Food banks around the country haven鈥檛 been getting the kind of big donations of nonperishable food they count on. Here in New Mexico, employees at Roadrunner Food Bank are nervous about low levels of canned and boxed meals in the warehouse.
has a huge distribution hub that food pantries, soup kitchens, group home shelters, senior sites and schools all over New Mexico draw from. Large networks around the U.S. provide much of the donated food. For some reason, nonperishable items just haven鈥檛 been coming in for months now.
Sonya Warwick, a spokesperson at Roadrunner, said fresh produce is still being delivered, but it鈥檚 not enough. "Not every food pantry across the state, for example, has refrigeration, so having access to nonperishable foods allows food pantries that don鈥檛 have access to refrigeration to take that product and distribute in their community."
Warwick said they鈥檙e unsure why there鈥檚 a shortage, but she鈥檚 concerned because anywhere between 400 and 500 local organizations heavily rely on Roadrunner each week. Times are lean, she said, and she doesn't know what things will look like in the coming months if those canned goods don鈥檛 start rolling in.
Protein items are in especially high demand鈥攃anned meats, peanut butter, almond butter. Canned fruits and vegetables are also key staples there, she said. Anyone who wants to pitch in can bring a bag of food directly to Roadrunner Food Bank during .
