Tough Questions to Ask Before Buying a Year Supply Unit

Tough Questions to Ask Before Buying a "Year Suppy" Unit

More and more individuals and families are becoming better prepared. In today's ever uncertain world in which we live, having a backup reserve of long storing foods is an essential part of any emergency preparedness plan.

Nitro-Pak has recommended having an emergency food reserve for over 25 years. More and more are seeing the light in this wisdom. In fact, the U.S. government's HOMELAND DEFENSE DEPARTMENT recommends that all individuals and families should have an emergency food reserve, 72 hour emergency kits, etc.

Whether is be for severe storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, domestic terrorism, job lay-offs, etc. having a backup food reserve may be one of the best and wisest investments you'll ever make! Think of this investment as an insurance policy you can eat.

We believe the time and investment you make today in purchasing a excellent quality food reserve (and other preparedness supplies) will bring about greater peace-of-mind and security for you and your loved ones.

Know Who You Are Buying From!

Since 1999 Y2K days, we have seen many so-called 'preparedness' companies come and go. A word of caution - be careful about where you shop. It's perfectly ok to want a good deal, but be cautious. We've seen some pretty outrageous claims for food storage and we want to protect you. Hey, we like a good deal as much as anyone else, but we hate to get taken with what turns out to be inferior goods or bait & switch tactics.

One of our customers recently saw a company offering a so called "ultimate" Mountain House food reserve that was billed better than our PLATINUM RESERVE with what appeared to be a "cheaper" price. So we checked it out for ourselves.

Upon closer inspection we found shocking missing details. Nowhere was there anything stating how many calories per day were included in their unit. So we did the math and added up all their unit's food calories and it came out to be LESS than 900 calories per day! (In comparison, our PLATINUM RESERVE provides over 2000 calories per day). See question #4 below. Buyer beware! This is what we have coined as a "SURVIVAL STARVATION DIET". Woefully inadequate!

Either this company was trying to fraud their customers or that they just chose to hide the truth, either way it is deceptive. Their unit is less than HALF the calories of our affordable PLATINUM RESERVE and a whopping 1600 Calories LESS per day than our top selling ULTIMATE-PAK II. You would have to buy over two of their units at $2800 a pop ($5600) to only barely come close to our affordable PLATINUM RESERVE. Beware of fraud claims by unscrupulous dealers. Know what you are really getting for your hard earned money!

Critical Questions to Ask Before Buying Food Storage

Here are some very important questions you need to ask and receive real answers to before you buy a food reserve unit from anywhere else:

1. How long has the company been in business selling preparedness foods and supplies?

Most companies will hate this question since 95% of the internet 'preparedness' companies have only been around for less than 1-3 years. You want to purchase your preparedness reserves just like you would for a car or life insurance. If there is ever a problem, you'll want a company that's been around for 15 or more years so you can be much more confident that they will be around to back their warranty. Demand and expect exceptional customer service both before and after the sale wherever you buy. As for Nitro-Pak, we have been here faithfully serving our customers with top quality products for over 24 years and counting.

2. Do they have an actual store and warehouse or are they just a "virtual" internet only company working out of their garage?

Most will run and hide on this question. Most 'preparedness' companies are only virtual internet businesses. They just take orders online from their home, charge up your credit card and have the goods drop-shipped to you from who knows where or from whom. Rarely do they actually warehouse any products themselves. Many have no employees and rarely offer any real customer service. Beware.

Are they an internet only business? These so called companies are very risky. Rarely have they been around long. Be careful. Many come and go overnight. Know more about the company before shelling out your hard earned money or credit card. Only those with a long track record of quality service will still be in business after 10 to 20 years later. Again, it is rare to see a preparedness dealer with these credentials.

3. Look closely at what they are calling a 'Year Supply Food Unit'

No dealer will want you to know this, but there is NO SET STANDARD as to what constitutes a 'Year Supply' food unit... none. This is where we have seen many people get really taken advantage of. Because there is no standard, you could get anything. I've seen so called 'year supply units' that had as few as 48 cans of food! Know what you are really getting.

I saw one "big company" selling a so called "Year Supply Unit" that only had 9 cases of #10 canned foods and selling for a rally cheap "SALE" price. It provided at best about 400 calories of food per day (what I call a Pioneer diet) with very little variety (minimum should be 1800-2000 calories) and a "cheap" price. Without a doubt, this WAS clearly a Survival Starvation diet!

I asked the company owner if he owned one of these units to protect his family and he said "Heck no, no way!" I then asked then him why then he was selling this woefully inadequate unit to his customers? His respond shocked even me. He said "Harry, you do not understand, people do not care what is in the unit, they only care about that it's called a "year supply" and the price! They don't care about anything else". Wow, the old saying that you get what you paid for was probably coined right here. This guy is not the only one like this out there unfortunately.

Just do your homework before you buy. Look not only at the quantity of cans, but the variety of foods you'll be getting plus whether they include any freeze-dried complete meals or are they only made up of cook from scratch wheat, beans and dehydrated foods. Does the diet of foods match your family's tastes? Do you eat more "fast foods" or are you a scratch cooker? Does your food reserve provide for breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals and clearly show how much you will get each day or is it totally subjective and you have to guess? Sadly, most companies fall into the later group.

Does the company offer an exact listing of what you will get, or do they provide only a vague number of cans and foods? If they do not...RUN! Are the food items they include premium freeze-dried no-cooking that are completely prepared meals or do they require cooking from scratch with labor filled meal preparation, fuel & time consuming cooking and full cleanup? Does your reserve include REAL freeze-dried meats, or only cheaper imitation TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)?

4. How many Calories Per Day Average does the unit provide?

Here is another CRITICAL question to ask. Most companies will not like this question. Most do not even know the answer. BEWARE! The FDA says that the average adult male in the USA uses about 2400 to 2600 calories per day and females about 2000 to 2200 calories per day. Your food reserve should reflect this daily average, too.

In an emergency, you will very possibly be using even more calories than normal due to disaster cleanup and helping others. The U.S. Military plans a minimum of 4500 calories per day for soldiers in the field in comparison.

At a recent preparedness expo, I had a customer show me a flier from another company offering a '2-Year Supply' for only $1,400. Wow, what a good deal it looked like at first glance. What a bargain it looek like at first glance. Only 64 cents a meal. Now let me candidly ask you, when was the last time you ate a meal for just 64 cents? This unit had only 10 cases of food for a full year.

Now I asked the gentleman "How many calories per day does this unit provide?" He said they guy told him "2,000 per day". GET REAL. That was and outright lie. We did the math and counted the calories up and it wasn't even close. In reality, that unit provided at best 800 per day (provided primarily by white sugar to inflate the calorie numbers).

Looking closely at his sheet of paper that showed what was included in the unit, I asked the customer just exactly what he was going to do with 12 cans of sugar and 48 cans of powdered milk? Well, you get the picture. He then tossed the flier in the trash and ordered two of our Mountain House Platinum Reserve units instead.

Was he getting a good deal from us? He thought so, even at about $3.00 per meal. He got all familiar-tasting foods his whole family liked and his wife got gourmet tasting food that required no cooking or preparation with just-add-water and eat convenience PLUS a shelf-live of up to 25 years! He got a great deal!

As a rule of thumb, plan to spend an average of $1.70 to $3.95 per meal for a good quality food reserve. Reserves with freeze-dried foods do cost bit more than many less expensive bulk wheat, flour, beans, etc., but don't forget--Mountain House FREEZE-DRIED foods store for up to 25 years compare to 8-12 years for many bulk food and they require ZERO meal preparation, use much LESS fuel and water for cooking and cleanup (both may be in short supply after a disaster or emergency)!

The BOTTOM-LINE: Know exactly what you are getting and comparing against. You'll want a food reserve that will provide a minimum of 1,800 to 2,500 calories per day. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it most assuredly will be.

5. Does Your Unit Offer a Wide Selection of Foods & Meals?

Does the food reserve unit you are look at offer a wide range of foods choices? Are the foods provide things your family will eat? Remember, you want to store what you eat so you will eat what you store. Your unit should offer different meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even some snacks where possible.

We recommend checking out our PLATINUM RESERVE® and ULTIMATE-PAK II® for comparison. You'll see what we consider a well rounded food reserve should look like. You will enjoy a wide array of delicious tasting Mountain House freeze-dried foods and meals in addition to our own premium NITRO-PAK brand of no-cooking instant meal supplements and side dishes that provide for a well rounded diet.

6. Does the company offer an Unconditional 100% Satisfaction Money-Back Guarantee in WRITING?

If not, hang up and go onto someone else. Again, how long have they been in business?

With over 35 years of top-notch customer service behind us and our 120-Day NO-RISK UNCONDITIONAL Money-Back Guarantee, nobody beats NITRO-PAK®.

We want your business and we will work hard to earn it! We invite you to compare and see for yourself why tens of thousands of satisfied customers each year choose NITRO-PAK for all their preparedness needs!

Copyright 2009 NITRO-PAK® Preparedness Center, Inc.