- Feb 4, 2013
- 28,175
Maybe not an actual scam, but VERY misleading.
I got an email from a company called 4 Patriots.
They have a 3 month food supply for about $600. The good news is, they supply about 1500 calories per day, unlike some (Wise for one) who seem to think you can live on 600 calories per day.
But what caught my eye about this one was the titles of the meals. Creamy Stroganoff. Chili Mac. Cowboy Rice and Beans.
Notice? No mention of meat.
I searched and found some nutritional and ingredients listings, and yeah, NO MEAT in any dish. Even the Chicken ala King only has chicken bouillon. And get this, it is VEGETARIAN chicken bouillon. Which means they only have chicken flavor.
The point is, research carefully if you are looking at any of these long term "survival" food offers.
Look at how many calories per day. A serving is not a meal. Even a typical camping meal pouch is multiple servings, but intended as one meal for one person. Normally you need about 2000 calories a day. More if you are very active. Which you might be in a survival situation.
Look at menus. Are they balanced? Do they contain the proper number of each meal (not more breakfasts than dinners)? Do they count drinks? Do you LIKE what you are getting? Yes, when you are REALLY hungry, you will eat anything, but it is nicer to have most of the meals be things you LIKE to eat.
Look at the packaging. Is it convenient for one person? If a meal is 3 servings, and they give you packages that are 8 servings, is that convenient? Or worse, 3 servings for a meal, but 4 servings in a package, so you will tend to eat all 4 servings, and your supply does not last for 30 days.
Look at actual ingredients? A vegan menu may be acceptable to you, but know what you are getting. Look at the amount of carbs versus protein. The 4 Patriots seems to run carb heavy.
Look at how much space it will take. Nothing like getting a stash of food that takes up your living room. Also, compare sizes. Interesting that the 4 Patriot comes in 2 each 14 gallon totes (about 28 x 19 x 10) The Mountain House 30 day food supply comes in 3 each boxes that are 27 x 10 x 44. Or each Mountain House box is over twice as large at the 4 Patriots totes. So more than 3 times the volume. Makes you wonder. But if you don't have much room, you may need a more compact
And finally TAANSTAFL. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
How can they sell you 30 days of food for less than $600, when Mountain House is just over $2000. Hmmmmm. Not saying that Mountain House is a good value. But it is a known quantity.
I got an email from a company called 4 Patriots.
They have a 3 month food supply for about $600. The good news is, they supply about 1500 calories per day, unlike some (Wise for one) who seem to think you can live on 600 calories per day.
But what caught my eye about this one was the titles of the meals. Creamy Stroganoff. Chili Mac. Cowboy Rice and Beans.
Notice? No mention of meat.
I searched and found some nutritional and ingredients listings, and yeah, NO MEAT in any dish. Even the Chicken ala King only has chicken bouillon. And get this, it is VEGETARIAN chicken bouillon. Which means they only have chicken flavor.
The point is, research carefully if you are looking at any of these long term "survival" food offers.
Look at how many calories per day. A serving is not a meal. Even a typical camping meal pouch is multiple servings, but intended as one meal for one person. Normally you need about 2000 calories a day. More if you are very active. Which you might be in a survival situation.
Look at menus. Are they balanced? Do they contain the proper number of each meal (not more breakfasts than dinners)? Do they count drinks? Do you LIKE what you are getting? Yes, when you are REALLY hungry, you will eat anything, but it is nicer to have most of the meals be things you LIKE to eat.
Look at the packaging. Is it convenient for one person? If a meal is 3 servings, and they give you packages that are 8 servings, is that convenient? Or worse, 3 servings for a meal, but 4 servings in a package, so you will tend to eat all 4 servings, and your supply does not last for 30 days.
Look at actual ingredients? A vegan menu may be acceptable to you, but know what you are getting. Look at the amount of carbs versus protein. The 4 Patriots seems to run carb heavy.
Look at how much space it will take. Nothing like getting a stash of food that takes up your living room. Also, compare sizes. Interesting that the 4 Patriot comes in 2 each 14 gallon totes (about 28 x 19 x 10) The Mountain House 30 day food supply comes in 3 each boxes that are 27 x 10 x 44. Or each Mountain House box is over twice as large at the 4 Patriots totes. So more than 3 times the volume. Makes you wonder. But if you don't have much room, you may need a more compact
And finally TAANSTAFL. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
How can they sell you 30 days of food for less than $600, when Mountain House is just over $2000. Hmmmmm. Not saying that Mountain House is a good value. But it is a known quantity.