Is It Strange That FEMA Wants to Buy 140 Million Packaged Meals with a Shelf Life Only 36 Months?

I find it incredibly interesting about the buzz the New Madrid fault zone is receiving recently. History channel just did a special heavily featuring it as well.

i should change buisness to Packaged Meals than :S

Maybe FEMA are just going on holiday (vacation in American) and their children are staying at home. Stocking up on ready meals is exactly the sort of thing my mum used to do.

...or it could be the apocalypse.

reply to post by burntheships
I have been reading the threads on all the world wide threats taking place right now. I did some research on the net and came up with this:

A homeland Security/FEMA offshoot quango preparing communities for disasters, terrorism etc...

www.citizencorps.gov...

If you watch the videos it is quite laughable as a disabled man in his 'preparedness' drill phones the local car hire company to see if there is a disaster will he be able to get a car able to transport his wheelchair ? I do not think anyone will be at the car rental hire company to take his call in the face of an earthquake, volcano eruption etc...?
Children will be given colouring-in kits about disasters etc...and the youth are being asked to be mini me volunteer disaster co-ordinators in their house?
I think this means business as all the pieces of the jigsaw are being made here on ATS?
Why would all this money being spent be on drill manouvres and training the public in 'preparedness' drills in their local communities?

This is taken from this website about the consequences of Yellowstone exploding:

www.unmuseum.org...

"Bill McGuire, professor of geohazards at the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at the University College of London told the UK Daily Express, "Magma would be flung 50 kilometers into the atmosphere. Within a thousand kilometers virtually all life would be killed by falling ash, lava flows and the sheer explosive force of the eruption. One thousand cubic kilometers of lava would pour out of the volcano, enough to coat the whole USA with a layer 5 inches thick." He adds that it would once again bring "the bitter cold of Volcanic Winter to Planet Earth. Mankind may become extinct."

If Yellowstone goes up, it is not a local but a global disaster on a magnitude with the extinction of the dinosaurs?


This link thread on ATS has a lot of information on the earth and all that has happened these past few months:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

i believe this is how it works they run the exercise the same day it happens. that's what happened in multiple cases so far.. 9/11.. the terrorist bus attack several others

See? If they wanted you guys all dead they'd invest in more of them coffins
we've been seeing around so much, not in food. The government needs
the lackeys to do work, without you there's no country, remember that.

i guess we'll stay tuned!
i guess i'll inform the family to keep a look out.

reply to post by coolottie


I was saying that "I wonder" if there were data that was out there of the government running drills before major events. Because "if" this were a drill we might be able to see some sort of pattern.

The scariest thing for me concerning lack of food and depending on someone like fema would be my sons peanut allergies. Because even in everyday life grocery shopping we are always on the lookout for products containing peanuts and manufactured on machines that process them. And as far as I can remember with mre type foods they didn't have warnings on them, maybe times have changed since then.

Originally posted by coolottie
reply to post by GhostLancer

 

I understand them planning ahead but spending $ 560,000,000 on something that only had a shelf life of 36 months is not very smart. Even if they ask the contractors to have them ready and after 36 months if they are not used the contractors can sue. I know they have to be smarter than that. Wasting taxpayers money is not the smart thing to do in our economic situation right now.

It's a good bet that these would be of use within three years, with the recent history of natural and manmande disasters over the last three years. How many volcanic eruptions, floods and other disasters have happened during the last three years? Weren't there even more tsunamis?

Each time a major disaster happened, the US was there to help. Although very little press is given, the US provides meals necessary for the affected population to survive until a more permanent infrastructure is once again established. Many, if not MOST, of these meals are in the form of pre-packaged, MRE-styled meals (if not MREs themselves).

Again, we are quiet supporters of regions affected by natural disaster. We might hear that "The US is assisting ___insert country name here___ after a major disaster displaced thousands of people..." Usually the press doesn't detail the particulars: that we provide pre-packaged meals and water and shelter to help these people survive until they're back on their feet. The same is true for American disasters. Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, etc. Affected people are fed pre-packaged food. We use these meals more often than is credited.

So, sure, it would be a waste of tax payer money; however, based on the track record of the past three years... I would be we would need at least half of the meals by this year's end. They get eaten up pretty fast. Personally, I would have requested meals with a 7 - 10 year shelf life. But, that's me.

Hi all, this is my second post on a thread. I thought some might find this interesting to view, I looked through the posts and I don't think anyone has posted this yet. This is the PDF for
UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL
AFFAIRS, AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE ON STATE, LOCAL, AND PRIVATE SECTOR PREPAREDNESS
AND INTEGRATION
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
The NLE or Nation Level Exercise is spelled out in this PDF. Check page 7 and on.


www.hsdl.org...

reply to post by burntheships


Looks to me like they are trying to determine which vendors can meet their needs in case of such an event...NOT actually placing the orders... That's what an RFI is for folks...in business.

Request For Information. They want to know (in writing) who can meet their specifications, to then make an intelligent decision if they needed the product.

Sounds like they are simply doing their job to me. They'll need to know who can supply it PREVIOUS to the need for such a thing, and have a contract in place for it, to make it deliverable quickly.

reply to post by tsloan

ok i did some poking in to past FEMA drills an a national exercise, the first one was called topoff 1, in 2000 with continued drills that lead up too 9/11this was part of a year long drill state fed local DOD nsa fbi usaf ect, the nxt one was in 2003 then in 2005,and the last topoff was in 2007 then they FEMA changed it to NLE, where DHS and FEMA are heading up the fore front 2009 July 31was the start of this new NLE 2010 in may on the days of the 17 and18, and then we have the current one 2011 in may this is a side drill apart from the "shake up" day in April on the 28. i hope this helps.

reply to post by Gazrok


I am leaning in that direction myself actually...

Although they mention a 10 day exercise...

Its hard to say, in light of the information posted in the thread that there is also
a preparation exercise planned for April it could be for that.


www.shakeout.org...

reply to post by burntheships


I don't know if it's strange or not but I can tell you right now that I don't want to eat anything that's been on the shelf for over 36 months. It's like those twinkies that won't even grow mold, who wants to eat something with that many preservatives in it?

2011
The year of controlled depopulation
My advise would be to fortify your cellar, install air filters and stock up on food and water...

Dont have a cellar ? then find a dry sewerage or dig yourself a deep hole

reply to post by burntheships
no that is a different drill the FEMA DHS is part of a National level exercise or a NLE, it is to test first responders, communication, TPTB to see how the chain of command works, and too what and how state and local responders handle it what ever it is Natural, nuke, bio, chem.

reply to post by sjrily


I think you are correct. It is x1,000 not x1,000,000. But that's not very sensational and would not allow for really clever speculation by children.

reply to post by burntheships


Right. Those links are to an RFI, not a PO (or Purchase Order).

The RFI is to provide information for logistics to identify the supply chain that is capable of meeting such a demand on short notice, and within very strict parameters. This RFI would be sent to MANY different vendors to see:

1) Who can best meet the needs
2) The price at which they can meet the needs
3) The vendor's perceived capability to meet those promises
4) The stability of the vendor

etc., etc. to then determine who would get the arrangement contract, in case such a thing was needed.

You certainly don't want to be trying to negotiate this in the middle of responding to a crisis. Folks are reading WAY too much into this.

nobody in their right mind orders 140M MRE's
just for an exercise.

You don't go out and buy a box of condoms
for simulated sex (masturbation) do you???

Same goes for the blankets and the water.

They expect a real event
and are preparing in advance. Whether it is
a man-made disaster or a natural catastrophe?
The jury is still out. But my guess would be
HAARP and a man-made event. They expect
millions to be displaced. And a ten day train ride
can get you and your family to virtually any
FEMA Camp.

And in response to Gazrok
they already know who is capable of supplying
their inventory and usually Haliburton is not far
from the top of the list. Might I remind Gazrok
of the US's no bid contract doctrine???