New Mexico food bank officials told lawmakers recently that federal rollbacks to food assistance programs have impacted veterans’ food security, and left food banks across the state struggling to provide more help with fewer resources.
Previously, veterans received an exemption from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s work-requirement rule. Under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed into law last year, veterans now must prove they are working, volunteering, participating in job training or looking for work for at least 80 hours a month to keep their food assistance benefits beyond three months.
“We see more veterans seeking assistance at food banks and our network of food security partners than we have in the past because they can no longer access the SNAP program,” Jill Dixon, executive director of The Food Depot, a northern New Mexico food bank, told lawmakers on the interim Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee during its October 16 meeting. Veterans living in rural areas in New Mexico, she continued, have been “disproportionately affected” by the federal changes.
Roadrunner Food Bank, whose distribution area includes both Cannon and Kirtland Air Force bases, saw a “shocking” 40% to 60% increase in the number of people seeking help this year, Katy Anderson, Roadrunner’s vice president of strategy, partnerships and advocacy, told the committee…