EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Aside from the snow cleanup, one of the multiple effects from the Blizzard of ’26 was how local businesses were impacted.
Munroe Dairy, a business in East Providence that delivers fresh milk to customers all over the state, says being unable to make deliveries for two days resulted in a $140,000 loss.
The late February blizzard brought about three feet of snow to Rhode Island, breaking records previously set by the Blizzard of ’78 in multiple areas of the Ocean State.
READ MORE: Blizzard of ’26 breaks snowfall record in Providence
Armin Maroto, Munroe Dairy’s sales manager, said he was monitoring forecasts leading up to the storm to properly prepare, but the delivery schedule was impacted when the poor conditions spanned multiple days.
“When a storm is one day, we cancel, we’ll make it up on Saturday or Sunday to cover that day,” Maroto told 12 News. “But when it’s two days? We can’t cover two days.”
Once Munroe Dairy’s delivery truck got back on the road, Maroto said, the message to drivers was to only make a delivery if it was safe to do so.
Maroto says this isn’t the first time a winter storm has caused Munroe Dairy to take a hit, telling 12 News the company — which has been around since 1881, according to its website — suffered worse losses during the Blizzard of ’78.
“We consider ourselves Munroe Dairy strong, so we can recover from it,” Maroto said. “But it will take some time.”
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