New Mexico Profile

In 2000, a Memorial (no appropriation legislation) went through the state legislature that made the statement that NM schools should serve New Mexico-grown products when possible. In the next year, Farm to Table received grant funds through the USDA Community Food Projects Grant Program that established Farm to Table's Farm to School educational program and supplied extra funds to the Santa Fe Public School district to purchase local produce for school lunches. NM Department of Agriculture also provided extra funds to allow the hiring of a "Farms to Schools" Coordinator for the district Student Nutrition Service. (These projects are listed in the project pages.) These two programs joined Cooking with Kids as direct, focused projects that serve various parts of Farm to School in New Mexico.

Policy work by the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council and others led to the Nutrition Rule for Competitive Foods change and to the Healthy Kids - Healthy Economy legislation.

The Nutrition Rule was established through the work of a task force that was set up by the Governor which consisted of nutritionists, the Public Education Department, Action for Healthy Kids representatives, the vending and bottling industry, and others. The Nutrition Rule lays down requirements for vending machine foods, ala carte foods, and school fundraisers. Farm to Table is working on a project that will provide New Mexico agricultural products for schools as fundraisers.

The Healthy Kids - Healthy Economy legislation requested $1.44 Million to provide 10 cents extra per plate for 2 school meal additions of fruits and vegetables (New Mexico grown when possible) for all schoolchildren in the state. In the 2007 legislature, one legislator brought in $85,000 in funding which went to her area, the North Valley area of Albuquerque. The resulting project, known as the Valley Cluster Project, is providing one meal addition and one snack per week to 6000 students in 12 schools which are part of the Albuquerque Public School district. It is serving as a pilot project. The intention is to bring this legislation back to the state house in January to elicit more support for this much-needed program.

Through the work of the New Mexico Apple Council and the NM Department of Agriculture, sales of local products to schools have risen steadily over the last few years. Now, approximately $500,000 is sold to schools per year. This is mostly for apples, but more and more new products are being brought into the mix. The school districts that purchase the largest amounts of local foods are Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque and new districts are also showing interest and making their first purchases.

Contact Le Adams, Farm to Table for more information.