The media keeps mentioning it. You read about it online. Even your neighbours are doing it! Purchasing survival food is an increasingly popular trend. But what is all the fuss about? Why are people suddenly beginning to purchase survival food? No one is predicting an imminent apocalypse. Why is having survival food handy suddenly a popular trend?

 

Survival Food Is Smart

 
The survival food trend boils down to one key factor – purchasing survival food is smart. You have car insurance incase your car is stolen or you have a fender-bender. You have homeowner’s insurance incase something should happen to your house. In fact, you probably have a multitude of insurance plans that cover a wide range of risk situations. It’s smart to be prepared. However, people often neglect to think about the food in the cupboard.

 

Why Survival Food?

 
What would happen if there were a bad storm or a family member suddenly lost a job? Although these are very real risk factors, they are often overlooked. You have a flashlight incase the power goes out, and an umbrella incase it rains. Survival food is very similar – it is a “just incase” commodity that helps you sleep a little better at night.

 

So, now you know why survival food is a smart investment, but you may be left wondering, what is survival food?

 

What Is Survival Food?

 
The term survival food is loosely defined. For some people, survival food simply means bulk groceries. Maybe you have some boxes of dried grains and canned goods that live in the basement. Yes, this is considered survival food. Store bought goods are a great option for beginners. However, there are quite a few drawbacks to this type of food storage. While intact grains and canned goods last longer than fresh produce, they still typically expire after a year or two. Therefore, store bought survival food storage must be rotated and replenished frequently. This makes for a time consuming and costly method of food storage.

 

So What Are The Other Alternatives?

 
If rotation, replenishing, and costly solutions aren’t for you, there is another alternative – professionally manufactured survival food. Professionally manufactured survival food, such as Mountain House, lasts up to 25 years and has been tested over 45 years. Yes, it really lasts that long! How? Professionally prepared survival food is freeze-dried. Sound strange? Believe it or not, you probably had freeze-dried food today. Many cereals, coffees, snack bars, and other processed food items contain an element of freeze dried food. How do you think the berries in your cereal box survived so nicely alongside the flakes? Freeze dried food isn’t just for astronauts. It is showing up on store shelves more and more, due to its easy and practical method of longevity. Companies like Mountain House freeze dry food in bulk, so you can purchase it, store it, and forget about it. If and when you require your survival food, all you have to do is simply add water.

 

Freeze Dried Survival Food Comes In Many Shapes And Forms

 
So what kind of freeze-dried survival food should your purchase? The easiest option lies at your fingertips. There are many online survival food retailers who will deliver right to your doorstep. By shopping on the internet, you are also exposed to many different tools and resources that will help you make the right purchase decision. For example, there are survival food calculators that can help you determine the right amount of survival food to purchase for your family. There are endless options online – you can buy breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks – even dessert! There really is a survival food solution for everyone.

 

So the next time a neighbor or friend mentions purchasing survival food, speak up, because this is one smart trend that is here to stay.

 

Recently, you may have heard people talking about bulking up their survival food portfolio. Purchasing survival food storage is a growing trend, but why? Do you want to know why everyone is doing it? Read on.

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Survival Food is Easy

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This first reason speaks for itself. There is very little hassle involved in purchasing survival food. There are many ways to go about purchasing survival food, however, the majority of people opt to buy their food storage online.

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Why?

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The internet makes it super easy to browse options, there are many trusted companies on the web, and there are endless online tools to help determine what survival food stock is necessary to sustain your family. All of the information you need – from purchase quantity to pricing – can be found at your fingertips. Once you have made a purchase decision, you can choose to have your newly acquired survival food delivered to your house. There are several trusted brands and companies that are equipped to deliver survival food right to your doorstep. Once your survival food arrives, all you have to do is pack it away in a cool, dry place. And that’s it. There is no driving from shop to shop. There are no pushy sales people. Survival food may sound intimidating, but there is really nothing to it.

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Survival Food Lasts A Lifetime

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There are many things we pay for on a daily basis. We pay for the home we live in, the food we eat, our transportation, clothing, and other basic necessities. These costs are never ending. Survival requires money. Survival food, on the other hand, requires very little monitory attention.

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Why?

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Take a trusted brand like Mountain House Food. Their products last upwards of 25 years. That means, once you make a purchase, you will not have to replace your stock for a quarter of a century.

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Even better?

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Their products have been tested after 42 years, and still offered the same sustenance. So, even after 25 years, if you cannot afford to replenish your stock, chances are you can hold out for a bit longer.
Survival Food Covers Your Whole Family

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When you purchase life insurance, your plan only extends to one individual. However, survival food is a form of insurance that extends to the whole family. With a one off purchase, you have the kids and grandma covered for the next 25 years. Purchasing survival food is a very selfless act.

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Survival Food Compliments Other Forms of Insurance

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Although this is the most obvious, it is also the most overlooked. Insurance is a form of risk management – when disaster strikes, insurance can cover the cost of your loss. It makes sense to insure the car you drive, the house you live in, and the people in your home. You may think you’ve insured them all, but you’re forgetting one thing.

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What about the food in your pantry?

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What if you lost your job, or there was a big, unexpected snowstorm. How long would the food in your cupboard last?

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It’s human nature to protect our possessions – we insure the things we own. But why do we overlook the essentials, such as food and water? These things are necessary to survive and are often the first things to diminish in an emergency situation. Yet we take these essentials for granted, assuming that there will always be an endless supply. You’ve got the house covered, now think about the people living inside. It just makes sense!

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Survival Food is Highly Cost Effective

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Perhaps the most convincing reason to purchase survival food is the math.
Want to see some numbers?

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You head over to EmergencyFoodStorage.co.uk and get a good deal on Mountain House Food. You pay ￡375 for a three-month supply of emergency food. This food is then good for at least 25 years. That means you spent as little as ￡15 a year on your emergency food supply. That’s little more than a quid a month.

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All things considered, survival food is a very, very worthy investment.

 

Happy New Year to all and welcome to 2012.

We thought we would start the year by giving your some background into what everyone seems to be talking about – The Mayan Calendar and the potential end of the world. We had our writers research and summarise the main things you need to know about the fifth world according to the Mayans and you can find all out here.

 

Though the world is unlikely to end it is definitely going to see some troubled times, especially in Europe. Therefore there is not better time to insure yourself against future uncertainty – its a new year and time to think in a new, smarter way.

 

As many of you know, we are the leading emergency food storage company and supplier of freeze dried food in the UK a pretty big player in Europe – which means we have got your back.

 

Heres to a great 2012 for all, and a great future 2013.

 

Happy New Year.

 

We’re in the news. If you didn’t manage to catch the Daily Mail article you can read it online here. With over 600 comments, it’s worth a read.

 

If the euro zone shuts down, the ripple effects would almost certainly cause a global recession, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Inc.wire has an interesting article on the uncertain future of Europe and the Eurozone. Lets hope it doesn’t happen but if there are problems in 2012 are you prepared for them.

Check out our Emergency Food and Survival food packs and insure yourself against future uncertainties.

Friday Preparedness Pool

Welcome to the Friday Preparedness Pool. Here are our top five favorite preparedness links of the week.

 

PREPAREDNESS: Nationwide emergency signal test scheduled today

This past week, the US had a nation wide emergency test. Although emergency tests have been conducted in the past, this was the first ever nation-wide test.

 

Toilet Paper Preparedness vs. True Resilience

Shannon Hayes lives in Schoharie County, New York, which was devastated by flooding in the wake of Hurricane Irene. She wrote this report on what the experience has taught her about community resilience.

 

Four ideas for getting children to eat food storage

A great article on how to increase a child’s appetite for food storage. While this article covers the basics – dried pasta, grains, lentils, etc. – the tips also extend to other dried food storage, such as Mountain House food products.

 

What canning season? The time for food preservation is whenever you have the opportunity.

While we’re advocates of buying pre-packaged emergency food, this article is a great reminder that emergency food can also make a great gift!

 

How to Build Your Emergency Food and Water Storage

Some great tips on how to build your food and water storage.

 

After a freak snowstorm across the Eastern United States at the weekend which left 11 people killed and caused worse damage than Tropical Storm Irene, millions of homes are still without power this week (Guardian story).

Trees have fallen and crushed cars, power line are down, travelling passengers are completely stranded and at least three States have declared they are in a state of emergency.

One of the odd observations of this storm is that they had been enjoying an unusually warm autumn and snow is almost unheard of at this time of year.

I really hope that we don’t follow the US in every aspect and find ourselves having a freak snowstorm causing similar chaos, but if the last few years are anything to go by, we should expect some snow at least and as a nation, we don’t fare particularly well with snow, do we?

How did you cope last year with the snow?

Now is the time to prepare your home, car and family for any severe weather which might be lurking around the corner over the next few months.

There are plenty of useful hints and tips in my previous blog posts which will help you to prepare yourself. Here is a quick rundown of the posts you might find useful to read over again:

Δ Preparing your home

Δ Preparing your car

Δ 72 hour survival kits

Δ Home food storage

Δ Home water storage

All of these things will give you peace of mind that if something did go wrong, you would be protected.

It is also worth investing in an additional source of heat for cooking and keeping warm, like a gas heater, in case your power is off for any length of time. I mean imagine being one of the families in the US who have been without any power for a week in record low temperatures.

Preparedness really doesn’t take much apart from some thought and planning and it is well worth the investment now, rather than waiting until it is too late.

Keep warm this winter – don’t delay but prepare today!

It’s Friday again, which means it is time for the fourth edition of the Friday Preparedness Pool.

 

Seattle church donates nearly 11 tons of food to Port Angeles Salvation Army

In last week’s edition of the Preparedness Pool, we shared an article about thieves who stole a month’s worth of emergency food from a Port Angeles Salvation Army. We were pretty disheartened at the news. However, in a happy twist, Mars Hill Church in Seattle collected 21,500 pounds of food and delivered it to the robbed Salvation Army. The stolen goods have now been replenished, and then some. We like a happy ending!

 

Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily News

 

 

Plymouth Company Launches Travel Product

We’re always interested to see what other emergency food companies are up to. Plymouth Company, a designer and manufacturer of hydration and food storage products in the states, has branched out in to the travel market. They are now offering airline carry-on approved liquid travel containers called Go Gear. Lots of preparedness companies provide portable emergency storage products in the form of camping, hiking and outdoor survival tools. It’s exciting to see the evolution of preparedness tools for people on the go.

 

 

Food Storage: My Space Solutions

You’ve researched all of the options out there, and have finally made an emergency food purchase. You’re proud and excited, because you can now rest easy at night. A few days later, 12 huge tubs of emergency food show up on your doorstep. But wait – where are you expected to store all of this newly acquired of emergency food? We love this article, because our fellow preparedness blogger, Debbie, at Food Storage and Beyond, has thought ahead and has tons of cool tips and tricks on where to store your emergency food. She even includes pictures. Nice one, Debbie!

 

 

Hunger Problem Growing For Local Senior Citizens

This article is a sad one. The elderly are the fastest growing community who face a hunger problem, due to insufficient savings and rising food prices.

 

7 Billion People And You

A few weeks ago, we shared an article called The Apocalyptic Architecture of Seedbanks. Why do we need seebanks? Because there is an ever-growing 7 billion people in the world, and they all require food to survive! Want to find out where you fit into that 7 billion? This cool tool from BBC helps determine where you belong in population history.

 

 

Once again the UK, and also Ireland, has been struck by major flooding as more than a months’ worth of rain fell in just 24 hours. It caught many people off guard, trapping them homes and cars, and killing at least two people.

This sort of flooding is particularly dangerous as the rivers, drains and sewers were not able to deal with that quantity of water in such a short space of time. Rising water levels like this can be extremely unexpected and very fast flowing – two people are already reported as missing or dead.

Dublin Flooding by Irish Weather Online

This video by Irish Weather Online shows just how badly it affected people just trying to get home from work. My favourite part is of the shopping centre.

Of course you should already be prepared for flooding by already having a 72hr survival kit in case you have to leave your home or enough emergency food and water storage if you can stay put.

What if you are caught in a flash flood?

If you are walking, cycling or taking public transport:

Δ	Stay out of areas subject to flooding. Dips, low spots, basements, tunnels or underground car parks etc. can become filled with water;
Δ	Move to high ground and stay there, even if it’s a 1st or 2nd floor and move away from dangerous floodwater. Don not get closer just to watch it rise in case you get trapped;
Δ	If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way. Never try to walk, swim, or drive through flowing water.

If you are driving, you should:

Δ	Avoid already flooded areas and areas subject to sudden flooding.
Δ	Do not attempt to cross flowing streams or water covered roads. Ο  The depth of water is not always obvious and as little as six inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle; Ο  The roadbed may be washed out under the water, and you could be stranded or trapped; Ο  Rapidly rising water may stall the engine, engulf the vehicle and its occupants, and sweep them away; Ο  Standing water may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines; Ο  Two feet (0.6 meters) of water will carry away most vehicles, including 4x4s
Δ	Stay away from underpasses as they can rapidly fill with water, while the adjacent roadway remains clear.
Δ	Turn around and find another route if you come upon rapidly rising floodwater or road blocks.

Always think of your safety when dealing with flooding as there are so many hidden dangers lurking under the water, but if you are prepared you should be able to find somewhere safe to stay until the water level returns back to normal.

Remember, don’t delay, prepare today!

Friday Preparedness Pool

Welcome to the third edition of the Friday Preparedness Pool. We’ve been bringing you the Preparedness Pool for three straight weeks, and we want to know what you think! So far, have you been enjoying the links we share? Is there anything you like, love, or hate? If there is something you would like to see more of or any feedback you may have, then let us know! We write the Preparedness Pool for YOU, so we want you to fully enjoy the knowledge we share. On that note, this week in the news . . .

 

Thieves steal 2,000 pounds of food from Salvation Army

This article actually made national news in the states. Last week, someone cut the lock of a Salvation Army storage container and stole a month’s worth of emergency food storage supplies. It’s quite sad, especially considering that whoever stole these goods simply had to ask, and the Salvation Army would have given them ample food. Unfortunately, it’s also a time of year when food donations are way down, and don’t pick up again until after the holidays. It’s hard to comprehend how someone could commit a crime that will now cause thousands of people to starve.

 

Are Zombies The Perfect Match?

Zombies keep popping up on our emergency preparedness radar, and according to this article, it’s because they’ve had a popular rising (no pun intended) in mainstream media. Using zombies to get the public’s attention on emergency preparedness is a new trend, and it is quite convenient. According to the article, if you’re prepared for a zombie attack, you’re prepared for anything.

 

The CDC Zombies Return With A New Comic Book

One of our favorite Zombie-preparedness articles from this week is about the Centers For Disease Control and their new graphic novel about a couple struggling to survive a zombie pandemic. It’s a comic worth following if you enjoy zombie preparedness media.

 

City Launches Free App To Teach Emergency Preparedness

Recently, we’ve been brainstorming ways to bring you preparedness information across a variety of media channels. If you enjoy preparedness and technology, this article is for you. Emergency officials in San Francisco today launched a free mobile app designed to teach emergency preparedness.