Northern New Mexico food bank hits the road | Local News
A few eye-grabbing vehicles probably have rolled through Cerrillos over the years, but nothing like this: a bookmobile-turned-Food Mobile.
Painted in festive colors (heavy on turquoise), The Food Depot’s newest tool in the daily battle against hunger made its debut Thursday at a distribution event in Cerrillos.
The Food Mobile, officials say, will allow Northern New Mexico’s only food bank to move much-needed supplies to underserved and hard-to-reach places around the Santa Fe area.
“We believe that access to quality and adequate and nutritious food is a human right,” Food Depot Executive Director Sherry Hooper said during a speech at the official launch. “The Food Mobile is one of our attempts to fill that need, that gap. We’re going to start small and take it around areas in and around Santa Fe that are in great need.”
By 11 a.m., cars had begun to line up for the drive-thru service. Thursday’s offerings included a range of produce, eggs, ground beef, canned goods, fresh bread, cinnamon rolls and banana muffins. People were free to customize their grocery order and choose whatever worked for them. Officials said 35 families were served.
“It’s an absolutely brilliant repurposing of a bookmobile into a food-mobile,” Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber said before delivering a brief speech during the distribution event. “People can not only get food but have the dignity in selecting food on their terms in a way that respects them.”
For Blake Lundy, who works at the nearby Cerrillos Station gallery and shop, the presence of the Food Mobile was a welcome addition in a small town that has struggled economically during the pandemic.
“It’s been a challenge,” Lundy said of the economic strain.
Hooper said Cerrillos is one of many towns The Food Depot would like to help through its mobile grocery service.
“We would like to build a fleet of these and go into small communities that don’t have the resources to do their own hunger relief work,” she said.
Food Depot Deputy Director Jill Dixon said the mobile service could be an asset for the nine counties the food bank serves.
“You see huge gaps in southern Santa Fe and in our frontier and rural communities,” she said, referring to “food deserts” — areas that lack access to affordable and quality food — in New Mexico.
“Cerrillos is a good example of that,” Dixon added. “You see it even more so when you get out to a place like Rio Arriba [County], where folks can be driving 30 or 40 miles one way to get groceries.”
The coronavirus pandemic created huge challenges for The Food Depot, starting in the spring of 2020. The virus’s arrival led to huge numbers of layoffs in New Mexico, exacerbating deep food insecurities that exist throughout the state.
“We knew our communities were pretty economically fragile,” Dixon said. “It was gutting to see how profoundly and quickly people were in need.”
Within six days after the first pandemic-related closure in March, The Food Depot held its first drive-thru pantry event in Santa Fe. In the ensuing months, distribution events drew thousands coming to pick up much-needed groceries.
“The first few times, the cars were lined up for miles,” Hooper said.
By the end of the year, the food bank had given away some 11 million pounds of groceries.
“That is enough food for more than 9.5 million meals,” Hooper said. “The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our communities. These vulnerabilities persist.”
Dale Edwards, a resident of nearby Madrid, said access to healthy food near his home is most welcome.
“The closest large grocery store is far,” Dale said. “I think this [the Food Mobile] is very important for the community.”
