I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Four thousand additional New Mexican families could qualify for federal food aid under new rules laying out who can and cannot qualify for the program.
On Thursday New Mexico expanded eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, meaning people can earn more and still qualify, the New Mexico Human Services Department announced.
The new rules allow a family of four to earn $3,000 a month and qualify for the program. That’s because the cap on income used to assess eligibility has been raised to 165 percent of Federal Poverty Level, up from 130 percent, the department said in a news release.
The new guidelines also remove an asset test that posed a potential challenge to enrollment for some. Under the old rules, a family with more than $2,000 to $3,000 in resources could have found it harder to qualify.
“This new policy means more New Mexico families will be eligible for the monthly nutrition benefit which allows them to purchase nutritious food for their families as well as benefit their local economies through the federally funded program,” Katie Falls, Human Services Department Secretary, said in a news release. “New Mexico is pleased to join other states that have made similar changes.”
Participation in the SNAP program has risen dramatically over the past year and a half due to economic hard times. Now more than 146,000 New Mexico families are participating in the federally funded program, the department said. More than $336.9 million in SNAP benefits have been received in New Mexico this fiscal year.
