Grocery stores and markets around Lansing are dealing with this week’s snowstorm and working around the clock to meet community members’ demands.
Stores saw a surge of customers on Tuesday evening preparing for the snow. Todd Couzzien works in the meat department at Fresh Thyme Market in East Lansing and said people slammed the store early. Once the storm hit, traffic at the store slowed dramatically. Todd said that some of the most bought items at the store included meat and chicken. Other stores experienced the same type of traffic.
Gordon Food Service in Okemos, Michigan, experienced the same wave of people before the storm. Dennis Goossens is manager at Gordon Food Service and said they received a high number of customers before the storm and were able to meet all their demands without running out of anything. Goossens also said that the store was very slow during the storm, saying, “We probably could have stayed closed”.
Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet in Lansing used the storm to attract business. On Tuesday, the bakery posted on Facebook and said, “Grocery stores might not have bread right now, but we do,” encouraging customers to visit their bakery before the storm hit. The bakery then closed on Wednesday and Thursday because of the snow.
Shoppers have also had their own struggles.
Rawan Essa is a student at Michigan State University and shopped Tuesday to prepare for the storm. Rawan went to Meijer in South Lansing and said there were empty shelves throughout the store. She also said store employees were stocking the shelves quickly to meet customer demand.
Now that the storm has passed, grocery stores around Lansing will look to stock their shelves and continue to serve the community.