Column: Costco's shopping list for Armaggedon Not only Mormons preparing for Earth's Final Days

Vancouver Sun ^ | 10/9/10 | Alan Abel

[Kartographer]

Back to Costco. On sale for $149.99 is the Food for Health Extreme Emergency Preparedness Kit, which includes, among dozens of other items:

25 servings of Western Stew 25 servings of Potato Soup 20 servings of Oatmeal Water Filtration System

Crank Flashlight/Radio/Cellphone Charger

Survival Knife

Emergency Blankets

Compass/Whistle/Thermometer

4 N95 Safety Masks

1 Roll Duct Tape

Toilet Paper

"Especially developed for Costco members," the megastore assures

[x_plus_one]

.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

We are tighter than most folks,,,
(cook outs/etc.),,,

Very long talks about “what if”,,,

I guess we’ll find out soon enough...

[MagnoliaB]

10 yds of duct tape? Is that all?? That won't do diddly squat. I keep multiple rolls on hand at all times. You know you're a redneck when your mailbox is attached with duct tape.

[Wonder Warthog]

"I really like Spam, though I buy the lite because of the sodium."

Ditto that. And the wife just can't understand why.

[6SJ7]

One must always choose the lesser of two weevils.

[panaxanax]

>>”Try a practice run by shutting off your gas, power, water and telephone for the weekend...”<<

This a a normal winter occurence in upstate NY!

We also keep about 6 months of food and needed items in our pantry, along with ammo, lots of ammo.

[BobL]

“As I understand it, the Costco food kit includes giant sized cans that contain 42 servings each. This is fine, if your family has 42 people in it. But if there are only 4 or 5, once the can is opened, the other 38 servings will go to waste without refrigeration, which in an apocalyptic scenario would be absent. Regular sized cans would be better in that situation.”

My first thought when I saw the size of the cans. I always buy large quantities of smaller cans, just for that reason.

To me it shows that they’re not taking this seriously, but rather just trying to cater to people who are worried, but also don’t spend their Sunday mornings researching what they need to know (like some of us).

[The Duke]

Last year I started a local Preparedness through meetup.com that meets once each month. As a result I've made some great new friends and become much more prepared. The whole process has really changed my life and our family for the better. Here are some things I've learned:

• The most important aspect to preparedness is physical fitness. (I alternate my days between swimming, weight training and sit-ups).
• Capture water in a rain barrel, filter it like so (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPENqD-V-TQ) and then boil it and you'll have all the drinking water you need (but use polyester 'batting material' rather than cotton for the filter material.)
• Before thinking about freeze-dried foods and MREs, start by packing 'beans and rice' in vacuum-sealed mylar bags and storing them in food-grade, sealed plastic buckets. A good first goal would be to have 3 months of food put back. (YouTube has some good videos on this.)
• A penny saved is another penny that can be spent on emergency food stores.
• Fully stock your pantry with canned good and be sure to occasionally eat from it (first in/first out).
• Propane is the ideal disaster fuel. Even your generator should run off propane.
• Only plan on "bugging out" if you have a location in mind to bug out to. The best destinations are small communities at least 150-200 miles from a major city.
• Identify central rendezvous locations and contact phone numbers for all family members. If traveling for multiple days pre-identify stopover locations.
• Be sure to store plenty of antibiotic ointment - preferably in cool/dry place. These ointments keep their potency well beyond their expiration date, and in a disaster situation can literally be more valuable than their weight in gold.
• Have a plan for defending and concealing emergency food stores. If you don't have a good guard dog, then install an alarm system.

The perfect preparedness group is the good ol' Boy Scounts (motto "be prepared"). So, if you want to be prepared, develop the "Boy Scout" mindset.

At our preparedness group meeting next week we have a professional self-defense consultant coming in to present on "self-defense with blunt and edged weapons", which I think will be tremendously interesting. Next month we're having a group picnic and having a local expert walk us through the local woods pointing out all the edibles growing in nature.

I believe the TV-program "After Armageddon" is (by far) the most realistic representation of what to expect from a major nation-wide disaster (forget "The Colony", that's kid stuff). This show is available as a series of 9 videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r97xoSOEjM).

[mad_as_he$$]

Well Costco gets the LVPD to shoot people over personal protection weaponry so they most likely will not be doing that. BTW matches in a survival pack are a bad idea - trust me on that. So are Bic type lighters. They do not work when wet. Much better to use alternative means. 9 volt battery, steel wool. Magnesium and flint etc.

[mad_as_he$$]

Smoles?

[mad_as_he$$]

Sigh...SMOKES.

More Coffee miss.

[Vinnie]

ping for later

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Good idea. I’ve been “sort of” putting together supplies ... but if “it” hit (I live in a hurricane area), I haven’t a clue where everything “is”. I ordered 3 of these. One for “us” and the other two for my two boys, one lives in Atlanta (where he might need it on a daily basis) and the other lives in Washington DC, ground zero. Pretty good marketing on Costco’s part ... made it simple for me.

[Molon Labbie]

I find it important to cache as well. There are going to be millions in this country who will be absolutely unprepared and due to their entire lives being supported by goverment programs, will fare badly and act badly.

They will become roving mobs of hungry people moving, raiding and eating as they move, until they are stopped.

This is why it is so important to have land away from main roads, cache your survival items and let VERY few people know of its existence. Also be prepared to move to that location the very minute that local law enforcement loses control and federal agencies are moving in. You don’t want to be on choked highways.

[padre35]

“..if a widow has children or grandchildren they should first learn to carry out their religious duties toward their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents”

I Tim 5:4-6

Point being, Paul had destitute widows and their family taking care of their needs, if they were ignored and tossed unto the Church to take care of that made them worse than infidels.

Enjoy Scripture, do quote the whole issue that is being discussed.

This Costco “survival” package is fools gold aimed at Suburban Moms and Dads who are frightened into doing “something”.

[Mighty Athena]

That’s a filipino breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. LOL

[Kartographer]

To each there own, but I believe the Lord helps those who help themselves, but then it seems there needs be someone to sit on the bridge waiting for ‘gubermint’ cheese for the TV News Crews to flim.

[misanthrope]

“They will become roving mobs of hungry people moving, raiding and eating as they move, until they are stopped.”

True that.

They will, for the most part, likely be easily identifiable.

[padre35]

And I believe the Lord blesses whom He will, we can plan whatever we wish, He controls outcomes.

My larger point is this Costco package is more harmful than helpful, the package is purchased Suburbia thinks they have their needs met, things go bad and their preparation falls flat on it’s face.

What then? They would be far better served buying the items on your list.

[Kartographer]

Good grief I do think the lady protest to much.

The bible is full of instances in which the Lord warns and forewarns people of faith to prepare for a
coming catastrophe, from Noah and the flood, to the children of Israel for their exodus to the book of
Revelations, God has seen fit to warn us of coming events so that we might be able to prepare for them.
May are the times that he himself or his prophets, advised, counseled, exhorted, even commands, that
we prepare for what is about to befall and take shelter while yet there is time. Just as there are many
instances of God proving such warnings the bible is also full of the fate of those who did not heed and
continued with their feasting and making merry, idly pass their days with thinking that they were the
Masters of their own fate and above the plans and the policies of God and so by taking no heed of God’s
words, they took no action and sought no the shelter as directed and thus they perished. But in very few cases did he just hand the people what they needed a those how didn't heed didn't prepare ended up like those left behind when it was HE who closed the ark.

As far as promoting Costco I never shop there and it doesn't mater to me just were you do, but it does mater that so many expect seem and will expect me to share the food and things I sat aside for my wife, child and grandchildren