Federal rollbacks to food assistance programs are forcing New Mexico veterans to prove work or volunteer statuses, leading to increased demand at local food banks and rising costs.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
More than 100,000 veterans live in New Mexico, and new federal requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act now mandate proof of work or volunteer statuses to maintain food assistance benefits.
Local food banks say it is becoming increasingly difficult for veterans and others to keep up.
“It’s been kind of hard lately,” Cedric Smith said.
Smith has worked at Veterans Integration Centers (VIC) in south Albuquerque for more than a decade. He said this year has taken a toll on him and the food pantry he helps run.
“We’ve been getting a lot of new people that normally wouldn’t even come to the food pantry,” Smith said.
Smith said between 80 and 90 percent of his pantry’s clientele are elderly veterans.
With recent federal rollbacks to food assistance programs like SNAP, veterans and their families are turning to food banks as a first resort, rather than a supplementary source.
“In the last year or so, we barely make it from week to week to feed the population that we do feed,” Smith said.
Diana Sanchez, a staff member at Roadrunner Food Bank, which supplies a majority of the pantry at VIC, said people are grappling with some tough questions.
“Do they pay their bills, or do they go seek some health care?” she said. “We see people coming in all the time, just talking about life and how these expenses are just making them have to make some choices that are very difficult.”
Roadrunner Food Bank reported that 40 to 60 percent more people have sought assistance this year alone, with many of them being return users. The organization’s delivery expenses have also risen rapidly due to a 70 percent surge in fuel costs.
“It’s sad,” Smith said, “but it’s just the way things are now.”
Sanchez emphasized the unique challenges faced by veterans and their families.
“Given the amount of pressure and responsibility to the nation that these families give and these veterans have already given, it puts a special sort of light onto these struggles — and how we can all come together to sort of try to meet them,” she said.
Roadrunner Food Bank has launched a community resource center, which outlines new requirements to qualify for food assistance. A list of upcoming donation drives at Veterans Integration Centers — including one on Nov. 11 — is available here.
