Freeze Dried Food Distributor: Six Month Wait Time Amid Extreme Shortages

SHTF Plan ^ | 4-5-2011 | Mac Slavo

[blam]

Freeze Dried Food Distributor: Six Month Wait Time Amid Extreme Shortages

Author: Mac Slavo
April 5th, 2011

If there was ever a sentiment indicator for economic uncertainty and fear, this would be it.

As of April 2011, major distributors of freeze dried food, namely the Mountain House brand, are indicating that shoppers should expect delays of nearly six months on any orders placed today:

***CURRENT INVENTORY UPDATE AS OF 04/05/11*** All Mountain House & Nitro-Pak food storage #10 cans are in EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND due to national & world current economic uncertainty and inflation fears. With this increase in demand, our food order processing times have greatly increased also. As Mountain House’s leading distributor, we are receiving HUGE shipments WEEKLY to fill our customer orders, but demand exceeds the available supply. Most Mountain House dealers have been been cut off & receive no food, period. Supplies are VERY SCARCE. Like Disneyland, the line is long but still slowly moving. Please be patient. This is a line you do not want to get out of!

…

All canned food orders and units may take up to 160 days to ship. Thank you for your business!

Source: Nitro-Pak

Other large distributors we contacted indicated similar shipping delays, with many simply marking their freeze dried food inventory as completely “out of stock.”

Mountain House has advised they are expanding their production facilities, but this upgrade will not be completed until the third of fourth quarter of 2011.

When we first covered the shortages of freeze dried food in December of 2010, a spokesperson for Mountain House, the largest freeze dried food manufacturer in the world, indicated that they were estimating the shortage to abate by February or March of 2011. In February, we received an update from Mountain House, which further pushed out the availability date to the Summer of 2011, and feedback from the largest freeze dried food distributors indicated shipping delays of 30 – 60 days. This most recent alert suggests that while freeze dried food manufacturers are working round the clock, demand for emergency supplies continues to sky rocket at an unmanageable pace.

Economic uncertainty, fear of inflation, government policies, natural disasters and the mysteries surrounding the 2012 doomsday date have been cited as the primary reasons for the parabolic spike in demand over the course of the last six months.

Because there will likely be no relief for any of those fears in the near future, we suggest to our readers that demand will continue to increase well into 2012, and question whether the new facilities being built for freeze dried food production will be enough to offset demand. As more people come to the realization that things may not be exactly as they seem, further demand will likely flood the market going forward.

Due to the uncertainty in the freeze dried food market, those concerned with acquiring quality, long-term food storage should consider and act on other options.

As we’ve suggested previously, dehydrated foods and MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) are one option that remains available at major emergency food distributors. The other options would be to self-stock and package dry goods, like the 11 Emergency Food items that can last a lifetime, including wheat, rice and beans. Most have a shelf life of 20 – 30 years and provide a well balanced, nutritious diet in the event of an emergency, widespread disaster or protracted crisis.

[Red_Devil 232]

I would prefer commercially available FD foods for storage also. Hey Mr. Bender, how long do you and the blueberry bandit trust your home caned fish for?

[Sun]

I just buy food that’s dated 2014 or 2015, like tuna, and canned salmon.

Most of us don’t have ten years of space anyway.

[blam]

"Most of us don’t have ten years of space anyway."

(Ahem) Some of us may not have ten years either.

[maine-iac7]

the shortage has to do with the gov’t having made a demand for tons and tons of survival foods - and the suppliers conveyed this to their customers.

To leave this out of the story is disingenuous - or perhaps it's because the suppliers are not now mentioning that their shortage is due to the Gov't buying up their entire stock and ordering tons more. (And they are NOT ordering to stock public supplies. The companies are no longer mentioning the gov't and it seems the net has been scrubbed of the information. I'm now angry at myself as, when clearing of excess icons on my desktop - JUST LAST NIGHT - I deemed the story of this as not necc., thinking I could search it up anytime. I should have looked first! the net is clear and I suspicion the suppliers have been told to shut up.). It's not that supplies are in such demand that there is a lengthily delay that bothers me - it's WHY is the gov’t suddenly beefing up it's emergency food supply to such a rate?

Getting ready for a national emergency - that will be brought on by them (but not appear so) requiring Martial Law? Maybe within 6 months of the election - thereby stopping the election?

I suspect our next national emergency will be horrific - remember, the people who have been plotting to bury our freedoms and capitalist Republic for totalitarian rule, also have an actual number of citizens they deem ‘expendable’ in order to bring about their take over.

In the meantime, There are many foods/supplies you can plan for without mail order - and cheaper.

First off, get a garden going. Learn how to preserve foods.
Fill glass jars with sprouting seeds: alfalfa, lentils, mung. Ditto those little packs of dried soup vegs in the grocery store. Dried beans, including pintos, dried peas, jars of broth - paste or cube. Corn meal (breakfast cereal, fritters and corn bread), cooking oil (coconut, grape seed, lard - learn to make ghee (from butter - it will store for months) - Learn to forage plants native to your area.

Learn to do things our grandparents did as a matter of course: make maple syrup, keep honey bees, raise chickens for eggs and meat and rabbits for meat and fur.

Etc etc - Do not put your trust in the gov’t and with the current thugs in control - believe nothing.

Become as independent as possible as to your daily needs. And remember: your local super market has enough food for your area for ONE DAY. If the trucks don't roll - no food. It can stop overnight. Think on this: the motto of despots through the ages is "He who controls the food, controls the people." Our current 'rulers' have no qualms about nationalizing businesses, as we have seen. What you have NOT seen is that gov't has been, through rules, regs, gas prices, etc., been systematically putting the independent owner/operators OFF THE ROAD. And in the last 2 years, thousands of smaller trucking companies have gone belly up. Climbing up to a half million truckers have lost their jobs. The trucking companies are being whittled down to a the "Big Ten." - Play ball with the gov't or go under. NOW, when they get them all in line - very easy to take over. And then they control the food. Think it can't happen? Have you had your eyes open in the last 2 years?

Plant your gardens NOW.

[maine-iac7]

Thanks for the link, blam!

I had deleted mine and looking online tonight - it seems they're now really hard to find.
and the suppliers are no longer mentioning that the GOVERNMENT in the reason for their short supply. Looks like they've been told to SHUT UP.

The gov’t bought up their entire stock and has preordered tons and tons more - and to he*l with ‘the little people.

Get your gardens in folks. Get you laying hens to roost. Get ready.

[blam]

Boy O Boy are you in trouble too.

Do You Qualify As A Domestic Terrorist?

[jessky]

my mom moved to town over 30 yr’s ago
found some home canned green beans in the garage had to be well over 10yr’s old still good tasted good also
some with rusted lids an such were tossed most fine

[Drill Thrawl]

Mountain House is not supplying FEMA or any other Government agency with Mountain House #10 cans or pouches

While that may be technically true what they do not mention is that Mountain House is owned by Oregon Freeze Dry which is THE major supplier of long term food storage to the gubment. Just look on the boxes of govt\mil surplus.

Oh and the M is for 1,000 not a million (which would be MM). So it's for 14,000 x 10 days = 140,000

[Drill Thrawl]

You believe that they are the ones causing this shortage?

Yes. On on credit too. Lots of people I know who scoffed at "survivalists" in the past are now buying long term food storage items.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“They know the house of cards is coming down.
One thing you and your family need to plan for -
DO NOT GET STUCK IN A GOV’T “SHELTER”.”

Amen my friend. We have made preparations to avoid having to show up at Braves field to get our ration card. In fact we are getting ready to pack up and move 95 miles up into the mountains. Most people are happily oblivious to the storm that is coming. We have warned all of our friends one time. Now we just shut up about it.

[Georgia Girl 2]

All good information. Plus don’t listen to that blabber about how flour goes rancid in one year. My fiancee’ was just “eductatin” me on that the other night so I went in the pantry and brought out a bag of wheat flour I have had open for almost a year and I made him look at the expiration date which was 2008. I asked him how he liked the loaf of bread I made him yesterday. he loved it. I rest my case. Just stock up on flour from the grocery and if you can put the whole thing unopened in some other container with a snap on lid. It will last a long time and don’t worry about the weevils. It hardly ever happens and if it does just sift them out and then use the flour. I cannot remember the last time I had weevils appear in flour. Maybe 15 years ago.

[maine-iac7]

Well,if they come after this ole great gramma - they'll have their hands full. I've lived too long and have seen about all I want of these cretins.

Ever hear of the book "Are We All Nazis?" Hans Askenasy (1978)?

Basically, yes. In every society ever was, there is ALWAYS the Nazi personality. All that it necessary for them to act is the setting aside of the rule of law.

Our Constitutional laws have kept them largely in check for over 200 years. Now the thugs in DC spit on out Constitution. And the 'Nazis' are coming out of their sewers.

In all my 7 1/2 decades, I have never seen the stark differences so evident between those who yearn to rule their fellow man and those who wish only to be left alone to mind their own business, unmolested.

The Nazi personalities are coming out of their shells.

[PatriotGirl827]

Yep - you’re right. I am finding out that most things are still good to eat way beyond the expiration date.

[Petruchio]

Ladysmith & I are wishing for Toilet Bucket Seats in the very near future.

THIS is the one I bought. It fits standard 5 gal buckets. Works too! [grin]

Hint:
Small garbage bags fit the bucket and over the bucket rim. The seat holds it in place. After use just hold your breath and remove bag, tie securely and dispose.

[tdscpa]

Amen. Three years ago, I acquired a pacemaker/defibrillator, that my health insurance provider paid about $70,000 for, installation included. I was “assured” that the battery “was intended” to last about eight years.

Tick, tick, tick.

I'm sure obamacare will buy me a new one in five years!

[spitter]

I added 15 more fruit trees so far this year, 10 from wallyworld that were only $9 each. We had to replace 3 of our pear trees, one died of old age and DH ran over the other 2 with the bush hog. I’m devoting one raised bed to asparagus and sweet potatoes that are easy to store through the winter and lots of butternut squash. I’m building a greenhouse (Lord help me) that is half underground. I’m looking to rework our pond that is currently a large mud hole and drill a new well closer to our home even though we have a lined 36” well, it is farther than we would want to tote water. I also plan to add several blueberry bushes. And if we can manage it we want to get one of those large shipping crates and install it underground for a combination root/wine cellar.

[nina0113]

Considering that we harvest 200-300 pounds a year for just 2 people,...

How many pounds are you planting to get that yield?

[ApplegateRanch]

About 15-20 pounds, with 2-several seed pieces per seed potato. Yukon Golds—poor yielder for us, but we love’m); and Red Pontiacs and Norkotah russets...both big yielders of baking size.

We buy the certfied seed potatoes at a local market that gets them in bulk from either MN or MI, and sells them for $0.59/pound. Beats the heck out of mail order prices or the garden store bags of 2 lbs for $7.50.

I deep-till in 10-10-10, then put the furrower on the tiller to make my trenches. I then use ~1 cup/100’ of row of triple-superphosphate about 1-2” below the seed pieces.

I use the furrower to hill them, and that leaves a deep irrigation trench on each side of the rows.

[x_plus_one]

Check out the youtube videos of guys using mylar bags with their food-saver vaccuum system. Also check out the video for dehydrating frozen vegetables. Mountain House Freeze dried meals are definitely full of MSG type stuff and are highly over-rated. There are some freeze dried producers that have no additives though.

[Ellendra]

For personal use, a pressure canner is a better investment. But my question was in the context of a possible business start-up. It seems there is a high demand for freeze-dried foods, and too little supply. To the right entrepreneur, that means opportunity.