In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irma, Quality Foods in Cornelia was the only grocery store in the county that was open for business.
I myself found my household in a minor crisis after Irma bashed her way through the county. I thought I had stocked up on plenty of supplies for my 11-month-old son and family, but with it being my first time in an outage as a mom I found myself ill-prepared.
So there I was on September 12, scoping out every inch of the county looking for somewhere to buy extra food and supplies. I found nothing. Clarkesville Ingles was closed due to no power. Cornelia Ingles had immense damage and was closed and Walmart had no power, as well. Drained, lost and looking for a grocery store angel I pulled over to Quality Foods. Bingo. They were open! In the midst of all the outages and chaos, there was one place I could go to get supplies for my family.
Now I must admit, I hadn’t been to a Quality Foods store since I was sixteen, so I was a little rusty. I spent two hours going over every inch of the store. It was obvious the store had seen a lot of customers since they’d opened at 10:30 that morning. But I didn’t care, I was just happy to be there. I finally arrived at the checkout and I thanked the cashier for being there to ring me up. She smiled and we carried on for a minute about our kids and the storm. I got more than supplies that day, I got a strong sense of community.
I appreciate the linemen, police, doctors, nurses, fireman, road crews and others who helped get us through Irma, but I also appreciate the good Samaritans. I thank the manager of Quality Foods for taking a chance and opening the store. I thank all the cashiers who drove through bad weather to get there. I respect that these people don’t ask to be thanked or applauded for doing their job, but it meant a lot to me and many others to be able to get the things our families needed.
So, thank you Quality Foods, for being there in a time of crisis with open arms and open doors.
By: Skye Moore
