ROCKINGHAM — With her weak immune system and advanced age, Sandy Allen knew she was at a high risk for contracting COVID-19.

She depends on others to get her groceries and other essentials. Allen, 60, has watched — while self-quarantining — as everyone has made a mad rush for cleaning supplies, toilet paper, food and water since the alarm bells about the virus reached a fever pitch last week, and worried about what would be left for her.

“I can’t go out,” Allen said of her situation due to the virus.

Then she saw Chris Stovall’s offer on Facebook to pick up groceries for those in need for free, and she messaged him immediately — she normally has to pay people to shop for her. He accepted, and Stovall said that, in their first phone call, her tears pulled tears out of him.

“I thought, ‘Thank God!’” Allen said. “What he’s doing is really a great service for the community … he made my day.”

Anyone in need of help getting groceries can call or text Stovall at his cell phone (910) 995-9520 or message him on Facebook at “Christopher Stovall.”

Stovall said he’s been contacted by at least a dozen people. Sometimes their shopping lists take travelling to four stores before he can find the items they need. It took him four stores to find a gallon of milk this week, five stores to find hand sanitizer, and three to find toilet paper.

On Thursday, he was on the “treasure hunt” for Allen’s groceries: veggies and meats, eggs and bacon, bread, soup, cheese and others. She wanted them all to be the generic brand, but Stovall found a name-brand can of collard greens for one penny more and decided, “I’m gonna get her the good stuff.” He lit up at seeing that sweet peas were on sale for $0.50 less — anything to stretch Allen’s limited budget.

Stovall said he was inspired to help after seeing a Facebook friend offer to do the same, and once his posts got attention on social media, even more people have offered to take the load off of him.

“My father had a heart issue in the past and he’s up in age and I wouldn’t let him go to the store. And I check on my elderly neighbors and I thought, ‘Man, you know this is something we all should do for the elderly,” Stovall said.

Wanting to make sure that he doesn’t put those he helps at risk himself, Stovall is taking a number of precautions. He’s wearing gloves while he shops and then changes gloves again before touching the bags he hands to the person he’s shopping for, among other safety measures.

Going in and out of stores all week, Stovall said he’s also seen the bad side of the response to a crisis. He went to a grocery store that was completely out of toilet paper, but happened to catch one of the staff members about to restock. Then at the register, he saw a man with a cart full of paper towels and toilet paper.

At another store he saw someone take every piece of chicken on a rack, and another person who filled two carts with milk.

Stovall said he’s able to commit his time to this cause because was recently laid off — before benefits were available to those laid off due to the virus — and while the last month has been personally challenging, it’s left him with “all the time in the world to help those in need.”

He added that he’s now put a job offer on hold to fulfill his commitments to those in need, and in the future he may make use of those that have offered to help him and just continue his efforts on the weekend.

“I have had so many cry as I do this and I can’t help but cry with them and smile,” he said.

Allen had herself tested and it came back negative. She said she’s holding up well in quarantine. As a former communication specialist with the 7th Communications Battalion stationed in Okinawa, Japan from 1980 to 1984, and someone who lived through numerous earthquakes in California, Allen said, “disasters aren’t new to me.”

She’s taking care of the dozen or so feral cats that linger around her apartment (which she doesn’t have the means to take to the shelter or to spay and neuter).

“They’re my buddies,” she said. Still, she knows there are long days ahead as the number of cases continue to climb nationwide.

“Thank God for the internet,” Allen said. “I’d go nuts.”

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Sandy Allen gives Chris Stovall her shopping list Thursday. Allen relies on others to shop for her due to her health problems, which put her at greater risk for catching COVID-19, making her all the more grateful for Stovall’s help.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_Stovall2c.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal Sandy Allen gives Chris Stovall her shopping list Thursday. Allen relies on others to shop for her due to her health problems, which put her at greater risk for catching COVID-19, making her all the more grateful for Stovall’s help.

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Chris Stovall picks up a pack of frozen corn on the cob for Sandy Allen on Thursday.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_IMG_4990.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal Chris Stovall picks up a pack of frozen corn on the cob for Sandy Allen on Thursday.

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Chris Stovall hunts for deals in the canned vegetable aisle while shopping for Sandy Allen on Thursday.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_IMG_4992.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal Chris Stovall hunts for deals in the canned vegetable aisle while shopping for Sandy Allen on Thursday.

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Sandy Allen gives Chris Stovall her shopping list Thursday. Allen relies on others to shop for her due to her health problems, which put her at greater risk for catching COVID-19, making her all the more grateful for Stovall’s help.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/web1_Stovall2web.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal Sandy Allen gives Chris Stovall her shopping list Thursday. Allen relies on others to shop for her due to her health problems, which put her at greater risk for catching COVID-19, making her all the more grateful for Stovall’s help.

Gavin Stone

News Editor

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected].