THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120518
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
If you've been grocery shopping lately, you might have noticed a few bread crumbs on the shelves, but no bread.
The Blizzard of '96 delayed delivery trucks throughout the East, preventing supermarkets from immediately replenishing their inventories. Storm-wary customers put extra stress on grocers by rushing into stores and gobbling up staple items like eggs, milk and bread.
``The storm just puts a strain on everybody's resources,'' said Chris Ahearn, a spokeswoman for Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion Inc. ``That goes for us and everyone who supplies our stores.''
Food Lion trucks are behind schedule in many areas, and another storm threatening the East could cause even more problems, Ahearn said. The same apparently goes for Farm Fresh's wholesale food distributor, Richfood Holdings Inc. of Richmond.
The shortages are largely unavoidable. Grocery suppliers along the storm's path couldn't ship everything from soft drinks to chicken breasts to Richfood or other distribution points.
``Anything from the North isn't here,'' said Dawn Martin, assistant manager of Norfolk's Gene Walter's Marketplace, which is owned by Farm Fresh Inc.
Even grocery stores that have the basics - milk, bread and meats - might not have much variety. For example, milk for lactose-intolerant people or that special seven-grain bread might not be on the shelves.
Transportation problems weren't entirely to blame for the food shortages. It was shoppers, fearing the worst, who swamped local supermarkets and nearly wiped out inventories of certain products.
``It's not an issue of supply,'' said Keith Alessi, vice chairman of Norfolk-based Farm Fresh. ``People are overreacting and buying more.''
At the Hannaford Food and Drug Superstore in Virginia Beach, milk and bread supplies were temporarily depleted after customers stampeded through the supermarket. Other products in demand included salt and kitty litter (which works to give purchase on slick sidewalks, too).
``You can't stock up enough on the key items to withstand double the volume in business, which happened Friday and Saturday,'' said Doug Poirier, one of the Hannaford store managers.
With another storm poised to dump snow, sleet and rain across the East, Poirier was preparing for another rush on the store.
``We're expecting it,'' he said. ``This time, we're adding on some help. We've stocked up on some extra items so we won't inconvenience the customer again.''
KEYWORDS: STORM WEATHER by CNB