After a trip to the grocery store last week, Cindy Balderas was surprised to find someone had placed a large pack of paper towels in the backseat of her car.

“I have no idea who put this package in my car, none whatsoever,” she said Friday. “It was a blessing, because who can’t use paper towels, right? I can always use paper towels.”

Balderas had been shopping at Mr. D’s Food Center on her lunch break when the anonymous delivery occurred. She didn’t discover the paper towels until returning to work.

Earlier in the week, Balderas had tried buying toilet paper amid the shortage, and couldn’t find any at local stores. But she had only told her daughter, son-in-law and one friend that she was looking — and they each said they hadn’t delivered the paper towels.

“I just thought that that was the most amazing thing … with everybody hoarding or over-buying toilet paper or paper towels or whatever,” Balderas said, adding, “Well, there’s an angel out there somewhere looking out for me.”

She also was able to purchase toilet paper from Blair’s Super Market last week, after a new shipment arrived.

“I was one of the lucky ones because they were going so fast,” Balderas said.

Local grocery stores have imposed limits on items to help ensure items stay in stock.

“We cannot stress enough to our communities that as we curve our shopping to focus on our immediate needs only, things will return to normal sooner than later,” Blair’s Super Market said on Facebook. “Please do not panic, our supplies are continuing to roll in.”

— By Tessa Baker