Schools, senior centers & farmers honored for promoting New Mexico-grown food

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) joins representatives from the Departments of Aging and Long-Term Services, Agriculture, the Office of Indian Elder Affairs, Early Childhood Education & Care and Public Education as well as the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association and Farm to Table New Mexico to celebrate award recipients.

Source: N.M. Department of Health

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Grown Coalition and partners will honor 136 schools, preschools, senior centers and food producers for their investment in locally grown food at a Golden Chile Awards ceremony Oct. 19 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) joins representatives from the Departments of Aging and Long-Term Services, Agriculture, the Office of Indian Elder Affairs, Early Childhood Education & Care and Public Education as well as the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association and Farm to Table New Mexico to celebrate award recipients.

A member of the New Mexico Grown Coalition, the New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) Office of Nutrition and Physical Activity works with state and local organizations to expand healthy eating and physical activity opportunities, including supporting local food production, through its Healthy Kids Healthy Communities Program.

“We’re always happy to see more New Mexico Grown participants each year connecting children and seniors to fresh, local food,” said Rita Condon, director of NMDOH’s Office of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

“Congratulations to the awardees for work that enriches the health of our communities and vitality of our food producers.”

The state invested about $3.3 million into the New Mexico Grown Coalition this past fiscal year. The coalition, a network of state agencies, nonprofit organizations and community-based groups, established the Golden Chile Awards Program in 2021 with four recognition tiers – Seed, Sprout, Blossom and Golden Chile – to honor all levels of food service providers’ involvement in NM Grown programming.

The 2026 Golden Chile Awardees are:

Golden Chile (mature and fruitful program):

• Christina Kent Early Childhood Center 
• La Vida Felicidad Inc. Early Learning Center 
• Love The Children Learning Center 
• New Mexico Early Learning Academy 
• Western Heights Learning Center 
• Bernalillo Public Schools 
• Elida Municipal Schools 
• Las Cruces Public Schools 
• Rio Rancho Public Schools 
• Roswell Independent School District 
• Blanco and Lower Valley Senior Centers 
• City of Albuquerque – Department of Senior Affairs 
• Campos Senior Center 

Blossom (program reaching maturity):

• Catholic Charities 
• East Gate Kids Early Learning Center 
• ECHO Aztec Preschool 
• Future Generations 
• Kids Campus at SFCC 
• Kingdom Builders Preschool and Daycare 
• Southwest Child Care Early Learning Center 
• Albuquerque Public Schools 
• Bloomfield Schools 
• Clovis Municipal Schools 
• Dexter Consolidated Schools 
• Farmington Municipal Schools 
• Gadsden Independent School District 
• J. Paul Taylor Academy 
• Los Alamos Public Schools 
• Portales Schools 
• Santa Fe Public Schools 
• Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools 
• Adelante Development Center, Inc. 
• Aztec Senior Center 
• City of Las Cruces Senior Services 
• Las Cumbres Community Services Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program 
• Santa Fe County Senior Services 
• K’awaika Senior Center 
• Pueblo of San Felipe Elderly Services Program 
• Pueblo of Isleta Elder Center 
• Santa Clara Senior Center 
• Santo Domingo Pueblo Senior Center 

Sprout (program growing strong):

• Caritas Felices Center 
• Children In Need of Services 
• Cuidando Los Ninos 
• Farmington Preschool 
• Little Flower Learning Center 
• Aztec Municipal School District 
• Belen Consolidated Schools 
• Cobre Consolidated School District 
• Cuba Independent Schools 
• Floyd Municipal Schools 
• Gallup McKinley County Schools 
• Hagerman Municipal Schools 
• Hobbs Municipal School 
• Las Vegas City Schools 
• Los Lunas Schools 
• Melrose Municipal Schools 
• Moriarty Edgewood School District 
• Mountainair Public Schools 
• Pecos Independent School District 
• Pojoaque Valley Schools 
• Turquoise Trail Charter School 
• Bernalillo County Senior Services 
• Bloomfield Senior Center 
• City of Las Vegas Senior Program 
• City of Socorro Senior Center/Veguita Senior Center 
• Des Moines Senior Center 
• Guadalupe County Senior Center 
• Magdalena Senior Center 
• Meals on Wheels NM 
• Rio Arriba County Senior Programs 
• Sacramento Mountains Senior Services 
• Sandoval County Senior Program 
• Taos Pueblo Lillian Romero Senior Center 
• Zia Pueblo Senior Center 

Seed (program has potential):

• La Esperanza Child Development Center 
• Central Consolidated School District 
• Mescalero Apache School 
• Taos Municipal Schools 
• Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization 
• Puerto de Luna Senior Center 
• Pueblo de Cochiti Elderly Center 

Approved Supplier 2026 awardees:

• A&M Meat Processing 
• Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network 
• Alkaline Fields Farm 
• Backyard Farms 
• Bamboo Farms 
• Bill King Ranch 
• Bluffs Farm 
• C4 Enterprises 
• Carruth Cattle 
• Desert Verde Farm 
• E.W. Farms 
• Edgars Farm 
• Enchanted Farms Mushrooms 
• Farm of Song 
• Fertile Ground Farm LLC 
• Foote Family Meats 
• Frontier Food Hub 
• Full Circle Mushrooms 
• Gathings Gardens 
• Graves Farm & Garden 
• Growing Opportunities, Inc. 
• High Country Meats 
• Indian Pueblo Entrepreneur Complex 
• Khalsa Family Farms 
• La Montanita Co-op 
• La Semilla Food Center 
• Little Colorado Meats 
• M.A. & Sons 
• MTA Farms 
• NACA Inspired Schools Network Indigenous Farm Hub 
• Nacimiento Natural Products 
• Nelson Farm 
• New Mexico Beef 
• Nichols Ranch and Orchards 
• NM LA Beef LLC 
• Ogallala Commons/My Foodshed 
• Prickly Pear Foods 
• Rail Yards Market 
• Rancho de Santa Fe 
• Red Doc Farm 
• Reunity Resources 
• Roots Farm 
• San Juan College Harvest Food Hub 
• Silver Leaf Farms 
• Sungreen Living Foods 
• Sweet Mercy Farms 
• The Veggie Shack 
• Trilogy Beef 
• Twin Rivers Farm | The DJS Estate 
• USA Beef Packing 
• Valencia Flour Mill 
• Wagner Farms 
• Williams Family Farm 
• Zamin Greens 

For more information, visit the New Mexico Grown website.