California in crisis: a monster snowfall brought down the roof of a grocery store, people are struggling to find food

A grocery store in a small California town was put out of action last week when the San Bernardino mountains were covered in snow, but Goodwin and Son Market in Crestline still found a way to help the community eat.

“We’re the only grocery store in town that’s been around for 77 years,” said Mike Johnston, vice president of marketplace, according to KTLA.

This meant that with its roof collapsed and impassable roads restricted the movement of the city’s residents, there was nowhere else to go for food. State officials said the roads could become impassable within a week or two. California has declared a state of emergency due to blocked roads.

The roof of a grocery store in Crestline, California collapsed on all groceries and groceries inside due to heavy snowfall due to winter storms hitting the area. pic.twitter.com/mN5Izh1WZt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 2, 2023

The story of how the market and the city recovered begins with a Facebook post from the store reporting the bad news.

“Despite our best efforts to remove snow from our roof during this historic storm, the extra 2-foot snow load from yesterday’s overnight storm was too much for it. The corner of the roof was patched up before 4:00 a.m. when Mike Johnston and two employees were in the store.

“They evacuated and immediately called the fire department and building inspection. By late morning, when the building inspector was outside with David Goodwin and Mike Johnston, the remainder of the roof had collapsed,” the report said.

The entire roof of a grocery store in Crestline, California collapsed under the weight of snow. Fortunately, no one was inside the store when the roof collapsed at dawn on Wednesday. (REUTERS) pic.twitter.com/1xoYMWsoFO

— Voice of America (@VOANews) March 3, 2023

Then came the promise.

“While we cannot help serve the community at this time, we will NOT let you down,” the post reads.

In a subsequent Facebook post, the store warned against any attempt to access the store to get food.

“We need to make it clear that it is absolutely unsafe to access food in a store at this time. It is currently PLACED RED. We would love more than anything to distribute food, but we are currently waiting for a civil engineer and serviceman who are heading up the mountain this morning to meet us,” the post reads.

Then the store gave a little advice.

It’s crazy in Crestline, Gregory, Blue Jay and Arrowhead! We were called to Newsom’s office to help. The elderly and others are stuck without food, residents are working together to help themselves. The owner of Goodwin’s distributes food after the roof collapsed at his grocery store. pic.twitter.com/FzIuLLEMo9

— Dann (@countrygal33oc) March 4, 2023

“Check your neighbor! If everyone only checks on one neighbor, we can take care of each other. Make sure your gas meters are open and clear of snow. Offer to help your neighbor too,” the message says.

But the sunlight followed the shadow.

“We received food donations this afternoon from several agencies and the San Bernardino Donation Center,” the Facebook post read, noting that the food distribution will take place on Saturday.

This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.

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