Erin Ortigosa, food, hunger and agriculture program manager at the New Mexico Economic Development Department, briefed legislators on Aug. 7 about grant cycles and infrastructure projects the agency is running to support processing, aggregation and retail capacity. She said the Healthy Food Financing Fund will open a fourth grant cycle for pre‑production, production, processing, aggregation/distribution and retail projects, with awards expected in the $50,000–$150,000 range.

Why it matters: Multiple presenters told the committee that insufficient mid‑supply‑chain capacity — cold storage, back‑of‑store processing and transportation routes — limits how much local food can be moved from small producers into schools, grocery stores and community nutrition programs. Ortigosa said EDD will also launch a feasibility study on sustainable local food transportation routes to evaluate economics of new delivery options for rural, tribal and frontier communities.

Program highlights and outcomes: Ortigosa said the Healthy Food Financing Fund and sister programs have supported dozens of projects statewide (more than 41 grants implemented to date, $1.7 million invested and roughly $1.5 million more planned this fiscal year) and that beneficiaries on average work with 12 or more local vendors. She gave a retail example: a woman‑owned grocery in Mountainair that expanded cold‑storage and display capabilities and now sells more than 16,000 pounds of local food annually.

Next steps and technical assistance: EDD will open a no‑cost technical‑assistance track (New Mexico Food Pathways) to provide business consulting, application support for SNAP acceptance, and access to capital via low‑interest loans and grants. Ortigosa also described a community of practice for distribution and retail operators to share best practices, plus coordination with the Resilient Food System Infrastructure implementation program and other agency partners.

Committee action requested: Panelists asked lawmakers to continue funding grants and feasibility work and to consider infrastructure investments that reduce barriers for small and mid‑scale processors and distributors.