Katherine Lewin
Almost no water left on the shelves at Alberstons Market in Santa Fe on Friday morning.
Lines at the Food King on St. Michael’s Drive stretch back into aisles lined with empty shelves. Santa Feans lean wearily on their carts piled high with essentials, in particular toilet paper and loaves of bread from a recent shipment. Then they settle in to wait an hour or more to check out Friday morning.
While nearly sold out by mid-morning, people still poured into the store, one of the only in the city to have still have toilet paper and paper towels on the shelves.
Supplies of paper products, canned food, and cold and flu medicine nearly disappeared around the capital city following reports of COVID-19 cases among Santa Fe County residents. As of Friday morning, three of the state’s 10 cases were here.
Amelia Marquez, 28, tells SFR she bought only toilet paper and paper towels from Food King so she’s ready for potential quarantine. As she piles her purchases into the backseat, she says she stood in line for an hour to pay but already bought canned goods several days ago when New Mexico’s coronavirus cases were first reported.
The lines at Smith’s Food and Drug on Cerrillos Road were shorter, around 20 to 30 minutes before reaching checkout. Like many others, it is completely out of paper products and over-the-counter cold and flu medicine.
Arlene Pacheco, 59, tells SFR in the parking lot that she could not find multiple things on her typical grocery list: meats, toilet paper, rice, beans and bleach. She says she “thought she was smart getting there first thing” this morning but “everyone else had the same idea.” Pacheco tells SFR she is headed to another store to keep looking.
At Albertsons on St. Francis Drive, the only paper products left on the shelves by mid-morning were three packs of napkins. Store Manager Isaiah Garcia declined to speak to SFR about inventories and shipments.
But Nancy Sharp, the communications and community engagement manager for the United Family, parent company of Albertsons Market, tells SFR the store's hours in Santa Fe will change indefinitely starting Friday night: opening at 7 am and closing at 9 pm in order to clean and restock.
In regards to water, toilet paper and other products that aren't available, Sharp says she does not know exactly when those will be restocked.
"We are just restocking those items as quickly as we can," Sharp tells SFR via phone. "It's just taking a little bit of time for the supply chain to catch up."
Tina Sanchez, 59, stocked up on canned food several days ago after the announcement of the first cases in New Mexico and hoped to find toilet paper at the store—no such luck. She settled for napkins. She’s mainly concerned about elderly people who are more susceptible to the virus and disease and may not want to go into grocery stores for fear of being infected. Sanchez doesn’t eat canned food but she bought some anyway to help out neighbors and friends just in case.
“If I was retired, I’d help watch people’s kids,” Sanchez tells SFR. “This is a time where people have to help each other.”
SFR left voicemails for Albertsons’ and Smith’s corporate offices and attempted to contact management at Food King. We’ll update the story if they provide any information.
Katherine Lewin
State workers will likely continue to have toilet paper and other essentials thanks to the General Services Department. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told the department to "work with state agencies when they need to procure something on an emergency basis during this crisis," according to General Services Department Public Information Officer Thom Cole. That could include toilet paper and other essentials.
“But those supplies are not for public consumption,” Cole tells SFR via phone. “The administration is aware of what’s going on with the shortage of some goods and is trying to figure out how to deal with it.”
The county, city and school district jumpstarted responses to the potential shortfall in food supplies. While the city and county senior centers are closed, the community services departments will deliver meals to “high risk” seniors, according to press releases.
In response to the public schools closing for the next three weeks, the cafeterias and some staff will remain on-site to serve grab-and-go options while the National Guard will deliver meals to students who can’t go to the cafeteria, officials said in a press conference Friday.
