I despise Walmart and made a pledge years ago that I would never shop there again. I have no interest in supporting the demise of the American way of life and the quality of their Chinese-made products have disappointed me to no end.
Unfortunately, most American consumers don’t feel the same way. As United States consumers switched from supporting Mom and Pop stores to Walmart so they could save a few cents, Walmart was allowed to spread their tentacles throughout all of the United States, crushing small businesses in the process.
Now, we are stuck in a situation where Walmart may be the only option in many local regions, as they have no competition. However, in larger metropolitan areas around the country, there are employee-owned and United States-based companies to buy survival foods for a bargain.
Additionally, German-owned stores like Aldi and Lidl make it easy to stock up on survival foods at the lowest prices.
Mom And Pops Shops
When possible, support Mom and Pop shops.
While buying survival foods at Mom and Pop shops will cost more than big box stores, financial support allows them to remain open, offering options to consumers.
While the greater majority of people are suffering financially due to the current economic calamity, spending more and supporting these small businesses is even more important now than ever.
Publix
Publix is at the top of the list to buy survival foods for a bargain because they are the largest employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the United States. Customers in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia all have access to Publix grocery stores.
Founded in 1930, Publix has been dedicated to remaining employee-owned and is one of the best American alternatives to big box stores like Walmart.
Related: What Really Happens When You Only Eat Walmart Cans For 30 Days?
GreenWise
Publix also owns GreenWise market, a health food store that was introduced in 2007. While only located in certain Florida markets, plans to expand the GreenWise market are in progress. As a direct competitor to Whole Foods, now owned by Amazon, GreenWise market is an option to buy healthy survival foods.
WinCo Foods
WinCo Foods is another United States-based private company, where the majority is owned by employees.
Founded in Boise, Idaho, WinCo now has stores in California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington. WinCo is a great place to buy survival foods, as they purchase directly from farmers and manufacturers while offering a warehouse-style store similar to Costco.
Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee is another chain of supermarkets that are employee-owned and serve the Midwestern United States.
Related: Delicious Recipes Using Cattails – “The Supermarket of the Swamp”
Hy-Vee operates a total of 240 stores throughout Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
Founded in 1930 in Beaconsfield, Iowa, Hy-Vee’s slogan, “where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle”, makes it a joy to shop here.
Woodman’s Markets
Woodman’s Markets is an employee-owned supermarket that was founded in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1919.
With support for cities in Wisconsin and Illinois, Woodman’s is a warehouse-style grocery store that has a huge selection of products and is open 24 hours a day.
Woodman’s can keep prices lower than other grocery stores because they purchase products in bulk.
Wegmans
Wegmans has an excess of 100 stores in Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
It is a family business that goes back to 1916 when it was founded in Rochester, New York.
Wegman also focuses on healthy products that don’t contain artificial colors, flavors, or any preservatives, offering another alternative to Whole Foods.
Stew Leonard’s
Stew Leonard’s is a chain of supermarkets located in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
Founded in 1969 in Norwalk, Connecticut, Stew Leonard’s made the list of “100 best companies to work for” by Fortune magazine.
Stew Leonard’s has one of the best customer service policies in the United States and they stick to their slogan.
1. The customer is always right.
2. If the customer is ever wrong, re-read rule number one.
The Fresh Market
The Fresh Market is a privately owned American grocery store that was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1982.
Now it has stores located in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet was founded in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1982. While the company was privately owned, it went public in 2015. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has retail locations in 28 states. Since it is a discount retail store, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is one of the best places to find survival food for a bargain.
Hannaford
It was founded in Portland, Maine in 1883 and now has 183 different locations throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York.
Hannaford rates the nutritional quality of food in their store for customers and focuses on sustainability.
Natural Grocers
Natural Grocers has a total of 162 grocery stores in 20 states with 50 locations across Colorado.
It focuses on organic food and products. Survival food with a focus on health can be found at Natural Grocers.
Aldi
Aldi is a private company that was founded in Germany in 1946.
Currently, there are over 10,000 stores throughout 20 countries worldwide. While not an American-owned company, finding survival food for a bargain is what Aldi is all about. With a focus on discount groceries, Aldi makes it easy to stock up on canned food items and dried food that can be stored for years.
Lidl
Lidl is another German-based discount grocery store that has been soaring in popularity lately.
An Aldi clone, Lidl focuses on money-saving strategies that they can pass on to the consumer so products are priced as low as possible. In locations where a Lidl store is established, competing grocery stores are forced to lower their prices to remain competitive, something known as the “Lidl Effect”.
Online Made In America Stores
Some websites offer made in the United States products exclusively. However, most of the websites offer very little inventory and are just getting off the ground.
One website that fits this description is Made In America Store, where cured meats and other survival food can be purchased, however, prices are pretty steep.
Better Than Walmart: Stores To Get Survival Food For A Bargain
Anyone looking to purchase survival foods for a bargain have alternatives to big box stores. Consumers who want to support United States-based companies and companies owned by the employees who work there should support the initial companies on this list.
While not everyone is ready to say goodbye to Walmart permanently, breaking away from them little by little is something that all Americans should consider.
You may also like:
Bean and Rice Survival Soup – Easy and Adaptable Recipe
When Grocery Stores Go Empty – A Back Door Shopping Strategy (Video)
5 Ammo Stockpiling Mistakes You Are Probably Making Right Now
so ….. a list of stores you didn’t know existed in your own neighborhood ?
You didn’t cover California!
Winco Foods! Employee owned and very inexpensive,find one! We’ve been shopping there for years.
Winco and Aldi are the only names I recognize as having stores in the PDRF. Probably something to do with the anti-business attitude that is pervasive from the state level down to cities.
WINCO.
Washington
Idaho
Nevada
CALIFORNIA
Oregon
They don’t expect Aldi consider yourself lucky.
You can also do your own survival food . A company called , Harvest Right ? makes a freeze dryer machine – you can cook food up, freeze it in your freezer put it in the Harvest Right and it will vacuum out all the moisture . Then just put the food ( Powder) in those canning jars and use a food saver jar attachment to suck the air out to seal the jar . Or you can do the hot water bottling
I shop at Winco, which is employee owned and operated. Canned foods in their brand name are much less expensive than WalMart.
Walmart is awful!
Walmart is not a great place at all food is priced higher than some other stores, they have destroted mom and Pop stores and they are in bed with China. Do Not Shop their if you value your freedom of the right to choose, because by supporting them and the chinese food that who knows what it is your crippling America. Or maybe you just want to be controlled in a technocrat society which they are pushing for.
I refuse to shop Walmart. They are teaching all the left crap. Telling hourly employees to not be so white. They are 1/4 mile away from me, but I shop Winco. Cheaper and not idiots like the highly paid Corp leaders at Walmart.
Bob: Some things are gotten at WalMart, but also Bashas, Costco, and so on. My favorite store is a tienda, family owned, about 10 miles from here. They sell dried (raw) beef, and carne asado (cooked and dried). Niio
Wal-Mart is under contract with the Military. Though…which military now is not cleaner since Wal-Mart sold out to Chinese ownership (and their stores in China are indeed named ChinaMart
Which military ?
The current us military is so weak they won’t win in the next peer to peer war.
Sorry for the down vote.. purely accidental.
Dang slow system….. 🙁
rm p, I’ve was active duty for 20 years, and have been working for the Navy for the past 15 years, and I have never heard anything about Walmart being “under contract with the Military”, please provide details so we can research further.
We used to shop at HYVEE when we were in Iowa. Great place to do business. Now in WA we are not close to a Winco but they are great as well
be wise , not foolish
think before you buy
research before you load up
find the best , not just what is , before you buy
remember the good is always opposite the best
So as a man or woman thinks he or she is
wisdom is learned , not wasted and just loading up on things that dont matter will end in turmoil and loss
Trust in God only , Believe in Jesus Christ for the savior and salvation that leads to life eternal
there is a way that seems right to every person , man , woman and that way is death
all paths lead to the same place , except one , only one
Born again , belief in Jesus Christ , for wisdom, guidance, salvation
What about Trader Joe’s and Sprouts? That’s where I do most of my weekly shopping. Good to know about Aldi’s and Winco.
In my experience except for certain items both of those chains tend to higher prices.
Trader Joes and Aldis are under same European ownership, ultimately – the main distinction: one sells cigarettes and the other not.
I went to a FedEx during the holidays and drove past a Grocery Outlet – Bargain Market but have never been inside one, are they worth visiting?
Smart & Final is another place to check for food and cookware, sometimes they have good sales.
I purchase a lot of things from Grocery Outlet. As you already check labels so well, you will enjoy the unusual products. I don’t purchase fresh dairy from them but pretty much everything else. Sometimes they will have goofy things like toilet paper that is single layer and super fragile but I find that they have a high percentage of organic and health type foods.
Smart & Final is one I have never heard of, along with most of the stores in the above article.
DZ,
Grocery outlets are great for canned goods and things to use soon.
They buy in Lots, so if ya see it you should buy it, cause it may not be there next time you go.
Always check the dates as most products will expire soon. Packaging is sometimes compromised so check for dented cans.
This has been my experience heee in western WA.
Peace,
MadFab
too expensive
you don’t even bother to include “Resturant supply stores….. The Mormon stores….. ” come on lets have a article that has some meat to it and instead of this fluff.
If you don’t know what grocery stores are in your town….. then i guess we might need to explain how rivers have water in them.
The LDS warehouse store is a surprise to me. I didn’t know they existed. Because of your post, I looked them up. The closest one to me is in the next town, down a dead-end street in an industrial area with a very small sign. Their prices for #10 cans of freeze dried foods are economical though they only carry the very basic products and some for those who have a flour mill. Their web site says that non-LDS shoppers are welcome.
Lin, this is the link to the LDS Home Storage Center – Online Store:
https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=3074457345616678849&catalogId=3074457345616676768&langId=-1&storeId=10151
If it has a price showing it is currently in stock, so check back once in a while to see if something you want has since came back in stock. They also have O2 absorbers and 7mil mylar bags, check out page 2.
I have been noticing that these articles are more fluff and not fully written before publishing. They may be OK for a ‘nubee’, but not a more experienced ‘prepper’.
the idea ….that this is new to anyone about food at grocery stores is a little odd
check out the LDS stores around your online… The resturant supply stores is a good place to go for bulk…..
Invest in a quality grain mill like the country kitchen…. (i said invest so understand its not a 99 dollar walmart chicom speical.)
Glad i could help you sage. Its a shame how many little people are here upset you don’t congradate them on posting information about 99 ways to store pennys’
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I am the greatest prepper of all time.
why yes i am
You didn’t mention Kroger / king supers / city market . Very big in the Rocky Mountain area and American owned!
Kroger owns stores that used to sell guns but they made a big anti 2A statement and took them off the shelves. They are also coming down hard with the vaccine mandates. I don’t go to anything owned by Kroger.
I heard the “shocking” headlines about Kroger’s vax status. Then I looked up the details. They only affect salaried employees, not the front-line folks. They are making staff wear masks, but don’t enforce anything on customers.
Yes, they’ve gone woke. Here in Kansas, Dillons have begun the preferential treatment to the poor oppressed people and discriminating against the oppressors, us.
I’m fully disabled and have been told to take my own groceries out.
I quit shopping there, or with any Kroger affiliates. Ralph’s in California was a great grocery, but I’d not shop there if I still lived there.
Skip Kroger… Like Aldi’s.. I’m priced out of Publix.
Any Aldi hints for me folks?
problem with Krogers however is that they require all of it’s employee’s to get the kill shot. i could never support such Bafoonery. those are the types that would sell out to china for traiters cash.
Read Valeries Statement
Nope. Their company-wide mandates only apply to salaried employees (managers).
Great article, thank you! We also try not to shop Wal-Mart or Amazon but don’t have much else available in our area. We are big Hy-Vee shoppers and will be trying the Aldi’s now as those are available in the larger cities around us. We have just never researched or tried them before. We have also shopped and ordered online from LDS Home stores (Mormon), however we don’t have one in our state, their selection is very limited, and they have been back ordered and having supply issues, like every one else.
These are just a list of the Big Box stores.
I wouldn’t call Any of them “Survival” food stores.
Just regular weekly shopping places and many are way overpriced.
Wegman’s as 1 example has good stuff but similar to Whole-Paycheck for prices!
Any store that sells canned goods could be considered “survival food” in this articles’ loose definition I guess.
Thank you for an informative article. Sometimes people DON’T know what is in their own town! Tennessee resident…We have Ollie’s AND Aldies and I always save money when shopping there. As for Walmart…I am forced to go there monthly for a pet prescription that would be too high elsewhere, or I’d never step foot in the store. Makes my blood boil every time I go in there!
I shop at a local store. It is owned and operated by a family in Tyler, Texas. I also sometimes shop at our local Dollar stores.
I am about 30 minutes outside of Tyler, which store are you talking about. Making a lot of changes around my place in preparation for harder times. Will not shop at Krogers either. They are forcing their employees to get V or lose their job.
We have one of those also, I’ve shopped there for almost 40 years. Their meat quality is better than most others, as is their produce. The best value brand is terrible for most items and their freezers are not in good condition so there is a lot of freezer burn.
I also use their pharmacy for any meds not on the mail order. It may cost a fraction more than the big names, but the pharmacist knows me and my history. Definitely worthwhile. These guys are the best possible type of business to help, mine even has a credit option for the community. No interest, just have to pay before you use it again. Many of our struggling families use it.
I can agree with the idea to buy American made but be careful there’s more to it than that. China has infiltrated a lot of companies that have, “American Made” items but are owned by the CCP. An example is GE’s appliance division. Yes, GE appliances are made in America, but the profits go to CHINA! Same with Eckrich, Krakus, Gwaltney, John Morrell, and Smithfield.
I think the better question is, what companies sell American made products and are owned by Americans?
it doesn’t exist and just buying some over priced american products means…. very little in the end.
Cav..,. 3rd acr? I was with 18th A.B.C but attached to them in Tell Afar, Rabia, Biaj, Iron Castle….
My second ? For you though….
When you say “American” you mean U.S. right. As America is essentially the entire western hemisphere. That alpaca farmer in Chile is just as much an American as Bob Marley, Justin Trudeau or former President Donald Trump.
Exodus, that was after my time. 1st Cav, 2ACR, and 11ACR were my primary assignments.
Exodus, I use the term American made only because that is the given terminology that most U.S. civilians correlate with products made in the U.S.
Cavlaryman,
Almost all of our pork producing plants are owned by CCP members. It takes all the fun out of the holiday hams. At one point, the U.S. was stating that we had a pork shortage while much of the U.S. pork was being shipping off to China.
Sagebrush, I agree. I’m blessed to have a local slotter house that processes local meet products.
That won’t be a problem in the PDRK. Unless there has been a last minute stay, at midnight Friday night as we are cheering on the New Year, according to an edict from Schitzomento, all pork products sold in the state have to be certified that they were raised as happy pigs. All the major pig farmers, plus a lot of Latino folk, Chinese folk and others whose diet is heavy in pork are supposedly up in arms so no more sweet and sour pork at your favorite Chinese take-out unless it is certified happy pork. It is the same with eggs. No eggs sold in this state unless they are certified “free range”
In happier news, LA County is going to lose a representative due to outward mligration. The rats are leaving the sinking ship. Even my own daughter who has voted demonkraut since she started living in San Francisco, now that she has screwed up Kallifornication, is moving to Arizona to spread her poisonous voting in another state.
My Grandmother has lots of aphorisms and one she frequently uttered was,”Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you what you are.”
Another earthier version is,”Lie down with pigs get covered with pig s_ _t.” I suspect that living for almost 40 years among the fruits and nuts making up most of the population of Frisco, their wacky outlook on life is catching.
In a word… RUGER. American owned, American made.
You can look up ownership and affiliations on any company. …You’d be surprised.
Please unsubscribe me from follow-up comments. Thanks capt spuds
Look at the fine print under your email. It says, “manage your subscription”.
Wegmans? Easily the highest priced grocery store in the entire region. Unfortunately we don’t have many of the options with great deals, like Publix or WinCo. Learning how to shop is nearly as important as where to shop. I stock up often at some of the larger chains… because I know a good deal when I see it. The average consumer doesn’t know the ‘tricks’ stores use in the store and in their ads. Most would be surprised to find out that the majority of what is in a grocery store ad each week is just products at their regular prices. (If it doesn’t say the regular price in the ad, you are probably looking at the regular price.)
Publix and GreenWise are also not as easy on your wallet.
Example. Annie Chun organic udon noodle soup. Publix / G.W. it’s close to 4.50 a bowl.
Walmart sells the same for 2.30 +/-.
Publix is far from a mom and pop store, though they are not in the same playing field as Walmart.
Valerie: WalMart, I always check the price per ounce. Many times, coffee and so on is cheaper in smaller amounts than the large cans or bags. Beans and rice in bulk are cheaper at a tienda (a Mom and Pop) near here. Great quality, at that, a lot better than most stores. niio
I’m not sure if Cabellas/Bass Pro Shop still print a master catalog but when they did most everything was imported.
In the past ten years we have had three “Prepper Stores” open
and then shortly close because the could not compete with the
internet shopping.
Prepping supplies is a small niche market but is gaining speed.
No mom an pop can sell at the same prices as Mountain House
Auguson Farms or Rainy Day Foods.
Ron, I think the prepper/outdoor style store might need to rebrand themselves and promote themselves like the Amish store, Lehman’s. Lehman’s has enough to appeal to both the hardy rough prepper plus the more domestic side. When I go in a prepper style store, I am looking for kitchen tools that do not require electricity to operate but often I am the about the only female there, other than staff. There might be a reason why 50% of the market isn’t in that store.
lehmans is a tour attraction and semi pricy. . I love the trex and the amish towns around that area and its one of our fav places to go.
i do love the store its always a blast to killl hours inside that place.
Raven,
I was wondering about Lehman’s leaning toward being for tourists. I have never been there but I sometimes do a little dreaming about those $5,000 wood cook stoves on their web site but, you are right, their products can be pricey.
There is a great deal of China made products in Lehman’s … but they are a great store for “off grid” merchandise as well. Baskets made by Amish, some made by the children as mine have age as well as name on them, but China is present even there.
You forgot one: U.S. The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. … Kroger is the seventh largest American-owned private employer in the United States. And also owns the following: The Kroger Co. Family of Stores includes:
Baker’s
City Market
Dillons
Food 4 Less
Foods Co
Fred Meyer
Fry’s
Gerbes
Jay C Food Store
King Soopers
Kroger
Mariano’s
Metro Market
Pay-Less Super Markets
Pick’n Save
QFC
Ralphs
Ruler
Smith’s Food and Drug
The only store on your list that is near me is a Hannaford branded store ( privately owned but sell Hannaford). Their prices are outrageous but I buy about half of my groceries there. There is a Shaw’s about 14 miles away and I shop their sales occasionally.
What I wouldn’t give for an Aldi’s or Publix!! Rural Maine doesn’t offer a lot of options.
Not positive, but I think I read somewhere a few times in the past couple of years. That the owners of Aldi and Lidl are brothers whose father, knowing they couldn’t get along, set them up with their own store lines instead of continuing together on with the grocery store line that he started.
Might be true or not, but the articles were interesting reads. Wish where I found them so I could pass them along.
By the way. I shop at both, whenever I can because I like the quality and price of their products. Even though I don’t recognize the “brand names”, the quality is good on everything I have bought at either store. QUALITY is what keeps me coming back.
Aldi split into two over a disagreement for offering cigarettes. Here in Scotland we have the no cigarettes stores.
Aldi is my go to but the bigger supermarkets are forced to lower their prices to compete. Aldi has limited choices but the quality is normally as good as big name brands. Likely because the stuff comes from the same factories, they just run different label lines!
no – Aldi and Lidl are fierce rivals >>> the main Aldi company is split between two Albrecht brothers in Europe – Aldi North & South
here in the US Aldi also owns Trader Joes ….
In The PDRK (Kaliforniya) Smart and Final is a “restaurant supplier” that sells larger quantities of food stuffs and has a limited supply of larger cookware. Their prices are reasonably competitive. Their diced cheeses are markedly lower than the retail outlets and you don’t have to buy as much as at Costco.
Here in this town their stores are medium sized markets, so their product line is more limited than some of the larger stores like Winco. For canned goods, the Winco brand is very competitive and you don’t have to buy megapacks like Costco. If there is a difference in taste between the Winco brand and S&W, I can’t detect it in the products I have tried.
Winco also sell a lot of product for baking and snacking in bulk at significantly lower prices. They also sell coffee and honey in bulk at significantly lower priced. Buy the honey in bulk, you get it in plastic bags. Take it home, put it in Mason jars and stockpile it. If you keep it in reasonable temperatures it will last longer than you will. You can also order in bulk packages. For a while my wife and I were really into Japanese rice crackers and I ordered , I think it was 20 pound bulk packaging for a very low price.
Like they say, stockpile food you like to eat. After 60 pounds of Japanese rice crackers we were not nearly so fond of them as when I was buying them in much smaller quantities than 20 pound boxes.
I love Smart & Final; sure wish I had one near me. I go there and stock up on Gallo Salame every time I visit family in Commifornia.
Never knew Hannaford was a store. I’ve been buying their canned beans , at Publix for years.
If you have a Publix, you have 98% of what GreenWise is selling anyway, minus the local morning dew soaked handcrafted kombucha bar and the artisan goat cheese environmental friendly bio char cooked broccoli pizza fresh from the oven…so don’t worry. G.W. has their own label sold in Publix , that’s how they started before opening the brick and mortar stores, which are flopping.
But they are FAR from a mom and pop operation, they dominate the south east. Even the county I live in, their home operation btw, they are not letting any of the trader Joe’s, whole food, sprouts type compitition in the county. Publix money is EVERYWHERE in Polk county as are alot of their influence.
But they do have weekly BOGO sales that are great for the budget minded prepper, for certain items, not all.
You should try the 99 cent store. Lots of good items that are inexpensive.
I clicked on the Aldi link for the top ten foods to store and several of them were Greatvalue cans which is a Walmart product. Hmmm
Wow, all this animosity for Walmart, eh? It’s about the only place I can find ammo at reasonable prices. No pistol, no AR but otherwise… So reasonable that local gun shops try to buy it all for mark up in THEIR SHOPS.
I’ve watched the local Mom and Pop’s vehicles AT Walmart buying their stock from them and marking them up.
If it’s the same brand of canned food or tools as the others I spend my money where I can get the best deal.
Aldi’s is the only one cheaper that Walmart around here IF I want to drive 40 minutes to shop each way past my local Walmart BTW. Sometimes I see sales at our grocery stores and stock up but in general if it’s not produce or meat, I find Walmart the best deal.
AND they Often Sell Survival Foods CHEAPER than from the manufacturers webpage, odd, eh?
If you want to spend your money in a store that gave $100 million to BLM, that’s your right, but at least now you know where some of that animosity comes from.
MR
Totally agree. Will not do business with woke companies and have sent emails to tell them that.
So this isn’t made in America, but some are owned by American Citizens.
I like to shop at some of the local ethnic markets.
We have several Mexican and Indian markets in my town. Spices are very reasonable and can buy in larger quantities than the McCormick sizes. They go through A Lot of spices at the Indian market so you know they are fresh.
In both the Mexican and indian/ Middle Eastern markets I frequent, the owners are so nice and helpful. I ask all kinds of questions and they are always happy to help. Gotten some recipes and MANY tips from the owners. They are Happy that you are interested in their foods and culture.
We also have a larger Asian market called Ranch 99.
You can find all kinds of things there for the pepper pantry.
Rice and spices. Fish sauce, that never goes bad, chile peppers, hot sauce, noodles, frozen seafood.
Try an ethnic store. Look about in your town. Once ya start looking you will see them all over. Try a few, make conversation and you will probably make a new friend.
Peace
MadFab
I went to a Middle Eastern market here in costal NC to get a particular spice used in a goat dish… three years later and I am the only person they buy goats, rabbits and quail from. Small homesteads can make a ton of money (or trades) with ethnic markets. From that one guy, I now sell very specific chicken eggs (Black Copper Maran) and quail eggs to a French bakery in town as well. To me it’s pretty funny to deliver the eggs, then skip the line of rich ladies to pick up an order of pastries in my coveralls….
blue: It drive me batty that with the live weight price of goat rising, fewer ranchers are raising them or sheep. No clue why, because goats are great at clearing brush. People actually pay for goat herders to come in for a few weeks to do that. When selling eggs, all roosters we hatched and most spent layers went to Asians and Hispanics in the area. Cousins with older geese and ducks did the same. I bet those wealthy ladies would get a kick out of organically raised eggs. I see them go for 5-7 bucks a dozen. niio
I like shopping at smart and Final also.( it will always be Cash and Carry to me)
I buy bulk meats and then make large batches of foods like Chile Verde or Bologbese or whatever.
Make a large batch and then can or freeze it for another day. Mostly can it so it is shelf stable and just a grab and go dinner.
You can buy everything for the Chile Verde there . Tomatillos Chile peppers pork butt. Same for Bolognese or spaghetti sauce.
Yes it is more work than just grabbing something easy for dinner, but I know exactly what is in it, and once ya do the work, it’s easier than a box of Kraft Mac and cheese. That certainly has its place in my home( 4 grandboys), but NOT every night. Lol
Great comments from every one.
Keep em coming.
Peace
MadFab
MadFab chile verde mmm
Interesting article. I live near Toronto, Ontario, Canada so none of the above stores are located near me. I wanted to make the point that I do order groceries from Walmart. I mostly only order food from India. They are made with real spices and not chemical flavours like most cheap American foods. The taste is amazing, especially the snacks. I have looked elsewhere for Indian foods and I have found only one small Indian grocery store, I buy Ghee from them and what they don’t sell I get from Walmart.
While I don’t live in the US and most of this doesn’t apply to me, I’d strongly urge ppl to taste test any home brand products you don’t normally use if you intend to stock up. Taste is not standard across brands as many of us know so it is pointless stocking up on cheaper food if it isn’t a reasonable replacement for a more expensive one everyone likes. Aldi spaghetti is ok but when compared to another brand we use it rates a poor 2nd. Aldi rarely stocks known brands, only their own replica and not all are equal.
Ginny, You are so very right about taste testing before stocking up on products. I, fortunately, opened up a can of one product I was considering and found it absolutely terrible. I am so thankful that I hadn’t purchased very much of that product. Some products, particularly canned fruits, used to be produced domestically but now have the “made in China” label. I live where we have wonderful fruit orchards but much of the canned fruit in the local stores is from China.
I’ve heard Buy American for decades now, the slogan is really working, our imports from China went from 400 billion a year to 600 billion a year in the last 12 months. It’s 20 miles from here to a small town, I generally shop for groceries at the Wal-Mart there. Got nothing against Wal-Mart, don’t care about their politics, I don’t see any high income citizens shopping there so it can’t be all bad. I quit shopping at my local Mom and Pop butcher a couple months ago when he started charging 125.00 for a brisket. Big Media does a lot more damage to us and the world than big retail. Famous liberal Joe Biden is dooming a million Afghan children to malnutrition and starvation by locking Afghanistan out of the international banking system, to punish the Taliban for taking advantage of our own stupidity. Media blackout on it. I can’t help but feel complicit in this kind of murder when my own country does it. Clinton sanctions killed half a million Iraqi children. When asked, Janet Reno said, yes, it was worth it even though nothing was accomplished. I hate politicians, Left, Right, Center and whatever Trump was.
Broke my heart when Anheuser-Busch bought Lone Star Beer, one of the worst foreign corporate takeovers ever. Don’t go to the movies, a guy named Wang owns most of the theaters.
Shoot, Albright was in charge of murdering Iraqi children, Reno was kept busy murdering innocents in Waco. Let’s see, Obomba, Trump, and Biden all three have happily sold Saudi Arabia the weapons they need for their ongoing genocidal war in Yemen…
Judge: Yemen terrorists hit the Saudis. They killed the Yemeni king for protecting Yemeni Jews. The king and his family managed to get most Jews out of the country to Israel or Ethiopia, but a lot of women and kids were kidnaped to sell, and the men murdered. Trump made peace between Israel, the Saudis, and India. Those 3 had been snarling at each other for thousands of years, but now they’ve normalized relations. And, the Saudis are buying weapons from the chicoms. If you’ll remember, obama bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia as his king. niio
I often go to Grocery Outlet. It is a franchise owned by a local couple that is more welcoming to their customers than any other store with all these illogical restrictions out there. There will have some surprising items. I just purchased some canned cherries grown and processed in Washington state but the label had most everything written in an Indonesian language. My guess is that the people in Indonesia cancelled their order so Grocery Outlet purchased the lot at a discount. Sometimes, they will have only 3 of an item but I like going there I never know what I will find. Plus, the owners are great.
LCC: Happy pigs? Really? Are they asking the pigs before their slaughtered if they had a happy life? Unreal man. No offence but please tell your daughter not to come here to Arizona. Just kidding. We have the same problem with our son. If she came here to Pima County she’ll be in the most liberal screwed up county in the state. High taxes and the lowest wages. Happy New Year to you and your wife.
Mike: Yep, happy pigs. Fed them, they’re happy. Let them run in a pen, they’re happy. Kill one in the pen for the rest to eat, they’re happy. Throw in a human corpse, they’re happy. Take a crap in a pen with cattle, sheep, goats or poultry, they’re happy. Eat a raw fruit, grain, or veggie and you’re happy, but you just ate something the an animal, bird, or bug dropped something on. We used to raise pigs. One day we went to visit family upstate, and got a call. someone tore down the fence to the pigpen letting out about a hundred feeder pigs. Dad raced home with my older brothers and grabbed a metal bucket used to soak grain. He walked into the pen and rattled it. 10 minutes later every pig was back, squealing in excitement, happy to be back and the feed trough.
Red: Not just happy pigs but smart also it seems.
Mike: I don’t know what all hoops the pig farmer has to go through to get certified. It’s the animal rights folks who think farming is Farmer Brown going out in the morning to hand feed Porky. Just like Juan Valdez picking coffee beans one bean at a time. We have a lot of b.s. about farming from city folk who think the farmer should keep his fields fallow for the enjoyment of newly arrived city folk. They don’t realize that in order to feed all the folks in this country farming can’t be 19th century small truck farms. If you don’t mind paying $50 a pound for bone in pork chops, then 19th century farming methods are fine and we can send everybody who arrived after 1950 back to the old country. In order to feed everybody who is here, Farming of necessity must be commercialized.
Commenting a while ago about limits on immigration and protecting our borders some idiot wrote back that there is enough land in the U.S. for everybody in the world to have two and a half acres so we don’t need to worry about too many people. That’s all well and good. Try growing enough food for yourself if your two and a half acres is 10 miles east of Cheriaco Summit between Blythe and Indio. Or 3 miles south of Trona on the middle of Searles Lake which is almost solid salts.
It is that kind of stupid comment that leads to open borders and causes all kinds of problems that shouldn’t exist. Also leads to restrictions on farmers as to how they go about growing the reasonably priced foods we all demand. Watch the price of pork products soar in the PDRK. I guess I will go back to smuggling like I did in high school only instead of smuggling cigarettes across state lines I will be smuggling bacon from Las Vegas.
“Pisst! Hey Buddy, got some nice pork chops cheap.”
Two and a half acres? Sounds like I’m entitled to another one and a half acres then. Lol
LCC: 2-1/2 acres? I know that we could fit most of the world in Texas comfortably, but the yard would be small 🙂 The argument was, the world is not overpopulated and that governments are behind most famines. niio
If that 2 1/2 acres takes into account all of the U.S., a huge amount of acreage has to be deducted because the feds have control of most of Idaho, Nevada and much of the land in states west of the Mississippi. If some of that land is designated a “monument”, then it is restricted from any real use except for city boys wearing the latest in spandex to scramble over. There is really very little good farming land out there, which makes it’s doubly tragic with all the tract houses being built on all the flat land out there.
Rose, Adding that chicoms, gates, and other big name libs are buying up farmland and ranches as fast as they can. niio
LCC, I did not research this but from general news and articles I think that is why states like Iowa, Arkansas, and several others will be shipping even more pork here to Kalifornication.
This is the problem we have here! They look at Australia and say…’you have all that land mass but regulate immigration’… Water is our limiting factor. We are using Keyline planning to upgrade our farm infrastructure but everything costs these days and who has a spare couple 100k to build a dam in the right spot or deep rip 200 acres when you need to buy a subsoiler and a tractor to pull it? We would all like to go organic but today it is a numbers game for even the family farm.
Here in the big city, we do not shop Walmart as there is none to be found, We have small local chain super markets, grocery stores, butcher shops, green farmers markets, ethnic specialty shops and my favorite, European style bakeries. Walmart is a non-issue here in the big city. We did not create Walmart’s rise to power.
A disconnect exists between the article’s title and its information. Some of the stores mentioned are not known for lower prices, and I wonder what working definition the author was using for “survival foods.” Many of the stores listed where I’ve personally visited or shopped don’t have cans of freeze dried foods. They do have canned goods, which can be stored for a while, and I might be able to bulk buy items like beans and rice, which I can then repackage into smaller packages, but as far as price goes, in many neighborhoods, it’s hard to beat Wally world pricing.
Price shouldn’t be the only factor. As mentioned, there’s no point stocking up on something you don’t like, and taste can vary by brand name.
Years ago, I made the decision to shop locally as much as possible. It wasn’t always the cheapest option, but I felt it important enough to make it a priority. While supply chain issues reared their ugly head, I was able to make do, precisely because of the relationships I developed with my local grocers, growers, and farmers. I lived in too many places where everyone looked only at the bottom line, so Mom and Pop places were pushed out of business, unable to compete with bulk buying behemoths like Wally world. There are times I end up at Wworld because none of the local places carry x. It’s my “store of last resort.”
Yet, when the 2020 panic buying was in full swing, the local little place was shaking the trees asking other locals if they had stuff to share. That little place went through 11,000 lbs of flour in less than a year. Year round population in my town might be 4000. We do have a swell in summer.
Was that flour as cheap as Wworld? Nope, but it wasn’t outrageously priced, and moreover, they had supply when other places did not. I got some for a friend who does a ton of baking. She split it with her mom, and both commented it was the best flour they ever used.
That little place stood on its head for its customers. I always shopped there every so often but did more so after all that madness. I know I wasn’t the only one.
They also give back to the community. They were getting new freezers and ended up giving away some of the contents in the old freezers right before the switch over. Nothing wrong with the food, but wanted to help out those in the community who had fallen on tough times.
It’s not solely price; it’s learning to see what is the best value.
As for “survival food,” this little place doesn’t have lots of freeze dried food. It does have grains and spices I can buy in bulk and repackage myself for longer term storage. I did stock up on some of their excellent oatmeal and have found that to work well at our house.
I’ve taken up enough bandwidth. It really does pay to looki around your neighborhood to see what’s out there.
Know that it is competition that keeps prices in check around these parts. I buy what we will eat and I buy on sale, lot’s of it. That’s the time to stock up big time! If I try something new, I only buy one as a test just to see how it works out. Don’t be afraid of store brands. Many of them are the same as so called brand names. The only difference is the name on the label! Rather than shop at only one place, become a student of supermarket circulars. Most of them can be easily found online these days in pdf format for easy reading. You will find that there is a rhythm to the store sales patterns, so you can plan to make the most of it! As for other shopping, I buy Made in America and will spend the money I save on my food shopping to do just that! Best wishes from my house here in the big city, to yours where ever it may be for a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Socialist-free, “One Nation under God” Blessed New Year!
Ginny, I totally agree, try it first, then decide if you want more. As an example, there are three main brands of canned fruit and vegetables sold in the military Commissaries where I do a lot of my grocery shopping: Libby’s, Del Monte, and Green Giant, and after trying all three for a variety of their products I prefer Green Giant due to quality and taste, and it does cost more but as mentioned, it doesn’t do any good to buy it if it doesn’t get eaten. I also shop Walmart and Costco due to budget concerns and after trying both of their house brands Great Value and Kirkland, I found they are often just as good a quality, so I will buy them also.
As far as the questionable list of stores in the article, the only one within 100 miles of me is an Aldi, so I may go visit to see if it lives up to the hype.
I wonder why the author didn’t mention the LDS Home Storage Centers for purchasing long term storage foods, which they also sell online and will ship, here’s the link for locations and what is available:
https://providentliving.churchofjesuschrist.org/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations-map?lang=eng
dz: If you don’t mind border hopping, Tierramor can point you at organic producers in Mexico. Most stuff is a lot cheaper than what we get up here, and a lot of that organic produce is raised in Mexico.
Corned beef is easy to make. It’s only cured beef. Just wash it well before cooking. Pastrami is corned beef coated with spices, and smoked. We have 10 pounds of bacon curing in the fridge now, and ten more waiting their turn. niio and a prosperous New Year.
Red, I haven’t crossed the border to Mexico in over twenty years, and due to my “no hablo”, all the border BS and Cartel traffic, I have no plans to try again, it’s just not worth it for me.
dz: Understood, but the border came to us. I have family in the Sierras who told me not to come down till things calm down. And, I heard the same from family in Kali. A federal judge ordered the dems to go back to the do not cross regulation Trump put in place, but dems are a law unto themselves. niio
Red,
I enjoy smoking and curing meats. I was so intimidated by doing a whole brisket, but got over that. Cut it smaller.
Corning beef is simple but ya need to change the brine often.
I smoked a brisket for Chanukah with pomegranate molasses this year. OMGoddnes was that the beat ever!
20 pounds for 25 people and not a scrap leftover. We fell on it like a lion on a wildebeest!! Lol
Peace,
MadFab
MadFab: Now I need to go out and check the pomegranate bushes, LOL. Yeah, change that brine!
American Indian baked beans (no sugar added). 2 lbs pinto beans soaked for several days, change water twice a day and add to the garden (it’s high in nitrogen and many a good thing). Cook till tender. Put in a roasting pan with a brisket (or other beef) over it. On the brisket, 2 quarts of cooking salsa (has a strong onion taste). half chili or sweet peppers and lay them on the salsa skin up. Cover, bake about 250F for several hours. Remove lid and let the peppers blacken a little. This releases all the sugars into the rest of it. When Mom came to live with us, we were off anything with gluten, even beer. She was an uncontrolable diabetic and severe heart problems, mostly high LDL cholesterol. No more gluten. She groused about it, but within ten days she was back to normal, sugar at 120 even after sleep all night (she would go down to 20 by morning and sing up to over 400 during the day). One morning I came home (6 AM) and went to get some beef, and all the fat was gone. Here sh ate it, but her LDL cholesterol was good for her age, and HDL was up because she was going out to church, to weddings and so on. A prosperous and happy New Year to you! niio
I’d love some recipes for brine. The one I’m using, makes 4 IMPERIAL gallons (about 18 litres or 4.8 US Gal), is as follows:
1/4 lb KwikCure/Prague powder #1/CoverBrine (basically a mix of 6.25%Sodium Nitrite, salt, pink colour goes by different names)
2lb sugar
3lb salt
4 Gal water (1 gal hot to dissolve, 3 gal cold to bulk out). It has to be able to float a potato, if not add more salt.
Keep in a fridge or cool room, add meat and submerge fully, turn meat every day, ready in 10 or so days.
This does quite a bit of meat but enough to corn everything I need to do off 1 cow.
Half this does 1 pig’s hocks, belly and a couple of hind legs depending on the size.
Sagebrush Lin, I learned to not only read the ingredients, but also check labels for where food is grown, imported from, and where it’s packaged/produced, not just the “Distributed by…”, and we still need to test a product before buying much. One example is my wife likes corned beef, and I learned by accident the Commissary will have the same brand name (Libby’s) of corned beef that when you check will be labeled as a “Product of Brazil”, “Product of Argentina”, or “Product of Uruguay”. My wife told me to never again buy the cans from Uruguay, but the others have been okay. I also check the stickers on fresh fruit, there is lot that is imported from Mexico, Central, and South America – most is really good quality, but I always wonder what chemicals may have been used to grow and or process and is never listed on any labels or stickers. But that applies to everything grow in the USA also, including anything labeled as “Organic” or from a “Farmers Market”. Do you really know how your food was grown and processed unless you, or others you know and trust, did it?
dz, I have been tempted to take a magnifying glass with me in the store to read the fine print on some products. You’re right about the ‘distributed by’ as it does not describe where the product came from. The growing practices in different countries might be generally sketchy but sometimes a product’s producer actually visits the country’s farms to make sure that the beef isn’t from a feed lot, etc. I recently purchased some Amandean gelatin. The company owners sources from South American farms but said that they wouldn’t use feed lot grown animals.
The bottom line is, that we can’t track everything about our food but if we keep ourselves spiritually healthy, then any less than good quality food has minimal chance to hurt us.
I have a pocket magnifier that has foldout lenses that I carry for the purpose – some of the important product info & instructions are so small print you need it >>> used to be
separate printed sheets and now it’s abbreviated on the product with an internet address for a full version – need a Iphone read in the store to determine usage viability ….
Sagebrush Lin, sometimes I use my phone’s camara to zoom on a label so I can read the fine print.
I ordered some food on-line from Swanson in North Dakota. I usually just get vitamins from them because they have the best prices. I purchased some food items not found elsewhere. The prices were about right for the quality of items plus, they are super easy to deal with if there are any problems.
Sagebrush Lin, I posted this previously but is well worth sharing:
check the LDS Home Storage Centers for purchasing long term storage foods, which they also sell online and will ship, here’s the link for locations and what is available, and also has a hyperlink to click to get to the online store:
https://providentliving.churchofjesuschrist.org/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations-map?lang=eng
and no, I’m not a member but they do sell to the general public. With all the Covid propaganda panic, some locations have closed, and the available stock fluctuates. Most items are sold in cases of 6 EA #10 cans with up to 30 years shelf life.
Found #10 cans on the endcaps during late spring 2020. Really stocked up. Need to open and oven can to glass canning jars (have a lot of empties). I’m finding, I want to know where it came from. I’ll be buying local (my pasture) beef soon. Rented the pasture, a great deal, don’t need to mow, cows eat almost any weed. Maybe 25-50 pds, good for one person meals for a year. I raise my own chickens, so home grown eggs. My thing is if i like it, can I grow it? I’m buying a lot less at the store these days.
I really love Winco, their bulk bins are wonderful. Also don’t sign up for their savers list so they can’t track you.
Y’all are not from Texas apparently. <..:-) Family owned, HEB does an amazing, competitive service. Quite competitive with WallyWorld. and their own Brands are superior as well as having specialty lines of diverse products.YAY HEB!!
I feel the same about Walmart and big box stores that are taking over. Thank you for this article.
In Missouri, we have Amish and Mennonite stores throughout most of the state where groceries are about one quarter of the cost that they are in the store. I try to do most of my shopping in these Dutch markets because food is not only cheap, but when you shop there you’re supporting families who have wholesome values.
Good post, lots of good comments, too.
This article sounds kind of lefty. My money is hard earned and I shop by price. 2 weeks ago walmart had peanut butter in a squeeze pack for 50cents and I stocked up. The local IGA sometimes has good buys. Sometimes I find clearance items at Sam’s Club. In the fall Kroger had pop tarts (store brand) for a buck. I have a Lidls and Aldis across the street from each other 25 miles away. I have to shop 25 to 30 miles away in different directions to shop anything but IGA or Wal-Mart. I check the adds and when I see a good buy I get it if I need it. It’s nice to support employee owned and local but getting the most for the dollar is what I go for.
Kids come first. We’re going to Costco. Gas is usually a quarter a gallon less than anywhere else, and food is mostly organically grown, and costs about what walmart charges. niio
Sorry I am late to this conversation. I think the booster shot got me good. Work said I had to have it. I need the health insurance, so I got my booster. Then I spent time in the emergency room and I was admitted to the hospital for a severe internal infection. Then the fun began. The hospital was a sh|tstorm. They constantly forgot to give me my medication. Visiting hours are VERY limited so my husband could not take care of me. They just kept giving pain meds so I would fall asleep.
Stew Leonards is a GREAT place. My cousin has worked there for years and he loves it. Their produce and meat is first rate. They make fresh squeezed orange juice every day and it is FANTASTIC ($7.99 for a HALF GALLON). They are WAY too pricey.
They have very few canned goods and not too much in the way of what we use to prep. No dried goods and no bulk products or anything. Pre school aged kids love the place because there are dancing animals and characters. Laws do not apply to the Leonards. They have too much $$$$ to get in any trouble after killing someone.
Tee,
There is a gov. program that might compensate for the harm done by the vax. Counter Measures Injury compensation Program (CICP) is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the DHHS. Of course, the vax manufacturer is not held liable for the harm done but the CICP is supposes to compensate the harmed people. The claim needs to be filed within a year.
Of course, I have zero idea if the above actually works.
Now, you will have to start the process of detoxing your body by taking NAC and other helps.
Sage, I started detoxing the minute I knew I would have to take the shot. I come from a background where my elders had no faith in doctors or hospitals. Bir5h of children, stitches, broken bones, ear infections, fevers, stomach bugs, were ALWAYS treated at home. Supplements have always been part of my life. My grandma’s first doctor visit was when she was 86 and got hit by a car. She would not have gone if she was conscious. I think we (husband and I) added NAC to our supplements about five years ago. Neither of us have tested positive for COVID yet.
I looked at that compensation website. Thank you for looking out for me. I really appreciate it. I am afraid to get that involved with the government. I spoke with my health insurance company. It looks like I will not have to pay anything because the illness was an emergency and was life threatening. Thanks again for the suggestion. But I think I am going to keep my head down and my eyes forward.
Tee,
Your approach to life is very smart. A good friend and I have been in the medical field. We have shared endless stories with each other regarding the failings and outright abuses in the hospital system. It might have been the dreaded covid that I had in the late fall of 2019. I could have used some professional medical care but I know enough about hospitals that I will not go to one. Now, with hospitals only employing those who will get vaxxed, it is even worse than it ever has been. I remember all those endless videos of people in scrubs in hospitals dancing and even twerking. I also remember the videos of hospital staff kneeling in front of hospitals, giving subservience to the religion of racism. There are many who have felt a calling to go into the medical field and have a good moral compass plus a real talent for teasing out the real cause of an illness but they have pretty much been pushed out the monopoly type hospital system.
That is good to hear about your insurance company.
Many blessings during this new year of changes.
Sage,
The hospital was a complete mess. Visiting hours were limited and the staff shortage was very obvious. People were being cared for in the hallways. I had my husband sneak in my supplements. I was making tea on a tiny, hidden, hot plate. Getting food was a maybe. The staff had little knowledge about what I needed and they did not care. Carnation Instant Breakfast was my go to. I started preparing it and passing it out to others on the sneak. Lucky for me, we have practiced worse scenarios so I did okay. I HAD TO GO. The infection was so bad that I was losing consciousness. I learned that we need more antibiotics and medical textbooks.
dont get the vaccines…. its rather simple
Tee,
Getting more information regarding our health that can be used at home is the key. Some years ago, I found a book that had been designed for medical volunteers in a poorly supplied 3rd world country. As time goes on more of that type of information is going to become useful.
Hospitals used to have healthier convalescent foods. They used to give patients Junket, which is very mild and easy on a weak stomach. Now, they give highly chemicalized and colored jello that has a negative food value.
I noticed that Claude has a medical book that seems to have good information plus it looks like it would be easy to decipher when stressed over the situation. I will order that today.
If you are in the US Midwest or Southeast, check for you’re closest Rural King store. It’s Tractor Supply on steroids and they sell guns & ammo!
that be nice tractor suppply really went down hill
Sage, In the last six months, i found and purchased four third world medical books, used by volunteers: “Where there is on (Doctor) (Dentist) (Animal Doctor)… Also When there is no Doctor. Good info to have. I’ll stick to my alternatives for now.
Lisa,
That is really great. You have done a good job of gathering useful information tools.
Have you ever practiced some of the skills ?
Not enough hours in the day. Have a lot for reference. My GDaughter is a nurse, they will make more since to her. Get them while you still can.
For know it’s Collidal Silver. The old adage a baby with a silver spoon is true.
A lot of us who have been on this planet for many years and have cared for the feeble elderly plus the very young, have had practical skills. The difference between some who have the official medical titles and those who have had to just make do through the years is adaptability. An understanding of basic human body function is vital and that’s what people get in medical school but understanding how to patch it back together in unusual situations is another. That’s where someone who isn’t overly trained in the official methods does better.
I have been in a few situations where not following “doctor’s orders” brought the healthiest outcome for the person I was caring for or even for myself.
Of course, not too many of us, in this country so far, have had to deal with guts hanging out and considering how to keep them from drying out in the air before they can be cleaned up and put back inside. Having at least a basic STOMP bag might be a good thing for a willing person.
I have to share an awful, yet funny story. A friend was an Advanced EMT and he had the exam to become a paramedic. When he found out that he passed, we (four friends) took him out to celebrate. We w666ere all at the bar of this swanky place while waiting for a table. One of the bar patrons passed out. He hit his face on the bar, started bleeding everywhere, and collapsed in a pile on the floor. We all looked at our paramedic buddy as he collected his drink and napkin and moved away from the collapsed individual. We all stood there stunned while others attended to the collaspsee and called 911. Our buddy said, “I just started on my second drink. I am very likely to be sued if I help” the collapsed guy. “Even if I save his life”. The collapsee lived. We all had dinner and our buddy retired early.
UGH… I have no idea where that w666ere came from???????????
I am logging off and saying a prayer.
The frustrating aspect of medical training is that it comes with some sort of a medical license. That license can be tracked on-line by the public and there are endless rules about what is required for care. The rules are most often created by administrators, not people who really understand medicine. The people who are poor in their medical field, often become the Fauci’s of the world – no ability to care for the sick but good at being an administrator. The threat of losing a medical license can be a pretty hammer to keep someone from helping out.
I know a very well informed RN, who did not follow doctor’s orders on the dosage of a medication for an infant in ER. She explained to the doctor why the dosage was wrong but the doctor did not like his commands to be not followed. The dosage was adult level and would have killed the infant but, the RN was brought up on disciplinary action by the hospital because she didn’t follow doctor’s orders. The good thing is that the child lived because the doctor finally listened to the RN but he still reported the RN for insubordination.
Medical rules have always been wacky but they’re even worse today with big business running things.
I meant to put “big” between the words pretty and hammer.
The doctor likely reported her for insubordination to turn the attention from his own misdeeds. I have known a few RNs and PAs in that situation: charged or reported for not following orders to cover up their own deadly/dangerous failures.
Then there’s the white wall of silence; amazing how many nurses will lie all day long to protect the doctors and their peers and employers.
Publix, Greenwise and Fresh Market are probably the most expensive grocery stores in my area. You can die on your sword, I’m getting cheap storable food from Walmart. When SHTF I’m sure you won’t turn down a can of Sam’s Pork and Beans.
Ours is Whole Foods, AKA whole Paycheck Foods. niio
Justme, I also like a lot of Sam’s and Great Value products, have you tried the corn chips? The Great Value tortilla and corn chips are half the cost of the name brands, so I buy the Great Value instead.
Walmart is 21 miles from me, and virtually any “mom an pops” are around 64 miles. Sadly, Walmart tends to win the day. Only saving grace, is that I’m rather isolated and have a greenhouse and garden, with some small livestock, so I can grow much of my usual foods myself.
I buy at Walmart.
There is an employee-owned chain, Homeland, with stores near me but they’re terrible in every location. Service and friendliness of staff is terrible. The Stores are old and dirty. Quality of store/generic branded stuff is terrible. For name brand, Libbey’s or Del Monte, canned vegetables, they charge $2.00 a can.
At Walmart, those same cans are about 90 cents and the Walmart cans are 50 cents. Many Walmart brand canned vegetables are canned in the US within hours of being picked in the field – meaning they’re grown in the US or very close to the border in Mexico.
When I go to Walmart, employees are polite – kind even. They work hard to resolve or answer any question or issue. When I do have to talk to a manager, they’re also polite and work to resolve the issue. They’re not perfect, mind you; I have had exceptions to that quality of service, but the exceptions are rare.
At Homeland, though, employees will turn away from you before you can ask for help – that’s if you even see an employee not working a register to ask for help. If you do manage to get their attention, they’re rude, short, indifferent, and don’t at all go out of their way to help.
Same thing in the hardware and clothing store in my area. The small mom/pop store that used to be in our town was notoriously indifferent to their customers. Try to return something and get shown the door. Spend too much time looking and get thrown out and called white trash, etc. They were elitists in their own minds but their family is now bankrupt. That Walmart came to town and ran them out of business is free trade capitalism. If they were doing a great job at meeting the needs of their customers then Walmart would not have been able to get established in the town. Walmart destroyed businesses that were ripe for destruction.
I was at Walmart a few weeks ago at the return counter. A woman was there before me but wasn’t in line, so I spoke to her to make sure that I wasn’t cutting in front of her. She was polite to me but distracted. I then saw that she was returning a heavily loaded grocery cart full of food. The clerk who had checked her groceries out, had called her a name was and was generally rude, according to the shopper. I have no idea what really happened but the clerk who had checked her out, did keep her eye on what was happening at the return counter. It looked like she wasn’t helping the next customer in line.
I returned my item and the clerk helping me was knowledgable and helpful as my item had to be shipped back to non-Walmart vendor. Other than the supposed incident above, I have never had a Walmart employee be less than very helpful but then, I can not think of any store employee at any other store around here being less than what they should be. Small or large stores, they all have been helpful and polite. The only employees who became more rude as time went on were at Bed n Bath and their store was closed down last year.
What are the best for OHIO?
I cant agree more. Poor sam is turning cartwheels in his resting place to what the family has done to his pride business. I haven’t been in Walmart of China in USA more than twice in 5 yrs and WONT.
I am so grateful for this guide! I have been looking for a guide like this for a while. I have been to Walmart and other stores and could not find what I needed. This guide has everything I was looking for. The section on storage is so helpful. I will be using this guide to help me get the best survival foods at the best prices.