Western New York residents struggled to find food, medicine, and other essentials following a deadly blizzard that blanketed the area.
At least 27 people have died in Erie County, which includes Buffalo, where the two largest supermarket chains have been closed since Friday.
The "once-in-a-lifetime" storm closed roads, cut off electricity and forced the closure of many stores, including pharmacies.
It was unclear when major supermarkets in the area will reopen.
Scott McCandless, a 54-year-old resident in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, told NBC News that his Christmas dinner consisted of a bowl of generic cinnamon toast crunch.
"There are no stores open. It's whatever you can grab," McCandless told NBC News.
McCandless added that after his driveway was finally plowed at 9 a.m. Monday, he set out looking for open grocery stores as his food supply had dwindled.
"I drove 3 miles, then 5 miles in my car, and nothing was open," McCandless told NBC News. "I gave up."
A hotel less than 3 miles from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport was challenged to serve three meals a day to more than 80 guests.
"We are trying to survive as much as we can," said Leven Oxmaul, a front desk clerk at Salvatore's Garden Place Hotel, told NBC News.
"We are kind of running out of food. It's really frustrating. The guests as well are losing their patience. We can't go anywhere. We're buried in the snow."
Some Buffalo residents have taken to social media to seek assistance.
One person on a Facebook account dedicated to storm recovery asked for spare diapers for twin infants, another for cold medicine for a sick toddler, and multiple people requested baby formula.
"Running really low on food, been stuck in our house," one Buffalo resident wrote. "Slightly starting to panic when I looked outside and seen it snowing more."
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he hoped some of the Buffalo suburbs would be able to lift driving bans Tuesday. That would allow Tops Friendly Markets and Wegmans Food Markets to resume business.
Poloncarz said supermarkets have been allowed to get replacement shipments while officials were coordinating food transports to shelters, emergency responders, and people stuck inside who may be running out of food.
"That is a concern we are working on," Poloncarz said. "I do feel for the folks out there. You do have my deepest, deepest apologies."
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said about 10,000 people in the city remained without power on Monday afternoon, NBC News reported.
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