from today's news.

In the capital, government workers jostled with other residents in supermarket check-out lines, often 30-people long, to stock up on whatever staples were still available. Delivery trucks had trouble reaching many area supermarkets, leaving customers seeking cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables and even Diet Coke staring at empty shelves.
David Fiore, 49, an employee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, said he had gone to four stores looking for milk on Monday, with no success. By Tuesday morning, his local supermarket had restocked and he left with a 1 gallon (3 liters) of milk, more than he usually buys.

Like has been said. If you are having trouble starting ya need to hammer this home. My being prepared was nothing more than the outgrowth of how I grew up. I think the longest we ever went was 10-12 days without power. We also had no way of getting out due to all the trees brought down by the ice storm.