Foundations likely to see increased requests from New Mexico nonprofits after federal cuts

Twenty-six trucks were set to deliver groceries to The Food Depot between April and December.

Two weeks before the first truck was scheduled to arrive, however, staff at the Santa Fe food bank learned the goods — a mix of expensive and tough-to-source groceries like yogurt, milk, chicken and produce from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program — weren’t coming after all, executive director Jill Dixon said.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program was hit in March with $500 million in cuts, the latest in a string of federal food-related policy changes.

“Food banking requires planning, so it meant that there was just a gap,” Dixon said. “For The Food Depot, that gap translated to approximately $200,000.”

Such a loss is a common story for New Mexico nonprofits these days. A new report joi