The average American is not prepared for emergencies, let alone a food emergency.

According to a 2022 Value Penguin survey, “Two-thirds of Americans don’t feel fully prepared for potential natural disasters, with many lacking key emergency preparedness items.”

66% of Americans feel unprepared because they lack emergency tools, such as generators, weather radios, and emergency kits.

Here’s where it becomes even more alarming.

At the start of the pandemic, Disaster Checklist conducted a poll about preparedness. 

78% of respondents didn't have enough water and/or canned goods at the start of quarantine to adequately meet their needs. Among 18 - 34-year-olds, it was even higher – 88%.

This poll specifically asked about canned food, and even then, most Americans were not prepared! 

Yikes.

This is shocking as we’ve all been taught to have at least 3 days’ worth of food for emergencies.

But those of us who strive for self-reliance understand we need far more than 3 days’ worth of food stockpiled.

A hurricane, tornado, or earthquake can take out power for weeks or longer. Not to mention how natural disasters affect the supply chain and make it more difficult to get food on grocery store shelves.

With that being said, we’d like to recognize those of you who have a pantry of emergency food – even if it is just a collection of canned goods.

However, if you truly want to be prepared for emergencies of all kinds, you need to go beyond the grocery store staples.

If the grid goes down and you don’t have enough emergency food, you’re going to get really tired of peanut butter, canned tuna, and crackers by day 4. 

If you think your pantry of canned goods is good enough, keep reading to learn the significant difference between emergency food and grocery store staples. 

Much Longer Shelf Life

In contrast to what is considered non-perishable grocery store foods, true emergency food is designed to have a long shelf life.

In other words, it won’t just be “safe” to eat after years, but it will still taste good.

It won’t lose flavor like canned goods, and you won’t have to force yourself to eat it. 

Because it’s made to cook and enjoy as if it is fresh.

Many Ready Hour Emergency Foods have a shelf life of 25 to 30 years.

Plus, many of these food products have an extended shelf life – even after being opened.

For example, the Ready Hour Buttermilk Pancake Mix Case Pack comes as a set of 5 airtight, sealed packages, which last for 30 years unopened. Each package has 10 servings for a total of 50 servings total – all you have to do is add water. You can open one package, and it will last for a year once opened, and then you still have 4 sealed packages remaining! 

You won’t get that same type of extended shelf life from grocery store staples. 

Ease and Convenience

True emergency food is designed to be used in real-life emergencies, which means it must be incredibly easy and convenient.

If you stock up on dry beans from the grocery store, you will still need to clean, soak, cook, and season the beans before eating. 

But, if you stock up on the Ready Hour Beans Trio & Rice Kit, all the preparation is done for you. 

The flavors are locked in through the unique dehydration method. All you’ll need to do is boil water, open the pouch, pour it in, cook for a few minutes, and serve.

Ready Hour emergency food only requires boiling water for cooking. This means you can even cook it over a campfire! 

No matter the emergency, you can enjoy fresh, nutritious family meals. 

Ready to Store

When it comes to storing your emergency food, space is critical.

That’s why all the foods Ready Hour produces are packaged in ways that are ready for storage.

For example, many Ready Hour Emergency Food Kits are packaged in 10-gallon food buckets that are easy to stack and carry with a handle.

Additionally, emergency foods are packaged in airtight multi-layered pouches, so you can store them flat as well. The individual pouches fit easily in go-bags or under beds. 

Better Packaging

Ready Hour Emergency Food is packaged far better than grocery store staples.

Let’s go back to those beans.

If you stock up on dry beans from the grocery store, you will have plastic bags of beans, which attract bugs and rodents that can easily chew through plastic.

In contrast, true emergency food comes packaged against pests.

For instance, these heavy-duty containers protect against water, sunlight, and pests. 

The multi-layer packages cannot be chewed through. Then, when placed inside an additional 10-gallon food bucket, they are completely safe when stored in the correct temperatures (between 55F and 70F). 

In addition, emergency food companies like Ready Hour use oxygen absorbers, which prevent the growth of mold and microorganisms by removing oxygen. 

You won’t find oxygen absorbers in most grocery store food staples, which is why their shelf life isn’t as long.

That’s not all. When it comes to packaging, My Patriot Supply understands the importance of protecting your orders.

That’s why we ship all food in unmarked boxes. Your neighbors will never know what you’ve got stocked unless you tell them. 

Calorie-Packed for Survival

If you find yourself in a survival situation, calories matter. 

The problem is that, in most survival situations, you aren’t thinking about how to get the most calories. You are simply thinking about eating whatever you have in your emergency pantry.

If your pantry is stocked with random canned goods and other staples, you may not get the calories you require to keep going.

True emergency food is designed with survival in mind. This means the meal kits ensure you get the right number of calories every day.

Our Ready Hour 4-Week Emergency Food Supply includes 16 food varieties that will provide 2,000 calories per day for 1 person for 28 days.

Make wise emergency food choices, friends.

In liberty,

Elizabeth Anderson

Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply