Ryan,
In reading the first few lines of your story, I remembered a real situation that you may be able to use for inspiration. I was living in Long Beach during the 1991 LA riots. We woke early in the morning to hear the news of riots. It was a Saturday morning. We talked to our neighbors and decided to go to the store early. At 7:00 Am the stores were picked clean. The people were standing in lines all the way down the isles to the back of the store. the shelves were cleared and people were buying things that they didn't need just because the items were the last things on the shelves... Weird how fast things go to hell, supplies run out in hours, not days.
From, Sapphire Dad