FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Before winter storms roll in, people often head to the grocery store to stock up before hunkering down. If it’s expected to be really bad, you might see stores cleared out of milk and bread – but why?
Milk spoils if not refrigerated and bread can mold or harden within a few days.
Accuweather reports the idea of buying milk and bread before a winter storm dates back to the Great Blizzard of 1978, which hit New England. People were trapped in their homes for days without those staple products.
University of Georgia psychology professor Dr. Janet Frick told Forbes in 2017 that people are not always logical or rational when facing a dangerous event, or when they weigh the risks.
“So apparently where weather is concerned, we are not terribly worried about getting struck by lightning, but we are terrified of the idea of having to make a meal from items in our pantry that doesn’t include bread and milk,” Dr. Frick said.
“The thought to get milk before a storm is followed by the action or compulsion to go out and stockpile it. In one way or another, we spend a lot of time and energy trying to feel in control, and buying things you might throw out still gives the person a sense of control in an uncontrollable situation,” said Lisa Brateman, a psychologist who spoke with How Stuff Works in 2012.
Instead of buying foods such as milk and bread that are perishable, Ready.gov suggests buying these items before storms:
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables and a can opener
- Protein or fruit bars
- Dry cereal or granola
- Peanut butter
- Dried fruit
- Canned juices
- Non-perishable pasteurized milk
- High-energy foods
- Food for infants
- Comfort/stress foods
- Plenty of water
Brutally cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills stayed put across much of the U.S. Monday, promising the coldest temperatures ever for Iowa’s presidential nominating contest, holding up travelers, and testing the mettle of NFL fans in Buffalo for a playoff game that was delayed a day by wind-whipped snow.
About 150 million Americans were under a windchill warning or advisory for dangerous cold and wind, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, as an Arctic air mass spilled south and eastward across the U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.