Grocer donates apples to Storehouse New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An apple a day keeps the doctor away and it’s what a grocer is donating to a local food pantry to help people in New Mexico.

Storehouse New Mexico received nearly 5,000 pounds of apples from Albertsons Market. The donation occurred Wednesday and is a part of their “Take a Bite Out of Hunger” program.

Albertsons created the program 13 years ago to not only help feed underserved communities but bring attention to food insecurity.

This year, they donated more than 50,000 pounds of apples across New Mexico and Texas.

“When we look at food insecurities in the area, we want to give back and help that cause. Apples are a great way to do that as they’re nutritious and shelf-stable,” said Eric Fuller, from Albertsons Market.

The donation is helping Storehouse with the ever-more prevalent issue of food insecurity.

“Due to SNAP benefits being reduced, we’ve seen a sharp increase in demand. The Storehouse has been very, very busy in the last month. We have seen lots of people coming through and we’re proud to serve everyone and not turn anyone away – and have for everybody and it’s donations like this that make that possible,” said Kevin Cochran, the operations manager at Storehouse NM.

The Storehouse usually provides people with carts full of food. They say the apple donations will help a lot because it’ll add a variety of food and produce something the food pantry is hoping to give more of.

Roadrunner Food Bank will also be getting apple donations. For more information, click here.