New Mexico kids on vacation from school are no longer queueing-up for cafeteria meals - and that can increase hunger for low-income children and their families. Free and reduced-priced meals are temporarily on pause during the summer months.

Jason Riggs, community initiatives manager-client services with Roadrunner Food Bank explained higher food prices combined with the rollback of extra COVID-19-related benefits is contributing to food insecurity. Historically, supermarkets have made up 1/3 of food bank donations, but Riggs said the pandemic and inflation have caused those contributions to taper off.

"We are having to purchase more food than we ever used to, \" he said. "And that's a major paradigm shift in how food banks operate."

A recent study by the nonprofit Feeding America shows food insecurity exists in all U.S. counties, and nine out of 10 are rural. It also finds nearly 40% of the food-insecure population in the U.S. is white. But Black, Native American, and Latino people are two to three times more likely to live in food-insecure households. In New Mexico, hunger affects one in five children and one in seven people overall.

Roadrunner welcomes donations such as soup, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and sauce, and other non-perishable items - as well as produce donations from gardens and statewide growers and producers. Riggs emphasized that dedicated local volunteers keep operations running smoothly.

"We can always use people in that warehouse, loading boxes - helping us get those trucks loaded with the food that's going to go out to help people feed their kids," he said.

Riggs added Roadrunner Food Bank will host a call-in event tomorrow, June 21st with local KOB TV during the station's evening news segment for anyone who wants to learn how to help. Or they can learn about receiving food assistance from charitable hunger programs across the state this summer.

"They might not know about our services at all," Riggs said. "They may have heard of a food bank - or they may be in parts of the state where Roadrunner Food Bank is not a household term. That gives us that extra edge so we can do what we need to do to get that food out there, and help as many people as we can."

Riggs added that cash donations are also welcome, because every dollar donated can buy five meals.

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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