One in 5 children across New Mexico is food insecure.
Feed America’s 2020 survey found that our state came in second for the highest number of food insecure children in America, with a whopping 20.5 percent of kids going to school -and going home- hungry.
It’s an ongoing battle that Roadrunner Food Bank is fighting, and now they have UnitedHealthcare in their corner, thanks to a generous grant for the Childhood Hunger Initiative (CHI).
The program is a larger version of a school backpack program launched years ago. The food bank would send home 3 to 5 pounds of food for children, but soon discovered it was nowhere near enough. So they updated to CHI, which now provides around 40 pounds of food, a figure that helps not only to feed kids, but their families as well.
UnitedHealthcare’s grant will help in particular with Sunset Elementary School, located just south of Roswell. The student body is primarily from low-income households that are in dire need of help. Thanks to the grant, families will now have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, sustainable protein and non-perishable food items.
If you are looking for more information on what UnitedHealthcare is doing to help Roadrunner Foodbank, head over to www.UHCCS.com/NewMexico.
