Summer Grubbin’

Hello Alamo!

Winter has finally shut the door and walked off, and it couldn’t happen soon enough. Back in my day (lol), winter used to maybe be a week in January. I’m not necessarily saying I miss the constant heat, but, this cold from October to March is getting a little bit old.

I must say, this year I am pretty excited for summer, and not just for the weather. Allergies be damned, I’m going to try to keep some flowers alive! And I have much more writing/community building to look forward to, too.

Every summer, the seasonal Alamogordo Farmer’s Market runs from June to October. As you all know by now, I’m a big fan of shopping local. For 1, it directly supports our economy, which benefits everyone in Alamogordo.

To help stimulate the flow of local wealth, starting in summer 2024, New Mexico’s newly-minted Health Care Authority has provided a Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) program dedicated to helping feed children when they don’t have access to free breakfast or lunch.

As I have written about before, food security, especially for growing children, is a huge issue in New Mexico. State programs to help families meet their basic needs are kind of the bare minimum you should expect in a civilized society, but I digress. They’re a net good that I sincerely hope everyone who can will take advantage of.

If a child has already applied for their school’s free meal program or if they already participate in a government assistance program such as Medicaid, TANF, FDPIR, or Medicaid, they will not have to apply. Notices for summer EBT cards will have gone out starting in April, and benefits are issued for those already on assistance today.

If you still need to apply, qualifying conditions and an online application can be found here, and an expanded fact sheet can be found here.

On top of the economic/reciprocal aspect of this farmer’s market, buying produce and product from our neighbors can help build strong bonds and trust in our community, which will be vitally important as we navigate the changes heading our way.

These daytime farmer’s markets will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10am to noon, or until everything is sold out, with the first market on June 7th. As grocery prices continue to rise, I will see you ther!

Salud.