, fewer carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars and blood sugar stays steadier.  This is important to anyone that is concerned about diabetes, weight control, or eating low on the glycemic index.

Chard also is rich in betalains, just like its cousin the beet.  This phytonutrient has antiinflamatory, antioxident and detoxification properties.  Chard as a beauty product?  Sure, if we are what we eat, why not eat something rich in vitamins A and K so that healthy skin starts from the inside. Chard packs a punch of vitamin C as well.  If you are fearful of the oxalic acid found in chard, be aware that it is concentrated in the stems.  So, all you have to do is add the stems first (so they will cook longer than the leaves) as heat destroys the oxalic acid or if you are eating the chard raw, just discard the stems. 

Got any good chard recipes?  What is the super survivor in your garden right now?

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Using Aquaponics to Grow Food Naturally

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Aquaponics is the growing of plants and fish together in a polyculture farming system, where each crop complements and maintains the other. Aquaphonic systems are intended to consistently supply fresh herbs, vegetables and fish without the use of chemicals or man made fertilizers. This zero waste food farming method is suitable for small scale home use or larger commercial farms.

Aquaponics is different from traditional types of systems in that it allows producers to breed fish and grow vegtables and herbs in the same water. The waste from the fish is pumped into a holding area where it is usually treated with natural bacterial agents that help break it down. Then the treated waste is pumped in the plant area to be used as fertilizer for growing, and the used water is pumped from the plant area back to the fish. Artificial chemicals or fertilizers are normally not used in this type of farm system. The goal is to create mini self contained eco-system.

While aquaponics has been increasing in popularity for decades, in depth research began only recently here in Canada. Large scale commercial operations are slowly being implemented as more and more farmers realize the systems potential for profit as well as its potential to improve waste management problems in the fish farming industry. Read full article here.

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