As Hurricane Earl continues its journey towards New England, East Coast residents have been flocking to grocery stores in preparation.

Stores are working around the clock to keep the shelves stocked.  However, the items that top the list of "essential buys" are rather unusual.

Wal-Mart has found that besides the usual survival gear - flashlights and batteries - storm shoppers have an affinity for strawberry Pop-Tarts.   

"Wal-Mart knows that people eat more things like Pop-Tarts - easy-to-store, non-perishable items - and that they sell a lot of kids' games that do not require electricity and can substitute for TV," Thomas L. Friedman wrote in his book The World is Flat.
    
Wal-Mart representatives say the boxed pastries sell seven times their normal rate during pre-hurricane shopping.