Purpose: The NM Grown Golden Chile Awards represent a fantastic opportunity to recognize and celebrate the innovative and dedicated NM Grown programming taking place at early care and education programs, K-12 schools, and senior centers (i.e., NM Grown Buyers) across the state.
Instructions:
- Your program has to be an NM Grown grantee for FY26 to apply.
- If you do not have an answer for a specific question, please select “N/A.”
- This application should take less than 30 minutes to complete. You can return to this application as often as you need. Your answers are saved automatically. Make sure you are using the same device, otherwise you will not be able to access your previous answers.
- NEW in FY26: Your program will be asked to nominate NM Grown Approved Suppliers (e.g., farmers, ranchers, and/or food hubs) that you feel should be recognized at the Golden Chile Awards Celebration.
Helpful Tips:
- Please think about your NM Grown activities in FY26 and complete all the following questions. FY26 refers to all activity from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. You may need help from your nutrition staff, teachers, and other champions to answer these questions. A PDF copy of the survey is included in case you’d like to print it out or send it to other staff members.
- Start collecting beautiful photos to include with your application. Examples include: 1) students eating NM Grown meals and snacks; 2) students participating in taste tests and/or culinary challenges; 3) NM Grown food producers hosting farm field trips, tastings, and delivering produce; 4) food service professionals preparing NM Grown meals and snacks; 5) promoting the NM Grown Program and local food cultures at your sites; 6) etc.
Questions? If you need additional support, please contact Gabriel Gaarden (gabriel.gaarden@doh.nm.gov), Laura Spencer (laura.spencer2@ececd.nm.gov), or Anna Martin (anna@newmexicogrown.org).
