NWT - Three grocery stores in the NWT have stocked up on food and merchandise to last through break-up season, the four to five weeks between the closure of the ice crossings and the opening of the ferries.

Les Walford, general manager of Fort Simpson's Northern Store, sits amid his larger-than-normal stock in the store's backroom. It is the time to prepare for breakup. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

While some customers will stock up on necessary items themselves, others will take the reduced selection in stride.

But all three grocery stores say they're prepared.

With the closure of the ice crossing on the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence, the manager of the Northern Store in Behchoko, David Bown, said its stored the heavier stuff, such as the canned goods, and bulk items in the warehouse.

"We just brought in extra stock. It's all stacked up in the back. We have a warehouse area and we just piled it in the warehouse," he said. "We're planning for four weeks. Each year, we look at four weeks."

The bread, milk and produce will come by air shuttle from Fort Providence. The shuttle at the Mackenzie River, where the merchandise from trucks is transported by helicopter across the river, also serves the community of Fort Simpson.

The Northern Store in Fort Simpson has three to four weeks worth of merchandise stored in its warehouse, said manager Les Walford.

"We just bring in enough product beforehand. Anything that's a seller, we try to bring in as much as we can to cover the period of time," he said.

Above the Arctic Circle, the Northern Store in Fort McPherson is also gearing up for break up season It has about four weeks worth of merchandise stocked up in their warehouse spaces, Alonzo Ellis, the district manager for the North West Company said from Winnipeg.

"We stock up for the whole period. We do fly in the milk and the produce - all the perishable goods are all flown in," he said.

The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk ice road closed for the season on April 20, leaving one truck destined for Stanton's grocery in Tuk, stuck in Inuvik.

"I was hoping to get one more yesterday but it got cancelled. What I had to come up by truck yesterday is going to be flow in," said manager Marius Driscoll. "We're doing good. We had very good stock in. It's just one truck that we never got."

He added it will likely take a couple of plane loads to get the merchandise to the store.