Image: Learning exchange participants including the NMFMA, New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Department of Health, New Mexico Regional Farm to Food Bank, Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Illinois Food Justice Alliance, and the Center for Good Food Purchasing.
This past May, the New Mexico Grown and the NMFMA Approved Supplier Program (ASP) teams hosted a two-day learning exchange with values-aligned partners from other states to share New Mexico’s approach to local food procurement, supplier support, and farm-to-institution program development. The exchange was part of the NMFMA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen local food systems through cross-state collaboration, peer-to-peer learning, and shared problem-solving.
Participants included ASP stakeholders such as the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute, the New Mexico Regional Farm to Food Bank program, Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Illinois Food Justice Alliance, and the Center for Good Food Purchasing. This opportunity grew from relationships formed through the ASP team’s engagement in regional and national conferences, learning networks, and farm-to-institution gatherings over the past several years, all of which create space for partner states to come together around a shared commitment to connecting everyday people with local food.Â
The New Mexico Grown local food purchasing incentive program and the NMFMA’s Approved Supplier Program are unique nationwide in the way they connect local farmers, ranchers, food producers, food hubs, public agencies, and food banks through a shared infrastructure for values-aligned local food purchasing. Together, these programs help ensure that school-age children, older adults, families, and communities across New Mexico have greater access to healthy, locally produced food.
Over the course of two days, discussions focused on the development, administration, and long-term sustainability of New Mexico Grown and the Approved Supplier Program. Topics included public-private program design, supplier verification, producer technical assistance, values-aligned purchasing, program accountability, impact measurement, and strategies for engaging small and historically marginalized producers in institutional markets.
New Mexico partners shared best practices for implementing programs that leverage state investment, policy initiatives, and community-based knowledge. Highlights included the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s presentation on the Healthy Food Financing Fund, which recognizes the ASP participation as an important marker of producer readiness for investment, as well as conversations with the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute about supporting small producers in accessing institutional markets.
Michigan partners shared information about their Farm to Institution programs and expressed interest in applying lessons from New Mexico as they explore the development of a similar approved supplier model and other local food system initiatives. Partners from Illinois, Texas, and New Mexico also contributed perspectives on values-based procurement, food justice, and building purchasing systems that better serve producers and communities.
Image: Learning exchange participants on a site visit to the Indigenous Farm Hub. Image shows representatives of the Indigenous Farm Hub, the NMFMA, the New Mexico Department of Health, the Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Illinois Food Justice Alliance, and the Center for Good Food Purchasing.
In addition to strategy discussions, participants visited key ASP producers and distribution partners. Site visits included the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, the Indigenous Farm Hub, and Silver Leaf Farms in Corrales. These visits provided an opportunity to see how New Mexico’s local food purchasing infrastructure connects policy, procurement, producer support, and on-the-ground relationships.
Overall, the learning exchange strengthened cross-state relationships, expanded shared understanding of local food procurement models, and created new opportunities for future collaboration. The ASP team looks forward to continued learning, partnership development, and supporting efforts to strengthen values-aligned local food systems in New Mexico and beyond.
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