"Mr Blake set up Emergency Food Storage in Leeds in 2009. He took his lead from the U.S., where the idea of ‘self-preparedness’ is mainstream."
I think a big difference is that in the UK we don't have many natural disasters. We don't get big earthquakes or hurricanes or tsunamis. We have floods, but they are pretty local. We have tornadoes, but they only affect a few score houses. My impression is that US people who don't actually live in a hurricane (et al) area are generally no better prepared than we are.
(As an aside, the Daily Mail isn't a reliable source, and Mr Blake is obviously selling something.)