Ann Arbor area shoppers hit grocery stores to stock up before this week's predicted storm
Hiller’s, Busch’s, and other local grocery stores are all reporting an increase in shopper traffic today. The impending storm, which one shopper called “Snowmageddon” based on forecasts, has Ann Arbor area shoppers stocking up on all sorts of essential items.
But what items are essential? The City of Ann Arbor provides an answer via its Family Disaster Supply Kit:
Despite heavier-than-normal shopping on Monday, area stores report they still have milk in stock - and more deliveries are scheduled for Tuesday.
MinnesotaPublicRadio.com
• Ready to eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables. • Smoked or dried meats such as beef jerky. • Juices - canned, powdered or crystallized. • Soups - bouillon cubes or dried "soups in a cup." • Milk - powdered or canned. • Staples - sugar, salt, pepper. • High energy foods - peanut butter, jelly, crackers, nuts, health food bars, trail mix. • Stress foods - sugar cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals. • Vitamins.
Are these the items stores are running light on? Not exactly.
“Bread, cheese, and wine” seem to be leaving the shelves at faster than expected quantities said crew member Jeff Duby at Trader Joe’s on West Stadium.
“We’ve been super busy for a Monday, and all of the talk is about the storm,” he said. Duby says that people seem to be preparing to hunker down.
Both Whole Foods in Cranbrook, and Busch’s on South Main Street also report a heavy pick up in traffic today.
Will it get better? Not anytime soon. Susan Bellinson of Whole Foods reports that things should be even busier tomorrow.
Steven Brooks, store director at Hiller’s Market on Washtenaw Avenue, estimates that traffic at the store was up about 30-40 percent compared to a normal Monday.
Though the aisles were crowded, Brooks says that additional staff has been scheduled for busy times this week, and that his deliveries for Tuesday morning are expected to be on time.
Reports of milk being out and shelves being bare are adding to the mayhem. But one shopper was able to put a positive spin on it: “That is one way to stimulate the economy!”
Angela Smith is a shopping contributor for AnnArbor.com, and is already fearing that she should have bought more bread during her weekend grocery trip.
Comments
15crown00
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 6:28 a.m.
the big box variety stores and the grocery stores in Monroe reported it was just like Christmas Monday and Tuesday.people were in a panic all over the midwest and just had to shop.
snapshot
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 2:54 a.m.
I love the snow. That's why I live in Michigan.
fensk
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 7:38 p.m.
Too bad....I liked DDot's removed comment.
DDOT1962
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 1:46 a.m.
Thanks. I knew someone would get it. ;-)
cinnabar7071
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:46 p.m.
"And yup, better find some activities for the kids." With all that snow I'm sure mine will be out in it either playing or shoveling the driveway.
Ellen
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 12:12 a.m.
Oh I know! Snow forts will be fun! But youngest and I are getting over pneumonia, so we'll need some inside activities too. :)
Ellen
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 3:32 p.m.
Why so many withdrawn comments?? I've got enough stuff stocked away to get through a few days' worth of snow, so I'm not too worried. But I like the idea of wine/cheese/bread. Mmm. And yup, better find some activities for the kids. I would hate to be pregnant and near my due date now, however! Looking forward to seeing just how much snow we really do get. :)
81wolverine
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 1:48 p.m.
This article is sort of a more rational version of the local network TV hypsters going down to the local supermarket with their cameras and giving the impression of mass impending doom and food shortages. Relax everyone. It's a just a big snowstorm. Use common sense in going outside and sit back and watch the snow.
sh1
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:48 p.m.
Do people really not keep one day's worth of food in their house? Why anyone would "stock up" for a one-day storm is beyond me. Are we that easily manipulated by the media?
sh1
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 7:02 p.m.
Yes, but if not, do people really not keep two days of food in their houses?
Cash
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 3:17 p.m.
You think the roads will all be open and passable on Thursday? Good luck.
DDOT1962
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 1:07 p.m.
Yes, we are. Baaaaahhhhh (My imitation of a sheep. ;-) )
goodthoughts
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.
Sorry, Basic Bob!
goodthoughts
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.
It may "Be Michigan" but 12 inches with high winds can put a cramp in anyone's day. Having lived in Michigan all my life, and in a much snowier region than this, I can attest to the fact that getting out and getting the basics, Like Basic Bib said, is a great idea! Not to mention for those of you who don't remember or know, when some big storms hit, if you don't stock up many times the deliveries don't make it to the stores, and a couple days after the stores necessities, milk and bread, look pretty bare. So stocking up can help during and after the storm until things get back to normal.
Basic Bob
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 11:03 a.m.
Bread, milk, eggs, toilet paper.
Cash
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 11:09 a.m.
LOL I see how you chose your user name here! Good list!
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 5:56 a.m.
You can tell more people work in retail (meaning lower end jobs for a future low end economy) because of the 40% voting "I hate the hype." These grocery companies will mandate that employees be on hand to "catch" all that hyped up buying. It's not about "service" or "convenience" - these companies just love the false "gain" and don't mind if their employees may be trapped or endangered trying to get home late Wednesday. We have - EMERGENCY SERVICES - for the very few who might actually "starve" over a 24-hour period. Same goes for power outages: if it's serious enough, there'll be heated shelters and transport for those who really need it. Meanwhile - the rest of this week will be "dead" in those grocery stores - everyone's stocked up by Wednesday Noon. So there's goes any "gain" and the grocery stores may be cutting hours for all their part-time employees (of which they've acquired many - on purpose - for just such silly reasons).
stonecutter1
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:37 a.m.
Lots of snow is scary.
katie
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:33 a.m.
I picked up several items today, like milk and fruit. I just don't want to have to stop on my way home from work when the traffic is so slow anyway. I do think it's good to be prepared, though living in a condo I don't have the luxury of a gas generator or wood stove. Wish I did, though. I came home and made soup with things I already had, because hot soup seems like a great thing to have if it's going to be a lot of snow and cold. Even if the electric is out, I can still use the gas stove, I hope.
Tom Joad
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:04 a.m.
The only prudent measure is to declare a snow emergency and close all road to non-essential traffic. The biggest snow is going to fall Wednesday morning right through rush hour. You will have tens of thousands of cars crawling to work through white-out conditions. This is a deadly serious storm which could trap thousands of motorists on the highway. Stocking up on food???? You better have a sleeping bag, portable toilet in your car.
Forever27
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 3:35 p.m.
portable toilet, otherwise known as a mason jar.
DDOT1962
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:30 p.m.
You aren't over-reacting a bit, are you?
KJMClark
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4 a.m.
Um, did Paula really mean "chucking", or "chuckling"? And the list is great, but did anyone else notice that it's on the City Emergency Management Kids' page? I can't find a link to that from their main page. Have to wonder if that's because many adults become so lackadaisical (or attached to the tv) that they won't even bother to put together a disaster supply kit unless the kids are bugging them.
Anthony Clark
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 3:43 a.m.
I always laugh when people go nuts like this whenever a snowstorm is predicted. This is Michigan. It snows in Michigan. Anyone who has lived here more than a few years knows should know how to deal with it. Oh my goodness, I might not be able to make it to the store for a day or two. What am I going to do?! Good heavens. What is the world coming to?
TX2AA
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 3:05 a.m.
I picked up 2 growlers from Original Gravity in Milan. I'm prepared to be hunkered down.
stonecutter1
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:55 a.m.
I picked up two growlers from some guy in Detroit.
Paula Gardner
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 2:35 a.m.
Still chucking about beef jerky on the emergency stock-up list. I've never really thought of it as food.
Salinemary
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 2:25 a.m.
Bread, cheese and wine sounds like the right shopping list.
tim
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 2:21 a.m.
Don't forget those DVDs --- bored kid coming wednesday.
Forever27
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 2:39 p.m.
that or a board game, or a book. You could actually engage them in an activity rather than plop them in front of the tv for six hours.
FredMax
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 1:11 a.m.
Shivering in the dark eating beef jerky anyone? A gas generator and 10 gallons of gas pays for itself pretty quickly.
Ann English
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:55 a.m.
I shopped because I didn't want to do all my shopping on Thursday, and figured I couldn't count on shopping Wednesday afternoon any more than I could Tuesday. When I found myself in an unusually long line of cars waiting for the eastbound lights on Liberty at Stadium, I seriously thought people were flooding to the Greenback Dollar Store to stock up there. I went first for one of those recommended items by a columnist, namely vitamins. I did see the reports of a wintry mix around here two or three weeks ago as hype, after it didn't take place at all. But I never see snow forecasts like this as hype. Earlier in January, just before we got four inches of snow overnight, motorists on many main roads during the afternoon "rush" hour traveled just 4 to 6 miles per hour, crowded together. Not an ideal circumstance for going to a few stores after work
breadman
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:45 a.m.
No not really! I live on the back door to Aldi's, not 100% found of there food but it will do in a pinch bend thera and done that. Also not far from Krogers just pull a sled as we did in sachool days. Someone will be open!!! Worse storms before in the pass!!!!!!
Linda Peck
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:42 a.m.
I went shopping today and can confirm it was busy busy busy! Just people doing the prudent thing.