New Mexico Puts Up $30 Million in State Funds for Food Benefits: 460,000 Residents to Receive About 30 Percent First
In Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the state will provide $30 million in state funds starting November 1 to keep food benefits flowing to low-income children and families, seniors and residents with disabilities during the federal government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to suspend the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for 42 million people nationwide starting November 1. About 460,000 people in New Mexico are affected, roughly 21 percent of the state's population, the highest participation rate in the nation. The state Health Care Authority loaded the state funds onto eligible residents' existing electronic benefit transfer cards on November 1. The money is separate from federal SNAP funding and is intended to help residents through roughly the first 10 days of November.
Under the state's plan, the state funds residents receive in November equal roughly 30 percent of their monthly benefit; elderly and disabled households already receiving the state SNAP supplement will continue to receive $100. The state also signed 40 executive orders authorizing $750,000 each, the maximum allowed for each order under state law, and declared a state of emergency. "This $30 million in state funding will ensure that families, seniors, and children who need assistance will still be able to put food on their tables in November," Lujan Grisham said.
The state said residents should keep applying for benefits at YES.NM.GOV, by calling 1-800-283-4465, or by visiting a Health Care Authority Income Support Division office, and that benefits will be tied to application dates once federal funding resumes.
(Source: Office of the Governor of New Mexico)
Source: Office of the Governor of New Mexico
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣菲总督宫夜景（新墨西哥州圣菲）。Dicklyon 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Palace of the Governors at night in Santa Fe, New Mexico. By Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
