Almost 2 weeks ago I ordered some of those CG approved rations bars, to try them as part of my family's 72 hr kit. Well it seems that they are on back order due to the crisis in Japan, as are most mountain house meals. My big question is has anyone tried them? I ordered lemon and coconut to see which was liked more. Anyway just a heads up as far as those things are concerned, just shows you how precarious supplied can be. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B43JI0/?tag=survivalmonke-20
So right you are. Here is a quote direct from the Emergency Essentials April catalog, page 13; Mountain House Can Notice: Due to recent increase in demand, Mountain House has asked all distributors to temporarily stop taking orders for Mountain House cans. Mountain House's backlog is so large that they have stopped supplying all distributors with new orders for the time being. They have committed to fill all our previously placed orders; therefore, we continue to receive regular shipments from Mountain House. Customer orders that have already been placed with Emergency Essentials will be filled as the product arrives. yada yada yada .... there is more, but I am tired of typing....
Ok, well I got my Mainstay emergency rations in... Now I dont know if its a error or not but I ordered ONE 3600 cal bar just to see if I even like them....ONE.....and I got a 30 day supply...for 8.99 +S&H. So error or not i still came out on top in the scheme of things. On to my review: Ther bar is kinda large, and tastes faintly of lemons, so not overpowering. Its semi moist so it doesnt make you want to drink a gallon of water with it. The overall bar is 9 pre-cut blocks each block is roughly 400 cal, I ate one block and was suprised that it didnt taste like cardboard. Now I dont think that you could live happily on them but as a calorie booster to whatever you have it would work well. Just my thoughts on them.
I'm still waiting on some dehydrated milk I ordered back in February. Anyone else have a longer wait?
And Me Too... Back in late February I placed an order for a mixed product case of six No.10 cans and some water purification products from Ready Made Resources. All products were listed as in stock and ready for shipment. I was merely adding to my prepping stocks with a few carefully selected items. I received an e-mail from Ready Made Resources acknowledging receipt of my order and my credit card payment. No problem...so I thought. This was about a week before rumors of a massive nationwide FEMA order of freeze dried food cans and about three weeks before the Japan Quake/Tsunami/Nuke disaster. Then all kinds things began to heat up in the Middle East, the FEMA rumors began rumbling about on various media (which I understand have some substance, but I haven't seen proof), and of course the Japan on-going disasters began on March 11. So far, no products received. Several e-mails and one phone conversation with the company phone rep have led to no explanation. He did look up my name, recorded my phone number and recited my order verbatim. He said he would get back with me. I have received shipments from them in the past, and am confident I will again. It's aggravating to have to stand back in line when I was there first, or so it would seem. I want those products and am willing to wait. But time can wear anyone's patience thin. I'll be calling and e-mailing them again soon.
Our local grain delivery company has been short on wheat, quinewa and several other bulk grains on the last couple of orders. They are a bulk order company who seem to sell to the rural farm families and the Mennonite communitiy.
We were able to buy wheat at the local elevator last fall, now they say they are not selling any at all . Good luck with your orders. We also have some of those ration bars in our bug out bags.
I have several of those 3600 cal bars from mainstay and got an extra to try out with my wife and kids to see if we'd actually use it if needed. I like the "non-thirst provoking" recipe they have and they are fine to eat. I like that they're broken apart into little pieces (18 I think?) which is great if you are counting calories for survival rationing..and I have 4 little kids to feed. Mainstay makes the little mylar pouch water rations I much prefer over boxed water. I have a few gallons of those pouches distributed among some backpacks. I just cancelled an order at the readystore after waiting since January and repeatedly getting a "wait 4 more weeks" before delivery. I just went to my church's cannery and filled some orders of normal dry-pack in #10 cans. Sure the freeze dried food is a huge luxury and since everyone is panicking (long before Japan) and buying the good stuff first, I thought it wise to supplement my dry pack storage. Got a new electric grinder too because my hand cranking one is too tiresome.
The FEMA rumors have no substance. If was a RFP (request for proposals). FEMA shows a need, and invites any interested parties to propose a response. What they get back is paper, no money (or food) changes hands. They are looking for some inovative response from say wallmart, saying they have X million meals in their DCs, and they will partner with a minority firm who will kit up the meals (Think of a meal being a power bar, a can of chunky soup/flavored tuna/Chef Boy RD ravoli, and a can of fruit or apple sauce, and beef jearky or sun chips or a pastry. (all with pop tops). Or Kraft says in 36 hours they can start cranking out new meals in their existing factories, Or maybe, some guy says he'll buy 100,000 cases of MH, store in a salt mine, and "lease" the asset back to FEMA. And if FEMA really wants to buy 100,000 cases of MH, this is a way to show there isn't a a way to "contract out" that function. I know a guy who leases pallets of drinking wat4r to the Fed Govt. This particular agency is not allowed to purchase drinking water in advance of a disaster (stupid rules to prevent abuse). Right at the time of the disaster, it's hard to get pallets of drinking water. Wallmarts and SAMSs clubs in Atlanta will run short of water as huge quanities are sent near or to the disaster. So, they have a drinking water contract, and he buys pallets of drinking water, stores then for a year, then delivers them to little league concession stands months before they go out of date, and replaces with fresh water. The agency probally about breaks even if they bought water, they would have to get rid of it every 2 years, and they would need a place to store it. They excercise the contract about once every three years, often with some other agency footing the bill. He is discussing doing a cots, sheets, and pillows service.
Upate: Products Arrived As of yesterday the final part of my Ready Made Resources original freeze dried food and H2O purification products order from late February arrived by UPS. I was issued a credit for one food product that is no longer made, but the rest arrived A-OK. Usual delivery time from RMR is more like 3 weeks instead of 3 months, but as Andrew Jackson might have said to Jean Lafitte at the Battle of New Orleans, "Better late than never."