The Food Depot
There are many local organizations providing a variety of services that touch the lives of the less fortunate among us.
While it is not always the most obvious or visible issue, hunger remains constant in the lives of many New Mexicans. Multiple studies show that New Mexico consistently ranks in the top 20 states for hunger within the United States, with more than 40,000 people seeking food assistance each week. This means that vulnerable families, children and seniors do not have enough food in their homes. Missing Meals in New Mexico discovered that low-income New Mexicans are missing 117,140,870 meals annually. For The Food Depot's service area of nine counties, nearly 16 million meals are missing.
Since 2010 CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center has provided more than $13,000 in support to The Food Depot through a mix of cash donations and sponsorships of events such as the Annual Souper Bowl event.
"From a health and wellness perspective, proper nutrition and regular meals are critical," said Alex Valdez, President & CEO of CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. "CHRISTUS St. Vincent has always sought to provide support for organizations such as The Food Depot in an effort to address our community's health from a variety of perspectives."
Annually, The Food Depot provides nearly five million meals through its 120 partner agencies in Northern New Mexico; however, this still does not fully meet the need. The changing nature of donations, an expanding service area and increased demand for food have led The Food Depot's Board of Directors to embark on a capital campaign to expand and improve our facilities.
As the economy worsens, working families are more and more at risk. For many, an unexpected car repair, an illness or an accident becomes a crisis which forces them to choose between groceries and rent, utilities and health care.
"Community partners like CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center enable The Food Depot to provide adequate nutrition, which improves the ability of our children to learn, increases the productive energy of our adults, and strengthens our seniors' resistance to disease," said Sherry Hooper, Executive Director of The Food Depot. |
