![]() Another Smith's is near the University of New Mexico on Yale, more than 2 miles away.Ī Sprout's Farmers Market is about a mile away at 5112 Lomas NE, and a Whole Foods Market is about three miles way at 2103 Carlisle NE. The nearest Smith's store is at Lomas and San Pedro, about 1.3 miles northeast. Other mainstream grocery stores in the area are a mile or more away from the Walmart location. "In the short term, it's really scary that the last options left are sort of junk food stores and really small retailers that are out of reach for most people," Davis said. He said he spoke to the mayor's office and they plan to look for ways to incentivise regional or local grocery chains to go back to that neighborhood. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as a "tract in which at least 100 households are located more than one-half mile from the nearest supermarket and have no vehicle access."ĭavis accused Walmart of driving smaller stores in the area away over the past decade by "bookending" the International District with its locations at San Mateo and Central, and Eubank and I-40, about 3.8 miles away. "It really takes away the last option for fresh food and grocery stores for a big stretch of East Central and essentially creates the food desert that we have been concerned about for years," Davis said. "It's gonna be overwhelming," Juarez said.Ĭity Councilor Pat Davis, who represents the area, said the closure creates one more barrier between low-income families and reliable access to healthy food, citing people who depend on supplemental nutrition assistance. He said the community will "be taking a big hit." He said Walmart is a big source of food for many people in the area and there aren't a lot of similar opportunities nearby. Ruben Juarez, who said he is a frequent customer at the location, added that he couldn't believe the store was going to be closed so soon. ![]() She said the roughly 287 employees who work at the Walmart at 301 San Mateo SE will be eligible for transfers to nearby locations. ![]() Willis said in a follow-up email to the Journal that the company does not plan on closing any additional stores in Albuquerque. "We look forward to serving them at our other stores in the surrounding communities and on ." "We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Albuquerque location," Willis said in a statement. Lauren Willis, a spokeswoman for Walmart, told the Journal Wednesday that the store will close March 10 after a review process revealed it was not performing as well as the company hoped. "There are no other grocery stores nearby, just junk food," Romero said. Marcelina Romero, who shops regularly at the store, said food at nearby grocery stores is expensive compared to Walmart, and the small convenience stores nearby don't sell healthy, fresh food. She said that, because many people with economic needs shop with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, they are "automatically gonna start fleeing" to nearby convenience stores. "For the people that don't have transportation, it's going to be hard," Si'mon said.
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