Rise of the preppers

"Survivalism Lite

They call themselves 'preppers.' They are regular people with homes and families. But like the survivalists that came before them, they're preparing for the worst."



http://www.newsweek.com/id/228428

Really interesting article, thanks for posting the link. The increase in Red Cross volunteers is a positive trend:

"Emergency-supply retailers say they're seeing business boom; the Red Cross has had a surge in volunteers over the past year (up some 160,000 over 2008)

"Some preppers fear the complete breakdown of society, while others simply want to stock up on extra granola bars and lighter fluid in case of a blackout or a storm.

"We want people to understand that preparedness is an individual's job, too,' says Joseph Bruno, New York City’s commissioner of emergency management, where polling has shown that more than 50 percent of residents are thinking about preparedness—up from just 18 percent in 2004."


The economy's meltdown surely accounts for a lot of this. It's scary to see the macro spiral downward seemingly out of control, and comforting to control what you can about your individual situation through preparedness.

I'm thinking of writing a tome:

The Prepper Handbook

"...she's spent about $4,000 on food supplies, an amount that should keep her family going for at least three months."


Yowza!

Yowza is right.

In the early 1990s, I used to be given $7 per day per man to feed a crew on my boat. We had to take the money and go to grocery store and buy food. So, for four, we'd get $224 per week, or about $1,000 per month. The money varied with crew sizes, and there could be as many as ten or as few as three on board at any time. But for half of the money she spent, I could feed, and feed well, four men who all had big appetites. I realize there is some inflation, but inflation should not have doudbled those costs, esp. since she can buy in bulk and seems to from the images shown.

Moreover, a supply that is purportedly a "year" of food, all grain and legumes, is less than $1000.

Two adults, two children and four dogs covered for three months of food for $4,000...

That's pretty much the "Mountain House Ultimate Pak" (1 Year food supply for 1 person or 3 month for 4 people) plus a couple hundred dollars for dog food.

Most of us could probably do it much more cheaply by shopping around for bargains and doing things from scratch. I'm just glad that family is 3 months ahead of most others no matter what it cost them.

I could easily feed 4 hungry adults on less than $1,000 a month. I fed our family of four for even less.

It is a lot, but depending on what you are buying, entirely believable. Longer shelf life and ease of preperation both increase prices, as does variety. Hard red wheat lasts forever, but if you don't have the know how to use it properly (a) learn, and (b) start with something easier, even if it more expensive. Canned butter and cheese, those both add up fast, as do canned or irradiated and wet packed meats. Then add in a few treats (a few cases of people's favorite soda, quick bread mixes, chocolate, a few bottles of good scotch, one good cigar per week per adult), and while it is bulkier and more expensive, it is more "civilized". It also gives you trade goods.

And if we are factoring in things that aren't "food", but consumables, into that mix, $4K is even easier to believe. Fuel, batteries, medicines, matches, they start to add up and they are all things that I would count in with the food myself. Now we'd probably all reduce the cost with a couple bricks of .22, a box or ten of something in the range of .30-30 to .30-06, fishing gear and some rattraps, but even that adds up pretty quick.

maybe stocking up to carry a family thru the loss of employment with more than hand outs from a food bank is not a bad idea but i smell that Y2K panic buying here arranged by people with stuff to sell that people don't really need unless they live in earthquake or storm zones..what i read was lots of numbers.$1000-$4000 and not what the preppers would really do if a worse case played out.
having said that maybe its because i live someplace where things are not so bad that i don't appreciate the sense of panic in other parts of the country..

Yep, if the fare includes other essentials as well as food, it could be a lot more than $4k. I was only considering what I normally stock for food alone, with 90% or better having at least a 3 month shelf life.

When you throw in everything else it takes just to get by, it do add up.

Interesting article ... setting aside all the fine details - the essential point is that a growing number of Americans see the importance of aiming for greater self-sufficiency. Clearly there is a wider perception that the system is going to fail people ... that peoples' buying power for food & resources is going to be undermined, that the energy supply system (gasoline, heating oil & electricity) is going to be less available or less affordable, and maybe that there is going to be more "hostile competition" for daily survival in the cities.

There is a fundamental generational change that is starting to take place in America now. People are moving towards the notion that the political system is broken and unresponsive - and they need to take matters into their own hands.

the other Pete

Hmm, sounds like the makings of a new conservative movement, lol.

But does Cody Lundin have flat feet though??

Its been mentioned before in other threads but LDS has canneries that allow non-LDS to participate. Its incredibly cheap to score great long term supplies. Ask an LDS friend to get you on the list or inquire with a local church (or whatever they call them)

Has nothing to do with politics in my case, I'm proud to be a progressive. I just like the idea of being prepared and more self reliant. I don't know what anyone means when they say things like "the system is going to fail...", there are millions of people invested in keeping the system alive and well. I simply enjoy being more self reliant because it pleases me. I enjoy eating the eggs laid in my backyard more so than the ones that come from the store, that doesn't mean that I'm afraid that the store is gonna run out of eggs any time soon.

Contrary to what a lot of people think, one needn't be a "conservative" to want to be more self reliant. Given the number of so-called conservatives who willingly and eagerly take subsidies from the government that they claim to despise, one wonders who is really more dependent.

That borders on political talk so I'll stop there.

I'll simply add this, there are a lot of people who have realized that there is profit to be made from scaring people, a lot of them are simply opportunists who fan the flames of political and social change in order to make a profit.

Having spent a fair amount of time living in the country/backwoods, self reliance has nothing to do with politics - it just makes sense.

Now I live in a fairly urban environment; it still adds up.

Self reliance has ALWAYS been a good idea. I like the idea that more people are doing it. Even if they're not doing it quite right (according to us), they're doing something, which is more than most.

Sue

JohnE: The growing concern that people have that the system is "going to fail" is not coming simply from paranoia. It's not a new Y2K thing.

By the way ... I agree that the whole Y2K mess that happened a decade ago had a huge amount of exploitation and fear mongering built into it.

There are several good reasons why people are losing confidence in our current political system. One factor is the spiraling levels of financial debt that are building up in the USA, UK, Japan, and some other western economies. Average citizens are sensing that these levels of debt simply cannot be sustained, and that therefore serious consequences MUST come from this irresponsible behavior. Hence, it seems likely that we will see either serious cutbacks in services from governments, OR big tax increases, OR big increases in the prices we pay for basic items like food, oil, etc. Any way you look at this, people will have to change their living habits substantially to cope with this.

One small - but good - example is already coming from the state government in Arizona. The governor of AZ has publicly acknowledged that the state is way over-committed financially, and that they MUST make serious cutbacks to get things back in line. I view this as an honest and realistic approach to the problem. But it will cause hardship, and force people to be more frugal.

In contrast to this, take a look at the "denial" that is still going on with my own state of California. The budget deficit for CA is huge compared to AZ, and we still don't see state politicians who have the guts to be realistic about the consequences. CA is risking the possibility of a major crash because of this behavior.

Looking beyond these economic concerns, there is a set of even bigger concerns about trends in our world over the next 30-50 years. I might take the time to post some of these scientific predictions on the forum - so people can take a look. The picture is not good. But keep in mind that these are based on scientific concerns. This is not something related to doomsday prophecies, or the Mayan calendar. It is also not related to the current controversy of global warming. The main drivers are population trends, an energy crisis, and scarce resources.

Still ... I notice that there are big differences in attitudes across America about these issues. If I visit people in Utah or Missouri (for example), they seem much more relaxed and much less concerned. Life is slower, and they have not been impacted by the changes yet (not too much!!). But Americans living in the larger cities are already feeling the consequences ... families feel like they are not getting ahead, and frankly are struggling just to stay even. There is more stress, and living standards are eroding.

The move to sustainable living is really a good idea at this time ... an essential one actually. Those folks here who have already made the transition are well ahead of the rest of the country.

other Pete

Interesting, my family of four spends about $100 a week for food, 4,000 for 3 months, Yikes!

Cheap shelf stable items, and spices.

toss in $6 worth of tea and you have good tasting water.

I'm glad she's prepared though, in an emergency those supplies can become priceless, money well spent indeed.

Wow. Just wow. We're spending so much more than than on food - I mean like 2 or 3 times that. east coast living I guess.

We spent over $750 at Kroger last month, I know because with their rewards program we earned $.50 per off per gallon of gas.

Single income, E-5 pay. I was using my GI Bill to supplement our income and hopefully learn something useful in college.

This change is mirrored with terminology within the Emergency Management field. The old term "disaster subculture" has been replaced with "resilient communities".