Food Prices on The Rise Again
I'm sure you've seen similar headlines a lot lately. I decided to do some digging and get to the bottom of it all.
Depending on where you look, the "experts" might tell you we're experiencing average food price inflation, others might say we're seeing extreme inflation. Since I don't have a degree in economics, it's hard to tell who's telling the truth. Of course, I have my own theory, which I'll share little later.
However, I don't need a theory to know how we're all feeling. Our food bills keep growing and I hear from folks like you every day who confirm that the cost of food is a huge concern. On top of it all, incomes have not kept pace with normal inflation rates since the recent recession. Economists call this "diminished purchasing power," which basically means your dollar doesn't get you as much as it used to.
The rising cost of food also affects our company when we go to buy raw ingredients for our survival food recipes. Right now, I'm battling with our suppliers to keep our prices from increasing. They want us to pay a premium to help cover their own inflation costs - the whole industry is affected. But, I'm not giving up just yet, we're holding our 2015 prices for as long as possible.
Despite all this bad news, there is a silver lining. I hear from folks like you all the time who tell me that getting prepared with food storage makes them feel better off, despite the rising cost of food. It's absolutely true - but why?
Well, that's how I came up with my theory about the value of preparedness. Especially in these times, with the price of food being so unpredictable, the value is even stronger.
Like a lot of my theories, they come from a mix of personal experience and what I've learned from history. Hearing from customers about their own food bills going up, I decided to look back on 2015 for some answers.
In 2015, Americans saw sky-high prices on eggs, chicken, pork, beef and even normally cheap produce like cabbage. A lot of things led to these high prices - avian flu and other livestock diseases, droughts, floods, intense demand and more. All of them create what's called a "shock" on the food supply, which drives up the price. So while 2016 prices are not expected to increase more than average, that assumes "Mother Nature's cooperation," as one article put it.
Then it hit me - we all know better than that. Practicing emergency preparedness teaches you not to expect Mother Nature's cooperation. It's easy for an economist to tell you why the price of corn or pork skyrockets after it happens, but they can never predict it. There's no "Crystal Ball" School of Economics.
You can't even predict human behavior with any kind of accuracy. Look what's happening in Canada right now, the high price of meat has caused thieves - including organized gangs - to steal the best cuts from grocery stores and resell them on the black market. This is leading to even higher prices, and reduced availability!
When you can't predict, you prepare. That's why we practice emergency preparedness and why we're dedicated to helping folks like you do the same. You can't predict a shock. Food - including emergency food - isn't getting any cheaper, which is why preparing now is the smart, economical choice. The value of preparedness is higher than the price of any product you can buy, plus, our emergency food has a shelf life of up to 25 years - who knows what food will cost then?
So if you need to restock your emergency food or want to add more to your current supply, now is the time to buy.
Prepare with My Patriot Supply today and get the best value for your preparedness budget.
In liberty,
Grant Miller
Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply
