PED outlines school meals, SunBucks summer EBT rollout and local food funding gaps after federal cuts

New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) officials told a legislative committee that the state has expanded universal school meals under recent legislation, distributed over $35 million in Summer EBT (SunBucks) benefits this year and that some anticipated federal local-food grants were cut, affecting school and childcare food-program plans.

Michael Chavez, manager of the Student Success and Wellness Bureau at PED, said SunBucks distributed about $120 per eligible student this summer and that about 294,000 students were receiving the benefit automatically through categorical eligibility (SNAP, TANF, Medicaid or other qualifying categories). PED said some families must still complete free and reduced-price applications to receive Summer EBT if they are not categorically eligible.

Chavez told lawmakers that New Mexico spent roughly $215 million on school meal claims in fiscal 2024–25, of which about $169 million was federal reimbursement and $45 million was state funding. PED asked lawmakers to focus on keeping federal funding available to schools and to maximize participation in community eligibility (CEP), where high-poverty schools can serve free meals without collecting applications.

Why it matters: PED said the universal meals expansion increases food access and participation rates and that Farm to School programs rely on federal local-food procurement grants to connect schools with New Mexico growers; the department said a $5.6 million USDA local-food grant and a separate $500,000 Leahy Farm to School grant were cut this year, affecting planned procurement and school food partnerships.

Ending: PED officials said they are working to enroll eligible schools in CEP cycles, encouraging districts to apply for local procurement where possible, and monitoring federal changes; they warned that reduced federal grant funding would increase state fiscal pressure for school food programs.