Hoarding food products damages our community and puts the lives of others at risk, he says.
People leave the stores with their carts full. (Courtesy)
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Courtesy / Courtesy
From a warehouse full of food products, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti asked Angelenos not to store food and buy only what they need per week.
"Hoarding food hurts our community. Please don't do it! His behavior is not only bad but it can cost someone his life, ”said the mayor during a press conference where he was accompanied by managers and owners of supermarkets in Los Angeles.
“I want to assure you that we not only have food for days and weeks but for months. So there is no reason to run to the supermarkets. It's okay to buy food for a week like we always do, but they don't need to buy for a month or months, ”he urged.
Garcetti said that compulsive hoarding hurts the most vulnerable Angelenos who need food and cannot buy or wait in crowded lines in dangerous conditions that can contribute to the spread of the coronavirus.
In the past week, as the number of people infected with the pandemic have been increasing in the city and county of Los Angeles, panic buying has been unleashed. People line up for hours to buy food; They arrive at stores at dawn to be the first to enter; sales of toilet paper and kitchen paper are limiting; Canned food and staples like beans and rice are scarce. People come out with their carts full to the top, afraid of a future shortage. Bottled water is difficult to find.
Mayor Garcetti asked to consume tap water. "It is safe and the supply will continue," he stressed.
And he assured that there is enough food in the markets.
“Toilet paper and paper napkins will be quickly supplied. What will take a few weeks will be to renew the supply of hand sanitizers, but not months, "he said.
Meanwhile, he asked the Angelenos to share with others.
"Please be considerate of those who need to be kept in good sanitary condition," he asked.
Bryan Kaltenback, president of Food 4 Less, said that there are enough products, only the supply chain was caught off guard by the overwhelming number of purchases that are taking place.
"I ask you all, patience and calm. Try to be cautious with the amount of products you buy at once, let us prepare. The industry is strong, the food chain too, we will be there to serve them. ”
Óscar González, president of the Northgate González supermarkets, assured that there is no shortage of food.
“The problem is that most merchants have had to deal with excess purchases, which has impacted distribution centers. The faster we return to normal in terms of buyer behavior, the better we are, ”he said.
Over the weekend, Mayor Garcetti issued an emergency order to strengthen the City's response to the coronavirus, establishing restrictions on restaurants, bars, theaters, bowling alleys, shopping arcades and gyms.
He asked the bars and places that sell food not to serve food, but to sell to take away, pick up in the car or send home.
And reiterated that this health crisis is a time to prepare not to panic. “I know how concerned you are about the spread of the coronavirus and the spread of our loved ones. This is why to protect our lives and those of our loved ones here in Los Angeles, we issue a series of historic measures of prevention that will be in force until March 31, ”said the mayor.
