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A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE CREATION OF A FOOD GAP TASK FORCE TO

INVESTIGATE WAYS TO IMPROVE ACCESS OF RURAL AND UNDERSERVED

NEW MEXICANS TO SOURCES OF HEALTHY AND AFFORDABLE FOODS.

WHEREAS, more than six hundred forty-seven thousand

people, one-third of New Mexico's population, live in rural

areas; and

WHEREAS, nineteen of New Mexico's thirty-three counties

are considered to have high or persistently high poverty

rates; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico is ranked first in the nation in

food insecurity and third in hunger; and

WHEREAS, low-income New Mexico families spend as much as

twenty-six percent of their annual income on food, a

proportion that is double that of the national average; and

WHEREAS, on average, New Mexicans living in rural

communities pay eighty-five dollars ($85.00) for a bag of

groceries, compared to urban dwellers who pay fifty-five

dollars ($55.00) for the same bag of groceries; and

WHEREAS, many of New Mexico's rural residents must

travel thirty to seventy miles to shop at a grocery store; and

WHEREAS, health problems caused by poor nutrition,

including obesity and diabetes, cost New Mexico three hundred

twenty-four million dollars ($324,000,000) annually; and

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WHEREAS, those health problems can be remedied with

improved nutrition through adequate access to healthy,

affordable and culturally appropriate food; and

WHEREAS, evidence suggests that many New Mexicans,

especially those living in rural areas, do not have adequate

access to healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate foods

because they lack access to grocery stores and transportation;

and

WHEREAS, research shows that people who do not have

adequate access to healthy, affordable and culturally

appropriate foods are likely to have diet and health problems

and to experience forms of food insecurity; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the state of New Mexico

that all New Mexicans have adequate access to healthy,

affordable and culturally appropriate foods;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to appoint

a food gap task force, whose members shall include

representatives from the New Mexico food and agriculture

policy council, the New Mexico task force to end hunger, the

New Mexico department of agriculture, the economic development

department, the department of health, the human services

department, the aging and long-term services department, the

Indian affairs department, the department of transportation,

regional councils of government, the grocery industry and

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agricultural not-for-profit organizations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor be requested to

designate the New Mexico department of agriculture to provide

administrative support to the food gap task force and that the

task force prepare a report to the governor and legislature

that provides information about the nature and scope of the

barriers that exist between New Mexicans and adequate access

to healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate foods and

that presents recommendations, options and steps that the

public and private sectors can use to improve access to

healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate foods in New

Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the food gap task force be

requested to investigate economic incentives and finance

options that the state could provide to assist grocery store

owners; methods of improving transportation and distribution

services; potential partnerships between the state and private

for-profit and not-for-profit entities; and ways to improve

coordination among existing food programs, health initiatives

and rural economic development programs to rebuild the

infrastructure of New Mexico's food and farming systems; and

that the task force develop an action plan that may include

pilot projects; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the food gap task force

present its report to the governor and to the appropriate

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interim legislative committees by October 30, 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the governor, the director of the New Mexico

department of agriculture, the secretary of economic

development, the secretary of health, the secretary of human

services, the secretary of aging and long-term services, the

secretary of Indian affairs and the secretary of

transportation.