SEVEN NEWS. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING USED IN THE US TO HELP RURAL AREAS GET BETTER ACCESS TO FOOD. U.S. OFFICIALS TELL JULIAN POT. US ACCESS TO FOOD IN NEW MEXICO IS HURTING THE STATE. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SAYS THERE’S A LOT OF MONEY COMING TO NEW MEXICO. IT’S ALL GOING TOWARDS PARTNERSHIP AND FOOD HUBS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING HERE IN THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT. THAT FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN BECOMES CRUCIAL. AND SO THIS IS AN INVESTMENT THROUGH PRESIDENT BIDEN’S AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN. FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW MEXICO SUCH BILL TORRES SMALL, NOW WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SAYS THIS MEANS A LOT TO HER. I’M FROM LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, AND, UH, YOU KNOW JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE ACCESS TO LOCAL FOOD, SMALL SAYS. THIS IS PART OF THE HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING INITIATIVE. 40 MILLION IS BEING USED TO PROVIDE MONEY AND RESOURCES TO RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS. LOTS OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UNFORTUNATELY, DON’T HAVE EASY ACCESS TO FRESH, AFFORDABLE FOOD. AND SO THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO SUPPORT THOSE COMMUNITIES IN FIGURING OUT THE SOLUTION THAT WORKS FOR THEM. AND IT’S NOT JUST FOR FAMILIES IN NEED OF FOOD, BUT FARMERS WHO PROVIDE IT TO LOCAL BUSINESSES ALL ACROSS NEW MEXICO AND SOME OF THE HEAVIEST AGRICULTURE AREAS WHERE FARM WORKERS LIVE AND WORK. THEY ALSO LIVE IN A FOOD DESERT WHERE THEY DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD WITH THE MILLIONS SOON TO BE AVAILABLE ACROSS NEW MEXICO, EXPERTS KNOW IT CAN MAKE FOOD MORE ACCESSIBLE TO NEW MEXICANS. THE $3 MILLION TO THE HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING FUND WILL COVER THE ENTIRE STATE AS WELL, SO YOU’LL SEE A LOT MORE PROJECTS IN NEW MEXICO IN THE COMING YEARS. YOU CAN INVEST IN WAYS TO MAKE THOSE MAKE THAT FO
USDA offers millions of dollars for rural New Mexico
$40 million is being used across the U.S., with $3 million for New Mexico. It’s being used to make food more accessible across the board for New Mexicans.
The Department of Agriculture says there’s a lot of money coming to New Mexico. It’s all going towards partnerships and food hubs across the country, including here in the Land of Enchantment.”That food supply chain becomes crucial, and so this is an investment through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan,” former U.S. representative Xochitl Torres Small said. She is now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and says this means a lot to her.”I’m from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and you know just how important it is to have access to local food,” Torres Small said.This is part of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Forty million dollars is being used to provide money and resources to rural and underserved areas across the U.S. “Lots of communities across the country, unfortunately, don’t have easy access to fresh, affordable food, so the whole point of this program is to support those communities and figuring out the solution that works for them,” Healthy Food Financing Initiative senior program manager Anne Misak said.Torres Small adding it’s not just families in need of food, but farmers who provide it to local businesses.”All across New Mexico some of the heaviest agricultural areas where farm workers live and work, they also live in a food dessert where they don’t have access to healthy food,” she said.With the millions soon to be available across New Mexico, experts know it can make food more accessible to New Mexicans.
The Department of Agriculture says there’s a lot of money coming to New Mexico. It’s all going towards partnerships and food hubs across the country, including here in the Land of Enchantment.
“That food supply chain becomes crucial, and so this is an investment through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan,” former U.S. representative Xochitl Torres Small said.
She is now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and says this means a lot to her.
“I’m from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and you know just how important it is to have access to local food,” Torres Small said.
This is part of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Forty million dollars is being used to provide money and resources to rural and underserved areas across the U.S.
“Lots of communities across the country, unfortunately, don’t have easy access to fresh, affordable food, so the whole point of this program is to support those communities and figuring out the solution that works for them,” Healthy Food Financing Initiative senior program manager Anne Misak said.
Torres Small adding it’s not just families in need of food, but farmers who provide it to local businesses.
“All across New Mexico some of the heaviest agricultural areas where farm workers live and work, they also live in a food dessert where they don’t have access to healthy food,” she said.
With the millions soon to be available across New Mexico, experts know it can make food more accessible to New Mexicans.
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