Ben & Jerry's, birthday cakes, and boxed wine: People are stocking up on comfort food and alcohol in anticipation of a divisive election night

• The New York Times reporter Kevin Roose took to Twitter to share a photo of a nearly bare Ben & Jerry's freezer at his local grocery store on Monday.
• People responded with similar stories of seeing empty ice cream shelves and long lines at liquor stores leading up to election night.
• Others joined the conversation by sharing their comfort foods and drinks of choice.
• Liquor stores in Manhattan and Chicago told Insider that they've seen an increase in customers this week.

On Monday night, Kevin Roose, a technology reporter at The New York Times, shared a photo of a nearly bare Ben & Jerry's section at his grocery store. He captioned the Twitter photo, "Anxiety index: the entire Ben and Jerry's freezer at the grocery store is empty."

His post prompted a flood of responses from Twitter users. Some said they've seen the same at their own local grocery stores, while others showed off their own personal stockpiles of the beloved ice-cream brand.

And it's not just a run on ice-cream. Twitter users also replied to Roose saying that they've seen other sections of stores emptying out as well.

One person said the Aldi near them was almost as empty as they'd seen it earlier in the pandemic when shoppers around the country were reporting shortages of canned goods and household items.

In addition to comfort food to help cope with the stress they're feeling about the presidential election, many say they're stocking up on alcohol as well.

One user said they'd seen an unusually long line this afternoon outside their local liquor store.

Liquor stores confirm to Insider they saw an uptick in business ahead of Election Day

The Wine Hut in Manhattan's West Village and a Binny's liquor store in Downtown Chicago both told Insider that they've seen an increase in sales throughout the past week. A representative of The Wine Hut said he has seen a significant increase in customers over the past two to three days, while a Binny's employee said he had noticed an uptick of in-store traffic for the past week.

The long lines and rush on essential items are reminiscent of the empty grocery shelves we saw across the country back in March and April when Americans prepped to remain indoors for quarantine and stay-at-home orders.

• Read more:
• 13 long-lasting fruits and vegetables you can stock up on that aren't canned or frozen
• I'm a food reporter and these are the pantry staples that have gotten me through 2020 so far
• 19 baking fails to make you feel better about your kitchen skills
• Disney World restaurants appeared to suddenly increase their indoor dining capacity, but representatives say it was just a technical issue with online reservations