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Los Alamos volunteers assemble 125 emergency food kits as SNAP benefits are reduced
Summary
County social services and community partners assembled 125 donated food kits to distribute at 10 pickup sites in Los Alamos and White Rock as state emergency SNAP payments were cut to about one-third for November; staff say the effort is stopgap while larger assistance is coordinated.
Jessica Strong, the county social services manager, told the Los Alamos Health Council the county and local nonprofits assembled 125 donated emergency food bags and set up 10 pickup locations in Los Alamos and White Rock to help residents while SNAP benefits are temporarily reduced.
"We had 125 food bags put together that will now be distributed to 10 locations," Strong said. She said the kits—about 9–10 items each—were packed by staff and volunteers and distributed through partners including LA Cares, Self Help and the United Way of Northern New Mexico. "This was all a 100% donated, so no county funds were used for any of it," Strong added.
Strong told the council the state issued an emergency authorization that cut November SNAP payments to roughly one-third of usual benefits; using an example from the meeting, a household normally receiving $200 would have received about $67 under that emergency authorization. The social services office packaged the bags as a bridge until regular distributions resume.
Pickup logistics and dates are being shared via a printed calendar and media notices. Strong said LA Cares’ regular second-Friday distribution remains in place (signup deadline noted in council communications) and that the Santa Fe Food Depot will be in Los Alamos on Nov. 21 at Immaculate Mary Church. Libraries will serve as pickup sites starting Saturday after staff-development closures.
Council members pressed staff on whether donated items complied with state "anti‑donation" rules. A member asked whether the kits came from county funds; Strong replied the kits were fully donated and noted the county interprets the anti‑donation language for assistance to "sick and indigent" as loosely defined and context‑dependent.
Jessica Strong said staff are still evaluating whether the initiative will repeat monthly or be expanded into December, and that partners expect demand to at least double at usual distributions in November and December amid furloughs and economic uncertainty.
The health council did not take a formal vote on expanding the program at the meeting but discussed follow-up options including a possible backpack initiative for weekend food and more coordinated pickups with local schools and nonprofits.
