Belen Food Pantry says county is hungriest

July 22, 2009

Dr. Bruce Baker, the pastor of Belen’s First Baptist Church and part of the effort to feed Valencia County families, says New Mexico is one of the top two hungriest states in the nation and Valencia County is the hungriest county in the state.

“Valencia County has consistently been the hungriest county in the State of New Mexico,” he said.

Baker, who came to Valencia County from an affluent suburb in Texas many years ago, said it’s been a very new experience for him to deal with hungry families, or what the United States Department of Agriculture calls families with “food insecurity.”

The majority of the hungry are children, Baker said.

The Belen Food Pantry is a coalition of churches, businesses, governments and individuals who accept monetary and food donations and turn that around to families in need. The pantry prefers to buy the food itself, because it buys in bulk and gets a good price.

“If you want to do something to help, give money. Don’t give food,” Baker said. “Don’t go shopping. Give money. We buy by the pound. We buy by the hundreds and thousands of pounds. There’s no middle man. There’s no markup. We get approximately half of our food for free.”

Baker said $10 feeds a family of four for a week.

“It is amazing the number of people in this county who need food assistance,” said Liz Sagrestano, a Rio Communities resident who has received food from an Albuquerque-area pantry in the past. “Believe me, that little bit helps stretch the budget every month.”

The pantry, located just off of Becker Avenue at the First Baptist Church south annex, is looking to get a larger facility to expand its operations.

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