Supermarkets, restaurateurs providing more than essentials for fire victims: grocers focused on keeping shelves stocked for customers

San Diego Business Journal, Oct 29, 2007 by Liz Wiedemann

Of the 160 Albertsons, Food 4 Less, Ralphs and Vons grocery stores in San Diego County, only five were closed at any one time during last week's wildfires, said store officials.

As of Thursday, Oct. 25, the grocers said all stores were up and running.

Daymond Rice, director of public affairs/government relations for Vons, a division of Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc., said the company has been able to staff all of its stores.

"It's more important to us to keep stores open, even if it's not fully staffed," Rice said.

He said keeping the shelves stocked with the essentials has not been a problem.

"All of our distribution centers are in Los Angeles and Santa Fe Springs," said Rice. "Even if the suppliers have gotten backed up due to road closings, we have backup plans."

Vons called on one such backup plan yesterday when the California Highway Patrol provided escorts for the supermarket's supply trucks.

While two Vons stores in the most highly impacted areas did shutter temporarily, no stores reported damage. Both were opened within a few days.

To aid in disaster relief, Vons said it is working with the city of San Diego's Dan Weinberg, who is director of major gifts and philanthropy planning, plus the San Diego Food Bank and statewide relief programs. Total donations of water, food and other necessities would reach an estimated $90,000 by Oct. 24.

Perhaps a less obvious request that has been fulfilled was food for the 500 to 600 pets that stayed temporarily at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Albertsons spokeswoman Stephanie Martin said stores pushed to remain open, including the Ramona store, because they had to supply food and water to the firefighters.

"The first thing retailers think about in a crisis is customer service," said Martin.

Albertsons trucks delivered 30,000 pieces of fruit to Qualcomm Stadium on Oct. 24 as the need for healthy foods was growing.

Martin describes some of the stores as "bare-boned but open," as Albertsons' primary concern was encouraging employees to evacuate if required.

She said the focus is on supporting the supermarket needs of the region.

"We don't know what the impact will be to sales or anything like that. It's just about getting the job done," said Martin.

In partnership with Mayor Jerry Sanders' office, distribution centers in Orange County and the California Department of Transportation, Martin says Albertsons has been able to deliver products to Qualcomm Stadium and other evacuation sites, including 10,000 bottles of water and 10,000 granola bars in a single day.

Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores spokesperson Terry O'Neil said that stores nearest to the fires are doing brisk business.

"While the demand is much higher than usual, especially for Monday, typically the slowest day of the week, we're not having problems keeping water on the shelves," said O'Neil.

Ralphs has made an estimated donation of $200,000 to the American Red Cross relief efforts, to be disbursed in Southern California as needed.

O'Neil said that the supermarket chain sent a truckload of products to Qualcomm on Tuesday, including milk, baby formula, diapers, toiletries and other food items totaling an estimated $10,000.

Peyton Roberts, public information officer for the local chapters of the Red Cross, said Oct. 25 that his organization was still getting donations as the worst of the fires waned.

"Local and national companies continue to make monetary donations as well as in-kind gifts, and we'll be able to tally the amount more in upcoming weeks" said Roberts.

The local offices of Harrisburg, Pa.-based Rite Aid Pharmacy donated $100,000 and 20,000 items to the Red Cross.

Among other large national donations was a $1 million gift by the Wal-Mart Foundation, which donated $250,000 Oct. 23 to assist the Red Cross in providing food and shelter. The following day, the foundation gave another $750,000 for general disaster relief.

Spearheaded by restaurant owner and California Restaurant Association board member Tracy Borkum, local and national restaurants joined to coordinate food services to fire victims across Southern California.

Borkum, owner of the Laurel Restaurant & Bar, Kensington Grill and Chive, opened the Laurel kitchen to help feed victims Oct. 22.

"Then things grew," Borkum said. "We involved the CRA, and thanks to a great response because of their coordination efforts we've fed probably 25,000 people, including 1,000 per day from our own kitchen."

Food from participating restaurants, such as Anthony's Fish Grotto, Gringo's, Georges at the Cove, Moondoggies and the Brigantine Restaurant Group, went to the Red Cross for distribution.

National chains participating include Subway, Panda Express, Pat & Oscar's, and Chili's Grill & Bar.

"One amazing donation we've had is about 500 meals from Zanzibar Restaurant, which is a very small restaurant," said Borkum. "People everywhere are making big sacrifices."