New Mexico lawmakers want to make SNAP more accessible and faster by offering a new bill that includes more money for dedicated staff and a system for keeping track of applications. This will help reduce food insecurity and provide better support for eligible families.
New Mexico Lawmakers Look to Revamp SNAP Application Process to Combat Hunger and Poverty
Source NM says that people who want to see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) handled better by the state are pushing New Mexico politicians to do so. Cody Jeff is a lawyer who focuses on poverty and public benefits. He says that SNAP is a great way to help families eat. But New Mexico has had trouble quickly completing SNAP applications. There are federal rules that say 95% of applications should be handled in 30 days. However, New Mexico only met this standard 72% of the time. Because of this wait, some people have missed out on important things or gone hungry.
To fix these problems, Jeff and some people from the Roadrunner Food Bank have put forward a new bill for the next sitting of the legislature. The bill says that the New Mexico Health Care Authority needs to send the U.S. Department of Agriculture a yearly SNAP outreach plan. They also want an extra $150,000 in the budget to hire someone to do outreach and set up a system to keep track of applications. These changes are meant to speed up the application process, improve efficiency, and teach more people about SNAP.
New Mexico Aims to Streamline SNAP Outreach and Reduce Food Insecurity with Innovative Solutions
The call for better SNAP outreach comes after years of work to improve things, including a recent $60,000 government grant for outreach. Jason Riggs from the Roadrunner Food Bank said that New Mexico could learn from marketing programs that have worked well in other states. Better outreach and communication could make people less afraid to apply for benefits and make sure that families who are qualified get help on time.
The suggested changes are meant to do more than just fix short-term processing delays. They are also meant to create a long-term system for SNAP marketing. New Mexico wants to make sure that eligible people get help when they need it by hiring more staff and using technology to keep track of applications. This is part of a bigger plan to better deal with food insecurity by using both government help and changes made at the state level to help those in need.
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