GROW YOUR BUSINESS • FEED YOUR COMMUNITY
Join New Mexico Grown: Regional Farm To Food Bank Program
New Mexico Grown:
Regional Farm to Food Bank Program
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What Is It?
Using USDA funds, the New Mexico Association of Food Banks purchases locally and regionally produced foods to nourish New Mexicans in need.
By offering fair prices to farmers, ranchers, and other food producers, the Regional Farm to Food Bank (RF2FB) program strengthens local food systems while ensuring that the one in eight New Mexicans who experience food insecurity gain critical access to healthy, fresh local foods. -
Who is it for?
This program is for Farmers, Ranchers and other food producers.
All are welcome, participation is free and no producer is too small! The RF2FB program is designed to specifically provide economic support to regional small to mid-scale food producers like you and support the local food system in New Mexico. -
Why should I apply?
No Producer is Too Small • Grow Sales & Feed Your Community • Receive Fair Prices
By selling through the Regional Farm to Food Bank program, local farmers, ranchers, food producers, and food distributors can receive fair prices for their products and feed their neighbors in need.
Who Can Participate & How Do I Get Started?
Participation is free and no producer is too small! To sell to food banks, producers must be part of the New Mexico Grown Approved Supplier Program* (ASP). The ASP helps New Mexico producers selling local food to schools, food banks and other institutions by assuring that their products are safe, traceable, and originate from gardens or farms using sound food safety and quality assurance practices. The ASP also connects producers and buyers statewide, streamlines purchasing processes, and provides technical assistance when needed.
Product Interest List
See what products we are prioritizing based on the needs of the food banks in New Mexico. Please note that the food bank's interest goes well beyond this list, and we will be phasing in more products in the near future.
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MEAT
Beef, bison, lamb, mutton, and pork.
Lower cost cuts such as ground, stew, fajita, roasts , etc. -
VEGETABLE
Chile (dried, fresh, roasted), sweet corn, fresh string beans (green, yellow, wax, etc), bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, cilantro, lettuce heads (butterhead, green, romaine), onions (red, yellow, & white bulbing types, spring onions), peas (snap and snow pea), peppers (jalapeno, padron, poblano, serrano, shishito), potatoes (all types), radishes (fresh bunching types and specialty), shallots, spinach, summer squash (all types), winter squash (all types), tomatillos, tomatoes (all types)
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FRUIT
Apples (all types), cherries, grapes, melons (all types), nectarines, peaches, pears, plums
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FLOURS/BEANS/DRY GOODS
Beans (such as pinto), cornmeal (yellow, blue, white), dried corn (chicos, posole, specialty), flours (wheat and other), dried fruit, dried herbs, honey, nuts (peanut, pecan, pinon)
Producer Resources
We are here to support you, so we’ve put together a few resources to make the process easier. Click the buttons to download each resource.
Regional Farm to Food Bank Program Overview:
Using USDA funds, the New Mexico Association of Food Banks purchases locally and regionally produced foods to nourish New Mexicans in need. By offering fair prices to farmers, ranchers, and other food producers, the Regional Farm to Food Bank (RF2FB) program strengthens local food systems while ensuring that the one in five New Mexicans who experience food insecurity gain access to healthy, fresh local foods.
Farm to Food Bank
Funds the acquisition of locally produced food to be distributed to food banks, with $4.1 million allocated specifically for food purchasing.
Economic Opportunities
Supports economic opportunities for small- to mid-sized socially disadvantaged producers.
Healthy Food Access
Supports local food access for underserved communities who lack access to high quality, diversified, nutritious foods within their region.
Regional Resiliency
Strengthen the regional food supply chain and improve its resiliency. Food must be purchased within 400 miles of the point where it will be consumed (this may include out-of-state purchases).
Who is Involved?
On behalf of New Mexico food banks, The Food Depot, one of the five food banks, has taken the leadership role in the Regional Farm to Food Bank Program. The Food Depot has worked with other RF2FB partners to develop this federally-funded program, and is administer the program by purchasing New Mexico produced foods and arranging delivery to distribution sites. Distribution sites include food banks and members of the food banks’ hunger-relief network such as emergency food pantries, kitchens, shelters and other nonprofit food programs helping New Mexicans in need.
The New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association manages the Approved Supplier Program. The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is the fiscal agent who assures compliance with the cooperative agreement. The funds for this program are from the USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Applications are processed on a rolling basis; there is no deadline to apply!
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Funding for the Regional Farm to Food Bank program is received through the USDA’s Local Food Purchasing Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA and LFPA+), with funding support from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).
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The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is the fiscal agent who assures compliance with the federal cooperative agreement. The New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association manages the Approved Supplier Program, and The Food Depot coordinates, purchases, and distributes all foods secured with these funds on behalf of all five food banks in the New Mexico Association of Food Banks.
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The length of the RF2FB program has extended from June of 2024 to June of 2025, and additional federal funding has been made available to support the overall success of LFPA. While we do not know for certain what the funding will look like beyond 2025, the Governor’s Food Initiative includes support for the New Mexico Grown program with which we are involved.
We will work to ensure the long‐term sustainability of project outcomes, with a special focus on value chain capacity building, procurement and distribution partner training, and securing state investment for the longevity of the program.
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All businesses must be part of the Approved Supplier Program, offered through the New Mexico Farmers Marketing Association in support of New Mexico Grown. Please see the NMFMA website for details.
Farms, ranches, food businesses, and food aggregation businesses of all sizes are welcome to apply.
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Fresh produce, meat, and lightly processed whole foods are currently allowable. At this time, we are not currently able to support purchases of dairy or eggs, but anticipate the ability to purchase those items in the near future. Stay tuned!
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Delivery of your product is critical, but we do not require delivery to come from the original producer. We welcome the opportunity to work with food distribution businesses and food hubs that address the transportation gap on behalf of food producers. If you would like technical assistance regarding transportation, talk with a Procurement Specialist and they can work to connect you with a food hub in your region.
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We strive to prioritize small and mid-scale producers, although food banks have capacity for a significant volume of foods. We will purchase from small businesses with modest volume of product, all the way to larger businesses with significant volume. Please get in touch with a procurement specialist to discuss your scale and capacity in greater detail.
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As per the definition of the USDA, a "socially disadvantaged" group is defined as follows:
A Socially Disadvantaged Group is a group whose members have been subject to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.
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No. This program is designed to prioritize socially disadvantaged producers. Food producers who do not qualify as socially disadvantaged are eligible for Regional Farm to Food Bank sales opportunities.
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Purchasing specialists will review and follow up within one week
Producer attends a *virtual* onboarding meeting with a purchasing specialist to establish capacity, product, communication channels, and any potential forward agreements
Submit any outstanding documents
Purchasing may begin
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Values-based procurement is generally a move away from purchasing decisions being made solely on selecting the lowest price and towards decision-making based on a combination of other important priorities. For example, placing greater importance on foods produced within the state, farmers and ranchers utilizing resilient production practices, and assessing other metrics that facilitate positive social impacts.
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At this time, we cannot offer any forward payments as products must be received before any payments are issued.
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The Food Depot issues payments on behalf of all five New Mexican food banks. Regardless of what food bank receives your products, The Food Depot will issue all payments. Upon receipt of invoice, payment will be sent within 30 days. We offer two payment options: Direct deposit, or checks sent via US Postal Service.
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Please contact a Local Food Procurement Specialist:
Meredith Lorencz
mlorencz@thefooddepot.org
(505) 510 - 5785Bonnie Murphy
bmurphy@thefooddepot.org
(505) 510 - 7492