Food bank to receive $22,000 worth of food

The Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico will be receiving about $22,600 worth of commodities from the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program from now until the end of August.

Gov. Bill Richardson announced Thursday that New Mexico’s food banks will be receiving $700,000 worth of food as part of a federal stimulus program.

Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico Executive Director Nancy Taylor said the food will be parceled out according to population and poverty statistics. Taylor said she isn’t sure of the amount of food the bank will receive in total, but this week’s shipment of an extra 4,176 cans of mixed fruit, worth $2829, is going to be the norm for weekly stimulus shipments.

“This is something we’re absolutely grateful for. The past two years have been so slim and we haven’t gotten enough of certain products to even run the trucks,” Taylor said.

Taylor said because the local food bank is the smallest of six in the state, it will receive less food.

“But that’s OK. As long as we get some, we’ll be tickled,” she said.

The food will be added to the regular shipments taken to the 42 distribution centers the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico services in eight counties.

“The only thing I dread is when the stimulus ends and people are looking at me with their hands on their heads going ‘where is our food?,’” Taylor said. “But we’ll just deal with it.”