Dreams

Dream: By 2020, eliminate chronic food insecurity.

Dream: All people have access to a culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through non-emergency (“conventional”) food sources at all times. Government, faith-based and non-affiliated nonprofits and the business community ensure a price spectrum affordable to all citizens.

Dream: The food gap is approached as multi-faceted, not solely the provision of emergency food. The local foodshed community sees the pantries, kitchens and shelters as crucial resources to coordinate job training and health care programs in nutrition, cooking, gardening and food service.

Dream: Local foodsheds make important contributions to feeding those in need, especially with local, fresh foods. Food banks and food distributors pursue a local, subsidized distribution and processing organization to increase the procurement of local, fresh foods for feeding emergency and disadvantaged families and citizens.

Dream: Contract with local farmers to provide fresh food by donating and/or purchasing at cost their cosmetically imperfect foods to food banks and other emergency food services. At the end of farmers market days, pick up the good quality produce that farmers do not want to take back to the farm.

Dream: By 2015, ban all trans-fat foods in school programs. By 2020, eliminate trans-fat from emergency food programs.

Dream: Change institutional environments (especially schools) to provide easy access to physical activity opportunities and healthy foods.

Dream: Require all health insurance vendors in New Mexico to cover obesity.

Dream: Institute a statewide tax on beverages with minimal nutritional value (the “corn syrup” tax) and direct the revenues to fund obesity and health-related services.

Dream: Eliminate vending machines in schools and public buildings that sell foods that contribute to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Pass legislation to eliminate all “junk food” advertising on publicly supported media and press equivalent bans for children’s shows on a national level. Require nutrition education in schools.

Dream: Expand preventative screening at major food distribution nodes and schools to diagnose Type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Establish public health body-mass index surveys to pinpoint locations in need of the most education and aid.

Dream: New Mexico now requires physical activity during recess or another time of day for schoolchildren.

Dream: Help New Mexico Passenger Transport Association find funds for an improved rural transport system. All over the State, bus routes and elder/disabled vans are designed for full- service groceries and access to food stamp offices.

Dream: Create a network that notifies all emergency food distribution centers of food needs so that clients can go to nearest food source, or the food source can truck more food to the depleted location.

Dream: Casino, government and private funding help subsidize the spread of full-service grocery stores into food deserts.