Philadelphians sweep grocery store shelves to stock up ahead of the snowstorm

At Aldi on Washington Ave. on Thursday, the bread section contained but a few crumbs. The vegetables and bagged lettuces were almost non-existent. At Sprouts on Broad Street on the same day, the fresh produce section has also been decimated. There were also no potatoes. “Did people come in and wipe out your potatoes?” I asked my cashier. “Yes. And you’re the third person to have just asked me that,” he said.

Perhaps even at home, this is the year of the baked potato.

Today and yesterday, I traversed the city on foot, from the Inquirer’s offices on Independence Mall to Point Breeze to peer into people’s baskets in grocery stores and inspect the stores’ shelves. I found that Philadelphians in these neighborhoods are clearly carb-loading, as there was nary a potato or loaf to be found, and that they were hitting the produce sections harder than any others. But unlike preparing for other disasters, it doesn’t seem like we’re in this for the long haul. And every store I checked had robustly stocked canned food aisles.

“When we see storms forecasted like this weekend, we see baking ingredients and items to make soups such as leeks and onions go quickly,” said Vincent Finazzo, 39, the owner of Riverswards Produce, with locations in Kensington and Old City. “Whole chickens and roasts get bought up, and we see big lifts on ice cream as well. And of course bread, milk, and eggs go quickly.”

The small Heirloom Market at the Gray’s Ferry Triangle on Thursday was well-stocked with produce, but there were none of their usually-abundant rotisserie chickens.

As I waited in line to purchase sour cream from South Square Market, the customers to either side of me had baskets filled with bread, sausage, bananas, and lettuce. The man in front of me bought the last bag of sidewalk salt and the line behind me emitted a collective groan. “We’ll have more tomorrow,” said the cashier, consoling everyone.

“On the wholesale side, we’re basically getting hit hard with all the essential stuff, you know, like the staples, the lettuce, tomato, and onions, for the weekend,” said Marcello Giordano, 52, of Giordano’s Garden Groceries, which supplies both Stephen Starr restaurants like Parc and Borromini to individual households. “People are just stocking up for the weekend. I actually got a deal on some rock salt, and we put it on the website. I got 2000 pounds of salt and I’m almost sold out already,” said Giordano.

His household customers, to whom he also delivers, have been stocking up on eggs, milk, and butter in particular. “And we’re going to be delivering Monday,” he assured me. “I’m bringing in eight ATVs from our farm in Hammonton on tractor trailers so that we can make deliveries in the city.”

The fresh tofu section today at Hung Vuong on Washington Ave. was also unusually empty, save for some economy-sized packs of firm tofu. But there’s lots of fresh produce, and people of all ethnicities are buying everything from bok choy to durian. Peering into people’s baskets, I spot lots of beef bones for stew, fresh meat and fish, cabbage, and just a few pantry items. Seems like everyone is making soup.

“Instead of buying too much, I’m making everyone eat what we have in the freezer,” said Rachel Street, 42, whose household is filled with hungry teenagers. “But I’m still getting meat for the men, rice, beans, coffee, milk and eggs – if the power fails we can leave them outside.” Her grocery list also included vegetables for homemade soup, hot chocolate and baking supplies – “We’re planning on making lots of treats.” And of course, breakfast supplies. “Sleeping in means making big continental breakfasts,” said Street.

I caught Roland Bui, 40, whose blended Mexican-Vietnamese family also includes kids who will be off from school, right before a run to H Mart. His grocery list included: rice, sour cream, chicken thighs, ready-made Korean stews, frozen dumplings, hot pot ingredients like noodles, fishballs, cabbage, wood ear mushrooms and hot pot broth base, and garnishes for pho. “I always have broth in the freezer.”

Anna Kereszi, 36 posted on her Facebook wall that she was “so excited” and asked, “What’s on everyone’s snow day menus? I’m thinking beef stew and chicken pot pie, and also chicken cutlets because why not?” Her posts received dozens of responses, some of which indicated that she had inspired others to also run out for ingredients to make beef stew, chicken pot pie, and chicken cutlets.

If your neighborhood restaurant closes due to the weather, consider purchasing a gift card from them to help them recover from a day or two of loss sales – such can be detrimental for small businesses.

Remember that essentials can also be purchased at restaurants. On Thursday, the Bread Room’s display case was teeming with artisanal loaves and unlike grocery stores, no apparent shortages.

Some restaurants are even running snow day specials, like Paffuto, which posted, “Pre-orders are OPEN until this Saturday 11am, for our snow day panzerotti boxes!
$50 for a box of 4 panzerotti (Plain, Pepperoni, Egg & Cheese, and Bacon Egg & Cheese) + 2 muffins (Chocolate Chip & Crumb) 🤤 Pickup between 2pm-5pm on Saturday. Includes reheat instructions so you can enjoy at home on Sunday.”

If you’re ordering delivery from any restaurant or local business, remember to tip your delivery person extra – especially if they dash through the snow and arrive at your house on a re-purposed ATV.