Food Banks in New Mexico Brace for the Holidays With More Households and Less Food

New Mexico’s food banks are bracing for a holiday season defined by two numbers moving in opposite directions: the households asking for help are up sharply, and the food available to give them is down.

Roadrunner Food Bank, the state’s largest hunger relief organisation, expects to serve 22,000 more households compared with this time last year, according to Dianna Sanchez, its director of integrated marketing and communications. In Rio Rancho, the First Baptist Church pantry — supplied mostly by Roadrunner — has seen client visits nearly triple.

“I can easily get in a good month, 3,000 pounds a week from Roadrunner; lately it’s been more like 1,000-1,500 pounds,” ministry director Cindy Dunnington said. St. Felix Pantry has faced the same shortfalls for months and is asking the community for food drive donations and more regular volunteers.

Tulsa’s pantries work the same equation every November and December. What New Mexico is reporting now — more families, thinner shelves — is the version of the holiday season that food banks everywhere plan around, and the reason donation drives start earlier each year.

Source: Rio Rancho and New Mexico food pantries face high holiday demand — Duke City Wire (dukecitywire.com)