As the fires in Ruidoso continue to escalate and evacuees are in many shelters across several New Mexico counties, the team of the food bank has reached out to area responders to see what support may be needed. Area shelters asked for immediate support and requested water, ready to eat produce, ready to eat dry good items, snacks, chips, crackers, cereal, soft drinks and other items. Since they had no idea of how many people to expect, they asked for as much as we could spare.

Early the morning of June 18, staff arrived at the food bank around 3 am and dispatched a semi filled with various food and water items to shelters in Roswell. Nearly 60,000 pounds of water, dry good items, and fresh produce arrived by mid-morning (2 semi loads of food). The National Guard also reached out and we dispatched a second load of 28,000 pounds of food on Wednesday. The Food Depot and El Pasoans Fighting Hunger have been in the midst of collecting and coordinating hygiene kits for delivery hopefully later the week of June 17. Right now, we expect about 9 pallets of hygiene kits to arrive from The Food Depot.

In addition, flooding in Las Vegas is causing the need for access to clean water.  Roadrunner Food Bank staff has been coordinating clean water donations with VOAD.  The Walmart Distribution Center based in Los Lunas has already dispatched two semis filled with bottled water to arrive there on Sunday afternoon (June 23).  We will be sending an additional half a semi we have on hand right now to The Food Depot to dispatch to the area. Staff have reached out to Feeding America, the Arizona Food Bank Network, and other local food rescue donors to acquire more in preparation for future clean water needs between both fire and flooding disasters currently impacting the state to make available as needed.

In early July, the National Guard and Salvation Army in Roswell reached out asking for more snack like items and pet food.  The products we delivered included a pallet of pet food and 10 pallets of various snack items. Because power and refrigeration has also not been as accessible, the partners also asked for ice.  Reddy Ice came through with no hesitation and provided more than 612 bags (two pallets) of ice.  When disasters strike, often having the ability to keep perishable food at the right temps without access to cold storage or refrigeration can be a challenge.

We’d also like to give a shoutout to State Farm who provided a $25,000 grant to help in recovery efforts.  Thank you State Farm!

Thank you all for continuing to make solutions possible for so many who continued to be impacted by this situation. Even though the fire is contained, life and recovery efforts for so many who lost everything will take a lot more time.

As these fluid situations develop, the food bank is ready to provide any food and water assistance to evacuees and first responders affected. Please reach out as follows:

• If you are a partner agency that receives food from our Albuquerque warehouse, are located in the impacted areas and need additional food support, please reach out to: Partner Support at 505.349.5352 or email PartnerSupport@rrfb.org.
• If you are a disaster assistance organization or coordinator of a disaster assistance organization and would like to request food and water from our Albuquerque distribution center, please reach out to: Partner Support at 505.349.5352 or email PartnerSupport@rrfb.org.

If you would like to help by making a financial contribution or wish to collect food and water for the areas impacted, please:

• Give online here. You may also call in your donation to 505.349.8909 during business hours.
• Sign up to host a food and fund drive at this link. We’ll warehouse food and water until it is needed for the areas impacted. You may also drop off non-perishable food items during business hours. At reception, please indicate the food donations are for fire response.
• Types of food items requested by responders:
  • Meals Ready to Eat – anything that can easily be opened and consumed with very little prep. Meat packets like tuna kits, chicken packets, etc.
  • Ready to Eat – beef jerky like products, nuts, protein bars
  • Canned good items that have “pop tops” and do not require a can opener to open. Food items with little prep and can be heated in a microwave or on a small stove.
  • Peanut Butter and Similar Type Nut Butters
  • Water
• For any general inquiries about our part in the fire response, please email info@rrfb.org or call 505.349.8909.

If you would like general information on Disaster Relief Services provided by food banks, visit this link.

Thank you for helping make a difference during a time of crisis for thousands of people in the area who have been impacted. Their lives will never be quite the same.

Images of Items Provided to Shelters and Evacuees