Recent storms that brought feet of snow to the mountain passes have been great for ski areas but not so much for grocery store shelves that rely on daily deliveries of fresh meat and produce.

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Photos shared on social media over the weekend showed bare shelves in Bend grocery stores after delayed deliveries. Empty banana displays, cleared-out yogurt shelves and vegetable bins picked to the bare bones made the rounds on Facebook and X.

“Unfortunately, inclement weather has impacted deliveries this week,” Jill McGinnis, a spokesperson for Safeway and Albertsons, said Monday. “We are working hard to restock our shelves. We are expecting deliveries to be back on schedule as soon as today.”

Laura Peachey, a customer service representative at Aloha Produce, said the winter weather slowed down food deliveries to restaurants over the weekend.

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“The weather made our deliveries later than normal,” she said. “Trucks were not starting because they were freezing; they were getting off our dock late.”

Road conditions also delayed deliveries, she said.

“Drivers had to go slower than normal and chain up. We did our normal thing, just at a slower speed.”

Not all stores were impacted equally, with some hit hard and others barely missing a beat. Large chains appeared to feel the impacts more deeply than smaller, independent retailers.

At Newport Avenue Market on Bend’s west side, Chief Executive Officer Lauren Johnson said her store has a variety of produce sources and has weathered the storm without shortages.

“We have been able to stay in stock a lot better than some of our competitors,” she said. “We have been in pretty good shape.”

Johnson said she also saw the social media posts of empty shelves and was surprised by the shortages.

“Man, I wish they would have come to us; we were fully stocked.”

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At Local Acres Marketplace in Bend, Store Manager Aaron Price likewise said his store had few problems in terms of stocking shelves.

“We are good. We had all our deliveries. Nothing was missed,” said Price.

Price said he was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the deliveries and had advised customers ahead of time that trucks might not show up. The store was busy on Thursday and Friday as shoppers braced themselves for the winter onslaught and possible supply disruptions.

In the end, the trucks arrived, albeit just a little late.

“We got all of them,” said Price.

Trucks that deliver to Local Acres come from Portland on U.S. Highway 26, which passes Mount Hood, where around 17 inches of snow fell over the weekend.

On Saturday the Oregon Department of Transportation warned drivers to stay off the roads and posted photos of tall snow banks and downed trees.

Grocery stores were not the only businesses to be impacted by the weather. Hoodoo Ski Area shut down on Sunday due to freezing rain and road closures, according to its website. Many retail outlets closed early on Saturday so employees could get home safely. On Monday, Cascade Disposal suspended all its trash pickup services due to icy conditions.

The snow levels, sub-zero temperatures and warnings did keep most shoppers away from grocery stores and highways as the storm progressed on Saturday, said Price.

“Once the storm got here, it was much slower than normal,” he said. “People stayed home and off the roads.”