Officials from the state Department of Health and WIC program told legislators that WIC caseloads have risen sharply since 2022 after system integration with SNAP and Medicaid, and that fruits-and-vegetables redemption (farmers market benefits) is one of the WIC program's most used elements — a feature officials want preserved amid federal budget uncertainty.

Sarah Flores Sievers, Food and Nutrition Bureau Chief at the Department of Health, said New Mexico's WIC caseload increased about 34% since May 2022 after the state integrated WIC with SNAP, Medicaid and TANF data to identify eligible families. "Since May 2022, our caseload has increased by 34%, which is outstanding," she told the committee.

Flores Sievers warned that some federal proposals in the reconciliation process would cut produce benefit dollars (the program's fruit-and-vegetable allotment, sometimes called the CVB), a reduction she said would threaten the program's most redeemed items. She also described plans to move WIC to an online EBT smart-card model and to launch five regional WIC mobile vans to reach communities.

On senior food programs, Flores Sievers and Denise King of the Aging and Long Term Services Department said seniors rely on a mix of congregate meals, home-delivered meals and food boxes. King said about 64,000 seniors received SNAP as of fiscal 2022 and that New Mexico ranks in the top five nationally for senior food insecurity; agencies reported 240 senior centers, many run by tribal and local providers.

Why it matters: Officials said WIC produce benefits and senior meal supports reach vulnerable infants, children and elders and support farmers through farmers market redemptions. Agency leaders urged lawmakers to protect those lines and to consider state supplementation if federal entitlements decline.

Ending: WIC leaders said they are converting to online EBT, expanding mobile outreach and seeking updated federal base grants to accommodate higher caseloads; aging officials said they will coordinate food-box and senior-meal work to maintain coverage if federal funds shift.