Every day in New Mexico, student achievement and nutrition are in states of emergency. With families losing jobs and wages, more and more children are going to school malnourished, some having eaten nothing at all. School districts struggle to educate and support their students with fewer available resources. Slashed budgets mean frustrated teachers, less money for books and supplies, and little capacity to subsidize a federal lunch program that already falls short of the school districts' costs for each lunch served. No expensive study is necessary to show that hungry children cannot pay attention in class. Nor is one necessary to show that New Mexico's school districts are in dire need of financial support and help to accomplish their goals. This report evaluates options available to school, district and state administrators that will help to feed more children at a lesser cost, thereby reducing hunger and the toll it exacts both socially and academically. New Mexico Appleseed's recommendations point to increased profitability for schools and decreased hunger and food insecurity for children. (Contains 176 footnotes.)