Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=70281

A Wall Street Journal columnist has advised people to "start stockpiling food" and an ABC News Report says "there are worrying signs appearing in the United States where some � locals are beginning to hoard supplies." Now there's concern that the U.S. government may be competing with consumers for stocks of storable food.

"We're told that the feds bought the entire container of canned butter when it hit the California docks. (Something's up!)," said officials at Best Prices Storable Foods in an advisory to customers.

Spokesman Bruce Hopkins told WND he also has had trouble obtaining No. 10 cans of various products from one of the world's larger suppliers of food stores, Oregon Freeze Dry.

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He said a company official told him on the telephone when he discussed the status of his order that it was because the government had purchased massive quantities of products, leaving none for other customers.

That, however, was denied by Oregon Freeze Dry. In a website statement, the company confirmed it cannot assure supplying some items to customers.

"We regret to inform you Oregon Freeze Dry cannot satisfy all Mountain House #10 can orders and we have removed #10 cans from our website temporarily," the company tells frustrated customers. "The reason for this is sales of #10 cans have continued to increase. OFD is allocating as much production capacity as possible to this market segment, but we must maintain capacity for our other market segments as well."

The company statement continues, "We want to clarify inaccurate information we�ve seen on the Internet. This situation is not due to sales to the government domestically or in Iraq. We do sell products to this market, but we also sell other market segments � The reason for this decision is solely due to an unprecedented sales spike in #10 cans sales.

"We expect this situation to be necessary for several months although this isn�t a guarantee. We will update this information as soon as we know more. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience. We sincerely hope you will continue to be Mountain House customers in the future," the company statement said.

But Hopkins wasn't backing away from his concerns.

"The government just came in and said they're buying it. They did pay for it," he told WND about the summertime shipment of long-term storage butter. "They took it and no one else could have it.

"We don't know why. The feds then went to freeze dried companies, and bought most of their canned stock," he said.

A spokeswoman for Oregon Freeze Dry, sales manager Melanie Cornutt, told WND that the increasing demand for food that can be stored has been on the rise since Hurricane Katrina devastated large sections of the Gulf Coast, cutting off ordinary supply routes.

"We are currently out of stock on our cans. We are not selling any of our cans," she confirmed.

She then raised the issue of government purchases herself.

"We do sell to the government [but] it is not the reason [for company sales limits]," she said.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency told WND whatever government agency is buying in a surge it isn't them. They reported a stockpile of about six million meals which has not changed significantly in an extended period.

But Hopkins said it was his opinion the government is purchasing huge quantities of food for stockpiles, and Americans will have to surmise why.

"We don't have shelters that [are being] stocked with food. We're not doing this for the public. My only conclusion is that they're stocking up for themselves," he said of government officials.

Blogger Holly Deyo issued an alert this week announcing, "Unprecedented demand cleans out major storable food supplier through 2009."

"It came to our attention today, that the world's largest producer of storable foods, Mountain House, is currently out of stock of ALL #10 cans of freeze dried foods, not just the Turkey Tetrazzini. They will NOT have product now through 2009," she said.

"This information was learned by a Mountain House dealer who shared it with me this morning. In personally talking with the company immediately after, Mountain House verified the information is true. Customer service stated, 'I'm surprised they don't have this posted on the website yet.' She said they have such a backlog of orders, Mountain House will not be taking any #10 can food requests through the remainder of this year and all of the next.

"Mountain House claims this situation is due to a backlog of orders, which may very well be true, but who is purchasing all of their food? This is a massive global corporation.

"One idea: the military. Tensions are ramping up with Iran and news segments debate whether or not we will implement a preemptive strike in conjunction with Israel," she wrote.

Hopkins raised some of the same concerns, suggesting a military conflict could cause oil supplies to plummet, triggering a huge increase in the cost of food � when it would be available � because of the transportation issues.

The ABC report from just a few weeks ago quoted Jim Rawles, a former U.S. intelligence officer who runs a survival blog, saying food shortages soon could become a matter of survival in the U.S.

"I think that families should be prepared for times of crisis, whether it's a man-made disaster or a natural disaster, and I think it's wise and prudent to stock up on food," he told ABC.

"If you get into a situation where fuel supplies are disrupted or even if the power grid were to go down for short periods of time, people can work around that," he said. "But you can't work around a lack of food � people starve, people panic and you end up with chaos in the streets."

At his California ranch, the location of which is kept secret, he said, "We have more than a three-year supply of food here."

In the Wall Street Journal, columnist Brett Arends warned, "Maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

"No, this is not a drill," he wrote.

His concern was about various food shortages around the globe, and the fact that in a global market, prices in the U.S. reflect difficulties in other parts of the world quickly.

Professor Lawrence F. Roberge, a biologist who has worked with a number of universities and has taught online courses, told WND he's been following the growing concern over food supplies.

He also confirmed to WND reports of the government purchasing vast quantities of long-term storable foods.

He said that naturally would be kept secret to avoid panicking the public, such as when word leaks out to customers that a bank may be insolvent, and depositors frantically try to retrieve their cash.

"[These] circumstances certainly raise red flags," he said.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Or maybe the feds are just stocking up for the next Katrina or worse, so that they can actually HELP people, rather than just f*cking about as they did after Katrina. Or maybe they are sending the stuff to troops, because cows don't grow on trees in Afghanistan (or anywhere else, for that matter :D).
Of course the paranoids will think "Oh my god, they're buying it all so there will be none left for us when TPTB decide to eliminate us and we'll all die unless we are already prepped!"
The reality probably is, someone with half a brain (I think that's about as much of a brain you are allowed in government) realised that it would be a GOOD idea to have a lot of stocks of food, signed the order to buy ten million billion cans, and so the orders were placed and bought, massively reducing the amount available to the public. The government will always pay top dollar, so who will MH sell to? The highest bidder, because that makes them the most profit. And in that case, the highest bidder would be the government, because I don't know anyone who has more money under the mattress than they do.
MH must be on one side laughing their socks off because they have just made a fortune, and on the other side wishing they had produced and stored more so they could have sold more and made a bigger fortune.
Do you think MH cares about who they sell to? Or that they have any interest in helping individuals, if it means making less $$$? No. Like any business, they exist to make money, and nothing else.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Never get it twisted........... Gubbermint is not in business to 'HELP" you....... they are there to control . I know of no faster way of complience than through food.....

I cannot say what the exact reason for this purchase is ....but I am DAM CERTAIN it was not in our best interest.


You are very correct about MH they are making money hand over fist.....it is great to have a product in demand.


T

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

All I see up there are the claims of a spokesman (they don't elaborate on who he's a spokesman for). Seems to me if the feds really did want a massive amount of mountain house, they have the capability to spend a few million and go into production themselves by the end of the week. If they really wanted to limit the supply to consumers, they'd do it the government way... ban it, get the IRS on Mountain House's ass, run a media campaign about how it was bad like pot, or introduce a freeze-dried tax.

I think this is a small company that normally keeps up with a few big consumers and a handful of private citizens. In the last year, that handful grew real damn fast.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

And pretty sh1tty to realise that you could probably have made 3 times as much money hand over fist if you had stepped up production and made more cans over the last few years. :D
And if "controlling" people means stopping blacks rioting and looting after a flood by denying them food, then I'm all for it. I don't think any of us KNOW why this has all been done, and anyone who claims to know is a fool (or a politician, hehe) - but it just serves to drive prices higher and higher. What? You'll pay $300 for a case? F*ck you, the government will pay $350. So you'll pay $350 as well? F*ck you again, the government will pay $400. Highest bidder wins. And nobody here will be the highest bidder.
If anyone is genuinely concerned about huge food shortages, to the extents that some on the board have mentioned, the answer is simple. Sell your house. Move to somewhere in the arse end of nowhere where land is cheap. Grow your own plants, raise your own livestock. Get a big generator, and a few thousand gallons of diesel. Add solar power, a ground sourced heat pump, and a battery bank with spare batteries (the type you have to fill with acid yourself). That could keep you going for 20 years or forever, depending on how inventive you are.
And it would all probably cost about half the price of a suburban house, leaving you to spend the rest on hookers and blow, while the going is still good. :D

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

People live in a city that is six foot under sea level, and they are warned for years, that if a bad hurricane comes, the city WILL flood, and then they cry when it does. Not only was their situation documented on a Discovery Channel program years before it happened, they still did not get out of town when the storm was headed their way. So, now it's the government's fault they didn't get to safety? My brother was working for a contractor that sets up big tents for FEMA and was in Florida for a hurricane that had hit there. His crew was told to head to Mississippi before Katrina had even hit land. All the normal FEMA resources were stationed outside the disaster areas, before the storm hit. What more can anyone do for a city that finds itself under six foot of nasty water? The only thing I can see that might have been done sooner, was to air lift some food, water, and tarps to the stranded people, but then I heard reports of people on the ground, shooting at helicopters trying to fly in help. I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly what was going on, were you? Now I was in the area hit by Hurricane Rita, one month later. We got the hell out of town two days before it hit. The eye of the storm went right over my house and really messed things up. FEMA was there to help, where we bugged out to, and they were there to help, when we got back home. I have no complaints about them. If you're ever in a disaster area, and need them, they will be there for you, unless it is a situation that is out of anyone's control. That's what I prepare for. So should you.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

They have to buy it up so they can get enough bodies to fill the 500k coffins just waiting in a FEMA warehouse in Georgia.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

I think the shortage has more to do with a surge in individual preppers then government stockpiling. A little while back Walton Feed actually ran out of WHEAT. I gaurentee their supply of white wheat dwarfed the supply of mountain house cans, and this was all bought by "useless eaters" like me. There is obviously a LOT of people prepping right now.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

TechGuy don't you think this guy just stanks like a FEMA shill? I meen to say they will be there for you? Wow.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

FEMA is not there to help anyone in an emergency, they are there to manage the crisis. They actually do a decent job at it too:

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/internat...ema_turne.html

FEMA Turned Away Aid, Rescue Crews, Cut Emergency Communication Lines: Witnesses
by Dru Oja Jay

The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca

<!--first photo--><!--body-->
Agency draws ire of frustrated volunteers and donors

<!--photo essay--><!--second photo-->
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, several witnesses have alleged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) turned away volunteers who were ready to help New Orleans residents people trapped in their flooded homes. Other witnesses have said that FEMA turned away offers of aid, prevented water and fuel from reaching people on the ground, and cut emergency communications lines.
The agency has cited security and safety concerns...

....In a televised interview with CNN's Meet the Press, for example, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard said that "we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, 'Come get the fuel right away.' When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. 'FEMA says don't give you the fuel.'"
Broussard also said that FEMA cut "all of our emergency communication lines."
"They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, 'No one is getting near these lines.'"

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Hey, I'm going by my own personal experience. They were set up in Hemphill Texas the next day after Hurricane Rita, handing out meals, ice and water. They had $2000 direct deposited in my account in about 4 days. They reimbursed me for a generator, chain saw, and money for some repairs to my roof, in about two weeks. If you don't believe it, haul ass down to Brownsville Texas right now. I bet they're going full blast. If you want to believe what you read on the internet and on TV about how screwed up they are, go for it. I'm telling you, even with FEMA help and your own preps, it's no vacation being in a disaster.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

They do have a great product and it is in great demand. They are, like every other business, al labout the highest buck. Maybe they did not start out lik ethat, but they are that way now. If we had two other companies making the same exact product, then the competition woul dlower thier prices and there would be more availability. :(

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Well, part of me wants to say "Why can't these folks plan for themselves, why do they need a handout from the Gov"? The OTHER part of me, the part that pays a TREMENDOUS percenatge of my income to Federal Tax, says "ABOUT *UCKING TIME WE GET SOME OF OUR TAX DOLLARS BACK!".

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Do the math.

When Katrina happened, the US Government STOPPED Canadian emergency agencies from crossing the border to help those in need, for weeks.

Same goes for 911.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

anyone have any experience or opinions on these two products?
http://www.thereadystore.com/freezed...Supply-POUCHES
http://www.wildernessdining.com/gr86513.html

one is mountain house brand and one is alpine aire foods.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Vitacost has them beat on price for Mountain House pouches (about $1.00 ea.) and shipping on orders under $100. The Alpine Air pouches are a little bigger 5.5 oz to 4.8 on MH. but they cost about $2.60 more per. Might be worth it to have some different meals on the menu. If you buy pouches, it comes out cheaper than #10 can ounce for ounce.

http://www.vitacost.com/MountainHouseProducts

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Wait...Jim Rawles lives in California????

I don't believe this is large-scale government buying. Yes, they bought a shipping container of butter. That's not really all that much comparatively. I think if the government was stocking up large scale, it would likely be with MREs and grains. Stocking up on FD and DH food means they also have to consider water and heating fuel. To say that Mountain House is a "vast, worldwide" company is misleading. The whole industry isn't really that large. Aren't there only two or three locations in the country where FD/DK food is packaged is #10 cans for the long-term food storage market (excluding LDS sites)? I think this is just a surge in regular people getting a clue about the need to secure a food supply.

My intuition told me a few years ago to have my food storage in place by 2008. Turns out it was dead on! My last buying binge was late last year, and it was for my sister and her family. I bought a little more than I intended to at first, but something told me I needed to go ahead and do it then (well, that, and Emergency Essentials had free shipping last October).

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

I have seen NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that freeze-dried, dehydrated, and other bulk foods are being bought up by the government, causing these shortages.

I do not doubt, however, that demand is way up because people are rightly afraid for their family's future.

Emergency Essentials, a Mormon retail prep company out of Utah, is way down on most of its own label #10s, but they have most Mountain House #10s in stock. The food is still out there, just not direct from the canners.

Many, many people are also buying conventional canned foods, which serve prepping purposes just as effectively if carefully rotated at least quarterly.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Both brands are top-notch. WATCH the dates, though, since pouches don't last anywhere near as long as cans.

My recommendation is to TRY every flavor/item you're considering, before buying lots of it. Go down to REI, the Army/Navy store, or similar locally, and get pouches and try them ASAP.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Yeah, so? Do you think "California" is covered entirely by Los Angeles? Northern and Central California have plenty of genuine forested wilderness. If you like desert wilderness, Southern California has that, too. California is not one giant city. Trinity County, for example, is as rural as you're gonna get in most of the 48 States.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Thanks for sharing your real life experience. First hand knowledge is more credible IMO.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

No disrespect taken. Who hasn't been taken care of by FEMA in a disaster to date? Hell, they're still giving out stuff to people in New Orleans. It's been three years now, and those people still want pots and pans from the Feds. Give me a break. I'm grateful for the help I got, probably could have gotten by without since I had started prepping before the storm. Now, three years later, I'm ready for just about anything short of all out Thermo Nuclear War, and I might make it through that. My point is, that it's nice to have a government that is willing to help it's people as best it can, but I'm not waiting for them to tuck me in at night.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Nah, they made a mistake... quote from Survivalblog:
------------------------------------------------

"Friday July 25 2008
Note from JWR:

I heard from a dozen readers that I was recently quoted by WorldNetDaily, in an article about food shortages. (The article misidentifies the location of the Rawles Ranch, but I don't mind keeping people guessing.) "

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

The difference with Katrina was that Rove was in a pissing contest with the Gov of La. Rove wanted to try out federally run martial law. So while people were trapped on roofs and in attics and had no clean water, FEMA kept donated clean water and ice and volunteer rescue boats out. FEMA kept the Red Cross and Salvation Army out. FEMA cut the local sherriff's communications lines. FEMA prevented diesel at the dock ordered to keep pumps and emergency generators going from being offloaded. The White House did not permit the nearby empty hospital ship to evacuate the hospitals. All so, as shrub put it, people would die till he could send in 'locked and loaded battle hardened troops.' And Blackwater which went around beating people and confiscating guns.

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So yeah, if we have sociopaths like these in office anyone sent will be to harm us.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

To quote Fred Sanford..."I'm a-comin;, Lizbeth!!!" Dang, another thing we agree on. Unbelievable.

As a sidebar on trying before you buy....I made the mistake of gatting a couple (it was 4 IIRC) of mixed cases of MH pouches for my wife and son to try out (6 YO boys are notorious for being finicky eaters at times, other time they eat anything). To make a long story short, after trying the mac and cheese for supper one nite, my son got up in the middle of the nite to get all the pouches left of mac and cheese out of the cases and put them all in the bottom drawer of his dresser because (as he told my wife the next day when she went to make some more for him for lunch) "daddy got them all for ME."

LOL

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

More, from Hattiesburg

from here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11996534

And the ice melting on the national guard base while people die.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

LOL BobS

We went heavy on the mac'n'cheese, spaghetti, and granola with blueberries from Mtn House after our taste tests. The beef stroganoff and stew were ok too, but those kiddie menu items seem to do best as to palatability, as does jello and gatorade.

Most of our stored food is from the local supermarket or coop, however. Beans, grains. I did order some #10 cans of wheat for sprouting from LDS, and #10 cans of steel cut oats for oatmeal from Honeyville. Those cases in cans stack so well that I'm willing to pay extra. We intend to use the MH food sparingly as we don't think it is very healthy, but it fits a niche for variety and ease of preparation. Just boiling water. I need to build us a black iron pipe water heater and we might be able to prepare an MH supper from solar heated water. We have a sun shower to use to conserve stored water and fuel in showering.

I think you can still get MH in #10 cans if you hurry and hunt around at various retailers. We may not need it that soon, so paying a big mark up might not be needed as long as you lay in beans and grains and ordinary canned goods in case we need it soon.

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Talking about comfort foods...my wife found my sweet tooth (or is that "teeth"?) She found this:

http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...-Powder/Detail

...and the way she fixes it (with water and dried milk), mmmmmmMMMMMMM MMMMM!!! I can eat me a mess of orange pudding!! It reminds me of my favorite summer treat as a kid in the early 50's...orange pushups (icecream pop up). For the last couple of years, she has made sure we always had at least 3 boxes on hand.

LOL!

Best regards,

Bob

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

Hell, even if I were in need and a US citizen, I'd stop the Canadians coming in...:D

Re: Feds are stockpiling Mountain House #10 cans
 

mmmmmm Haven't tried the mac-n-cheese yet.

MLS