Cold temperatures have sent residents looking for preventative measures to keep their homes toasty and their water pipes intact, as well as food to keep their stomachs full and warm.

“We have most certainly seen an increase in sales in pipe wrap, heaters, wall heaters, electric heaters, faucet covers, spigot covers and heat tape,” said Skip Livingston, manager of Builders Station Ace Hardware Store on Roanoke Road in LaGrange. “Where we normally would sell maybe 5 or 10 units of expandable sealer and door weather strips, now we have probably sold about 50.”

To prepare for the prolonged colder temps, Livingston said he called his corporate headquarters to make sure there was an ample supply of these items that “would come in on our truck on Thursday.”

Richard Gordy, manager of Gordy’s Hardware on Vernon Road, said, “We really have not seen an increase as the cooler temperatures have only just hit us.

“There have been some scatterings of people coming in with pipes that are frozen and busted, but not that many yet.”

Gordy offered advice for residents.

“I would just encourage everyone to keep everything warm,” he said. “If you don’t have a heater in your basement, get a heat lamp, and make sure that your dogs have a heat lamp or a way to keep warm if you keep them outdoors.”

The unseasonably cold weather also has residents thinking of their stomachs and their hearths. Over the last few days, grocery stores have seen an in-crease in sales of both staples and comfort food items like soups and chilis.

Manager Andy Scott at Givorn’s grocery store in West Point said fire-starter logs were sold out, and firewood is selling well.

“It’s something we just started offering a couple of weeks ago,” Scott said of the wood. “I have another shipment coming in soon. I try to keep an eye on things so I can reorder.”

The cold also increased sales of soups and bread, and “the chili mix is sold out,” he said Tuesday.

Sales of cold items - such as milk - have remained steady.

“Bread and water, I guess that’s all you need,” he said.

At the Piggly Wiggly in Hogansville, however, milk and bread are big sellers.

“We’ve been putting the soup and crackers up front,” manager Mark Dowdell said.

But the store has seen only a slight increase in customers, despite a chance of snow Thursday.

“We’re usually pretty busy this time of the month anyway,” he said.

Joan Whitaker, manager of the Kroger on Commerce Avenue in LaGrange, said cold weather always brings an increase in the sales of staples like bread and milk.

“Customers also buy more ground beef because they’ll be making chili and soup,” she said.

Kroger also has a small supply of firewood on hand.

“People have those outdoor firepits, and for outdoor events. So they can have some heat outside,” Whitaker said.

As if the cold snap isn’t problem enough, the National Weather Service was predicting a 60 percent chance of snow for Troup County on Thursday.

One veteran manager said today should see a large increase in shoppers, but stores are more prepared than in previous years.

“It used to be if they shouted, ‘snow,’ bread and milk would be sold out before you could make up your next order,” the manager said.