Got the answer in our neck of the woods in 2007, an ice storm crippled the State and the shelves in the city were empty in three days. Trucks couldn't get in because of the roads so people hit the stores like it was the end of the world. We got the last loaf of bread at Walmart. It was truly an eye opener.
I always remember this clip from the series “Connections” about the technology trap, and how people would cope, and this was over 30 years ago, it’s even worse today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6H-w9Rm46o&feature=related
We had the same thing happen to us in central Oklahoma a few years ago. I recently retired to a semi-rural area and a few weeks ago purchased a 10kw generator and had an electrician install a transfer switch. This spring we will be drilling a water well and building a greenhouse. I have been looking at aquaponics and hydroponics. And here I was wondering what I was going to do when I retired.