By Kevin Hendricks – The Paper.
Rio Rancho may have a reputation as a Republican stronghold, but the Democratic Party of Sandoval County is betting the city is closer to purple — and it’s fighting childhood hunger to make the case.
Party chair Greg Bennett sat down with The Paper. to lay out two parallel efforts: a new voter outreach initiative called Blue Rio Rancho and the party’s expanding partnership with Feed Rio Rancho Kids, a nonprofit that sends hundreds of children home with food every Friday during the school year.
Targeting the middle
Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Rio Rancho by only about 2,500 voters, Bennett said, but roughly 25% of local voters have declined to state a party affiliation — a bloc he believes is persuadable.
“We want to sit there and go, listen, this is why you should be voting blue,” Bennett said. “These candidates will really affect your life.”
Blue Rio Rancho will focus on kitchen-table issues — affordability, food insecurity, economic opportunity — rather than national politics, Bennett said. The party plans to roll out ads and print placements after the June 2 primary.
Feeding Rio Rancho’s kids
The party’s community work is already visible across Rio Rancho’s schools. Founded by Karen Schafer and Kitty Perez, Feed Rio Rancho Kids prepares and distributes weekend snack packs — filled with canned goods, ramen, granola bars and other staples — for students living with food scarcity. During the school year, the program distributes between 45 and 55 packets per week to students at Colinas del Norte Elementary, Stapleton Elementary, Lincoln Middle School and the Desert Programs of Rio Rancho Public Schools.
“It just makes me angry that anyone in this town, county, state, country — any kid — goes to bed hungry,” Schafer said during a packing session in 2024. “That should not happen. So this is our little bit that we try to do to fix that.”
What started with around 100 to 125 packets per cycle has grown to 450, Bennett said. About 20,000 Sandoval County residents experience food insecurity, he said. Beyond weekend packs, the program provides winter coats and holiday meal supplies during Thanksgiving and winter breaks.
A community effort
Feed Rio Rancho Kids operates out of the Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation, which provides storage and assembly space. All administration and assembly is done by volunteers. Funding comes from private donors, PNM, and discretionary distributions from Sandoval County Commissioners Joshua Jones and Katherine Bruch, who have each contributed more than $5,000. State Rep. Kathleen Cates has donated more than $1,000.
Former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, who joined volunteers at a September 2024 packing event, said the program fills a gap many residents don’t see until they need it.
“There’s a real gap in food service and this really meets a need that, until you’re a family that receives one of these, you just really don’t know the impact it makes,” Hull said.
The Democratic Party of Sandoval County is an official partner of Feed Rio Rancho Kids. The joint effort earned the 2026 Rev. Dr. C.E. Becknell, Sr. Award for Community Service, presented at the SCLCNM’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in January.
Support Feed Rio Rancho Kids:
- Donate or volunteer: uuwestside.org/feed-the-kids-rio-rancho
Get involved with the Sandoval County Democratic Party:
- Donate or become a sustaining member: sandovaldemocrats.org
- Volunteer or learn about candidates: sandovaldemocrats.org/get-involved
- Upcoming events:sandovaldemocrats.org/calendar