Thornburg Foundation kickstarts with an initial $250,000 grant to leverage a potential $750,000 federal reimbursement, resulting in up to $1 million for Covid stricken areas
SANTA FE — June 30, 2020 — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today announced the launch of a Federal Emergency Management Administration matching fund to fight hunger and provide health services in areas hit hardest by Covid-19.
The NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will allow private contributions to be matched by federal grants at a rate of up to $3 for every dollar contributed. The Thornburg Foundation, a New Mexico-based family foundation, announced a $250,000 grant to kickstart the launch. The grant will be matched by up to $750,000 of state funding, an amount that will later be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration. In total, this will result in up to $1 million for New Mexico communities still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While New Mexicans are taking tough measures to flatten the Covid-19 curve, many tribes and pueblos have been disproportionally impacted by high numbers of cases,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “With shelter-in-place orders still in effect in hard-hit areas, these residents have limited access to food and healthcare. In addition to consistent state support from the beginning of this crisis, the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will allow us to ensure that private donors can help more New Mexicans secure adequate food and proper protection.”
The matching fund, established by the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, allows the state government to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Administration for emergency expenses at a rate of 75 percent. The state of New Mexico has also established agreements with emergency food providers, such as Food Depot and Roadrunner Food Bank, to help efficiently procure and deliver procure emergency food for communities in need.
“Covid-19 has intensified the hunger crisis in our communities where so many people are
economically vulnerable,” said The Food Depot Executive Director Sherry Hooper. “Limited
access and a higher cost of food means that more New Mexicans—especially children—go to bed hungry. The additional funding from the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund will guarantee that we can continue to deliver millions of meals to families in crisis.”
As of June 12, state agencies have provided more than 11 million meals to children and youth; 1,788,665 grab and go and home delivered meals to seniors; and more than 1.9 million pounds of food to New Mexico communities most in need since the start of the pandemic.
“We strongly support Gov. Lujan Grisham’s decision to open the matching fund, which triples our impact and provides new and vital resources to communities—especially Native communities—facing a high incidence of Covid-19,” said Thornburg Foundation Executive Director Allan Oliver. “Even as the state begins to reopen, New Mexico’s Covid-19 health crisis and the resulting food emergency are real and ongoing. We urge other donors to join us in this fight.”
The emergency response to food security has been a coordination between the New Mexico Governor’s Office, the state’s Emergency Operations Center, the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, along with multiple state agencies, tribal governments, the United States Department of Agriculture, and in partnership with local nonprofits such as Food Depot and Roadrunner Food Bank. The New Mexico National Guard has been making food deliveries.
For more information about making a contribution to the NM COVID-19 Emergency Match Fund, please contact Danielle Gonzales at the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at [email protected].
About Thornburg Foundation
Thornburg Foundation is a family foundation that makes grants in the areas of good government reform, early childhood education, agriculture reform and community funding. We work to catalyze high-impact outcomes using evidence to understand and solve systemic problems, engage stakeholders to drive policy reform, and create meaningful and lasting change. Thornburg Foundation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For more information: www.thornburgfoundation.org