Benefits allocated for 70,000 children under the age of six

SANTA FE – New Mexico households with children under six years of age who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will receive additional food benefits Jan. 20, 2022. 

In total, about $26 million will be delivered to about 70,000 children to enhance nutritional support. The state will issue a one-time payment of $375 per child under six years of age.

“Hunger is a constant presence in the lives of many New Mexican children,” said Angela Medrano, deputy secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department. “Every day families struggle with having enough food to eat. These additional food security benefits are critical for so many children during these challenging times.”

The New Mexico Human Services Department in collaboration with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department determined eligibility for the benefit by identifying households who were active SNAP clients in the last month of the school year.

Out of this population, the state identified those children who remained active on SNAP during the summer period which is June, July and August 2021. 

Households with an existing SNAP P-EBT card will have the additional benefits added to their existing card.  P-EBT card members are strongly encouraged to keep their card for potential future issuances.

“The program has been beneficial for my family and my children,” said Maria Avila, a SNAP P-EBT client. “I appreciate this service. Thank you for all your help.”

If there are any questions regarding the P-EBT child care benefit, you can contact the P-EBT hotline at 1-833-415-0569.

For questions regarding your P-EBT card, you can contact FIS (P-EBT card vendor) directly at 1-800-843-8303.

FAQs can be found at: Help Feed Your Children with Pandemic EBT | New Mexico Human Services Department (state.nm.us)  

We talk, interpret and smile in all languages. We provide written information to our customers in both English and Spanish and interpretation services are available in 58 languages through our provider, CTS Language Link. For our hearing, and speech impaired customers, we utilize Relay New Mexico, a free 24-hour service that ensures equal communication access via the telephone to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or speech disabled.

The Human Services Department provides services and benefits to 1,051,755 New Mexicans through several programs including: the Medicaid Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Support Program, and several Behavioral Health Services.