A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow to Arkansas soon, and this has had many families headed out to grocery stores an foodbanks in the area.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow to parts of the Natural State soon, while others will see significant sleet and freezing rain.
Arkansas families have been preparing for days in advance of this developing storm.
There have also been hundreds of shoppers stocking up on supplies, like Maumelle residents Todd and Lisa.
“I do have the milk, bread, and eggs. I have lots of chicken in here and produce. This was just a full grocery shop basically,” Lisa described.
Store employees have also been racing to keep shelves full.
“We’ve got bread and milk coming. The issue is getting to the shelves as quickly as we can,” said Mashawn James, who is the manager of the Kroger in Maumelle.
As a winter storm approaches, grocery stores have all been busy preparing for the rush of shoppers.
“[We’re] moving staffing from Saturday to Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the weather. We’re hoping for large quantities of product coming in and really pushing our teams to come in early to help the store rebuild after busy days,” James said.
Customers Todd and Lisa also shared that they live on top of a hill and would rather be prepared.
“The surface streets all get cleared, and our hill will get sanded but not cleared if it snows. That’s okay. Four-wheel drive can handle it most of the time. If it’s ice, I don’t want to risk it because there are too many people parked on the street,” added Lisa.
The Arkansas Food Bank in Little Rock is also ready to help anyone in need.
Kate Jenkins with the food bank said they normally push out 60 pallets a day, but they’re doubling that with the weather coming to make sure everyone has what they need, even though the demand is higher with this winter storm.
“With the government shut down that impacted a lot of families in our service area and a lot of people still struggling to catch up from the holidays, combine that with January being a tough month for families, utilities are higher, and add in snow projected to come to us people can’t afford to miss work, can’t afford the higher utilities that come with snow so we’re doing everything we can to make sure families are getting continual services,” Jenkins described.
For more information on the Arkansas Foodbank, please click here.
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