Threat of snow in Kansas, grocery stores are packed.....what is the deal.....

[KansasVoter]

And I am talking in the middle of the suburbs. Not on a farm. People have jammed up the grocery stores. You would think this was the end of the world as we know it.
I can understand getting drugs you need, etc. But who doesn't have 3-5 days of food on hand at any one time?
Maybe my family is different, but we could eat two weeks of stuff in the freezer/cupboard.

[cutlassmama]

1. SHTF?

[greymattermom]

2. Leawood

I live near you??? Just had to stock up on wine. We'll eat the weekend's chili for a few days.

[KansasVoter]

5. Wine is UNDERSTAND! :-)

[MissDeeds]

34. We stocked up on wine, too

Unfortunately, my husband forgot to get brandy. We live not far from KC and heard there may be power outages, so we stocked up on food items that don't require cooking. I've got candles, blankets and kerosene lamps standing by.

:toast:

[cbdo2007]

35. Don't worry, Katie Horner is only predicting 17 feet of snow at this time.

ha ha ha ha, she's crazy. This is when she gets to think she's a rock star.

[66 dmhlt]

42. Blue Springs checking in ... Split-Pea Soup Time!

I got a HUGE leftover full Honey Baked Ham bone with at least 8 cups of diced meat left on it that I've thawed out, plus six bags of dried-split peas, 5 pounds of carrots, a full head of Pascal celery, a few onions, thyme, ginger (not tried it before, but "Cook's Illustrated" recommends it) ... so tomorrow, while ensconced in my domicile as the blizzard blows, I'm doing a stockpot of Split-Pea Soup.

Not a big wine connoisseur, but I've replenished my cache of Templeton Rye - so Manhattans are also on my menu.

[seabeyond]

3. mine too. all the way in the panhandle of texas. but but but .... i always shop monday for five

dinners. lol

why were you there

and i dont have a day or two.... meal. i have stuff. but not "stuff" for a whole meal.

[MorningGlow]

4. I don't understand that either

We get snowstorms all the time, but we don't rush out and stock up on bread and milk whenever one is imminent. Come to think of it, maybe it's BECAUSE we get snowstorms all the time. We don't have tons of food on hand at all times, but we've got some stuff in the freezer, and we're always able to get out and to a store (efficient plows, power that rarely goes out). :shrug:

[DCKit]

8. It's always milk, bread and TP here in DC. Bizarre. nt

[DURHAM D]

13. Same here in NC.

I refer to them as "THE WHITE LIST" shoppers.

I didn't grow up here and have always thought it funny.

[RamboLiberal]

16. And here we thought it was just a Pittsburgh thing

Yep, bread, milk & TP.

[Glimmer of Hope]

31. When I moved from KC to DC I found the pre-snow hoarding really

bizarre. And the umbrellas..

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I went to the store yesterday and it was packed

I refuse to freak out because our weather guys are wrong more than they are right. They sure missed the ice storm forecast. We got very little ice.

[Ikonoklast]

7. Perishable items will become scarce, quickly.

You are looking at at least a seven-to-ten day interruption in the supply chain.

Bag of rice, some dried beans, flour, powdered milk, and I won't eat like a king, but I don't starve, either.

[KansasVoter]

9. So true.

[fishwax]

10. a variety of reasons, I think, including some psychological reasons

I went to the store today, but I was planning on going even if we didn't have a "potentially historic storm" bearing down on us. The store was far busier than usual for the time that I went, and most of the shoppers were buying pretty full cartloads.

I'm sure that some of them may come from the outlying areas, and it might be difficult for them to get into town for the next few days. But people in that situation wouldn't account, I don't think, for the increase in traffic at the store.

Then, too, people with food at home might need to buy foodstuffs that they could actually prepare and/or eat in the event that the power is out and they can't use the oven, stove, microwave, etc.

I think there's a psychological thing going on, though, in the sense that going to the store to stock up helps one to prepare for a much-worse than expected scenario, and also helps one to feel they're doing something concrete to prepare for something that is entirely beyond their control. And even if you have enough food at home to get through the three days where travel will likely be inconvenient, it can be nice to get specific things (comfort food, or whatever) that will make it easier to be house bound for a few days.

I always like going to the store before a storm--not just for the reasons above, but also because it takes me back to doing the same thing as a kid, when we lived in the country and a storm might mean we were snowed in for a week or more. :)

[Voice for Peace]

11. the greatest mystery to me is all the snow shovels people buy

as if every new storm needs its own shovel, and I wonder how many snow shovels people have in their garages?

[KansasVoter]

12. Good point, I have had mine 10 years.

[TorchTheWitch]

32. they break, get stolen and some just suck

I bought another one today because I absolutely HATE mine... useless piece of crap. Last year my neighbor borrowed my cheapo plastic lightweight shovel and broke it accidentally, so he bought me a new one... expensive hightech thing that I'm going to give to him as a gift and let him suffer with it. It weighs twice as much as my cheapo plastic shovel+snow without any snow in it at all, so when you get a shovelfull with the expensive hightech shovel good luck being able to heft it (my back and arm are still killing me after the last storm and it took me twice as long to shovel than it normally would have because using it was such a problem and so exhausting). The expensive hightech shovel has a back end that forms a huge scoop which means it's totally useless for getting into tight areas especially underneath the car. It also gets stuck on every little dimple of pavement a hair higher than utterly flat so you can't just shove and scoop but have to kick it along constantly to get it to move at all. Worst damn snow shovel ever invented though it looks all hightech and pretty... a pox on it.

So today I bought myself another cheapo lightweight plastic shovel at the grocery store just like my last one that was versatile, simple to use and should last me another 8 or 10 years. And I'll be hiding it in the basement so it doesn't get borrowed again without my permission, broken and replaced with some expensive hightech heavy piece of shit useless shovel that just looks fancy and pretty.

I've never lived anywhere that had a garage and for the first time actually live in a house with a basement that's all my own though it's hardly the first time I lived anywhere where shoveling snow wasn't necessary. Though in my 40's for the first time living on my own I also have a yard all my own. How many people do you think that need to shovel snow have their own garage to keep it in much less a whole gaggle of shovels and various tools? It's hard enough for apartment dwellers to find space for a vacuum cleaner much much less shovels and other tools though we still need to use them. Without a convenient place to keep a shovel they get stolen, lost, thrown out to make room for something more important, etc., and if you're lucky enough to find space for one snow shovel good luck finding space for shovels for everyone in the home capable and needed for shoveling.

[WCIL]

14. I think part of it may be having the kids home from school

You don't plan on them for lunch, and suddenly they may be home for the rest of the week. My kids were milk drinkers, and I would need more than we usually kept if there was a possibility that they would be home.

[Earth_First]

15. I'm going to head out this evening for a few creature comforts...

I just did our grocery shopping for the week, but I am going to head out for a few comfort items for the girls.

I work in snow removal, and I may be gone for 40 hours at a stretch during snow dumps like this; so I like the peace of mind that my wife and daughter are supplied so they do not need to hit the roads barring a medical emergency...

[REP]

17. Because long power outages are not uncommon with heavy snows/ice storms

I remember driving on Wornall at Brush Creek during heavy snows and having cars sliding down the hill at me. Even though people are used to driving in snow and ice there, it's best to avoid all of it you can (plus the salt is hell on cars). Also, the power goes out long enough that getting extra canned/frozen isn't a horrible idea.

[spanone]

18. happens every time they predict snow here in tennessee

we joke that kroger sends out false weather warnings...

[malaise]

28. It's great business for the economy

and the people they have to hire but it's not so good for people who weren't planning to spend so much on groceries and comfort food.

[hedgehog]

19. You didn't mention the two B's : beer and batteries!

[KansasVoter]

25. The beer I understand! Lasts longer than milk!

[davsand]

20. The Weather Channel has been screaming "PANIC!!!!" and people are responding.

When news coverage talks about it as "the storm of the century" people pay attention. When they talk about ICE that lends another level of panic. I grew up (and still live) in a rural area, and when we get hard weather it literally could mean that we could be without power for a few days and be unable to drive the miles to a grocery store. You get used to it, but it does mean that you learn to treat snow days as a sort of "found" holiday. I lay in supplies to bake goodies, or make honest to gosh grandma style meals that tend to get lost in the regular rush of weekday meal scrambles. My family complains a whole lot less when they get goodies like fresh baked cinnamon rolls or when I bake bread...

We are forecast for 8-15 inches of snow along with about a quarter inch of ice. Winds are supposed to hit 30+ miles per hour on Wed which is gonna move that snow around and probably mess with power lines. YMMV, but I do lay in supplies when that much snow and ice are coming in.



Laura

[donheld]

21. Yes, I think your family is different.

[KansasVoter]

24. The more I read the more I think you are different.

[donheld]

29. Why the need for insults?

there are many who cannot afford to keep too much in whatever pantry they have. That's how I grew up, and now with times being hard, I'm sure many are in the same or worse conditions.

[SoCalDem]

22. The squirrel part of brains get stimulated when bad weather is predicted

normally same people get freaked out and just have to buy ALL the bread, batteries, milk, toilet paper, candles their house will hold

:)

[fascisthunter]

23. because they are stupid

we up here in Mass see the same shit.

[Bluebear]

26. 'But who doesn't have 3-5 days of food on hand at any one time?' - Me.

[slackmaster]

37. I have an aunt in Kansas who keeps about a year's supply of food on hand at all times.

She grew up poor, during the Great Depression. Her family faced actual starvation.

I made mild fun of the fact that she had five GALLONS of ketchup on hand once. Her husband (my uncle) chewed me out pretty well for that. I deserved it.

He passed away several years ago. I call my aunt about once a year, when I'm getting ready to can tomato sauce. She still grows vegetables and cans stuff every year.

BTW, she's not a Mormon. She's half Cherokee and was raised Lutheran.

[northernlights]

27. everybody knows you can't eat old food in a major storm

it has to be brand new food. Preferably french toast (or freedom toast as the freepers like to say) made with fresh ingredients.Major storms also require brand new candles. Used candles just aren't up to the job. Otherwise it wouldn't be a major storm, it would just be another storm.

[Curmudgeoness]

30. Happens every time. Hurricanes, snow storms, floods.

Doesn't matter what it is. A very good reason to have necessities at the house before this.

I remember an old woman neighbor who was freaking out because a snow storm was coming and she only had one roll of toilet paper left, and the store would not deliver a pack of toilet paper to her. She wanted my mother to run to the store for her. My wise mother told her if she needed more, we had enough to give her some. Now we live in town and snow storms may inconvenience us for a whole day at the most. (And really, in case of dire need, what is wrong with just using a rag that you can rinse out and wash later. Jeez.)

[KatyaR]

33. I think a lot of us want "special" things for snow days.

I know I always want something special if I know I get to be home. Plus, you never know these days, these storms seem to have minds of their own, it can get bad really fast.

[bluestate10]

36. You mean the red staters can't take their guns and go hunting on the

snow covered tundra of Kansas for game? Geez, are they weenies? Why fight like hell to have guns when you run to grocery stores to stock up for a week instead of sitting slitty eyed in some frozen deer blind? Demand that gun owners turn their guns in for being weenies. :-)

[SayitAintSo]

38. Hey that sounds like good ol' SC with a snow flurry....LOL

[Ilsa]

39. Those of us with kids like having stuff they are found of, so it's a good time to

Stock up, cook some special meals, make everyone feel good. I won't get snow, but it'll be very cold here, relative to normal winter weather. There's a possibility that school will be cancelled for one day and I like having their favorites on hand to offset cabin fever.

[southernyankeebelle]

40. Its just a physco thing people get into. Candles batteries food and heat. Then

you pray the electric doesn't go out and you can get to work.

[elana i am]

41. yeah but

here in kc we don't usually get more than 6 inches at a time. and huge power outages are rare. they're talking about 14 inches + this time and 40 MPH winds and lots of power outages. i think the last time we got more than 12 inches was probably at least 20 years ago.

and i'm single and don't cook so i only shop for a couple days at a time so i was one of the horde today.