Hey guys. Doing our research on food storage vs. marketing companies we came across this gem of a company: Food4Patriots.com. If you have been on Facebook for any length of time you have probably seen their marketing infomercial pitch page.
It usually flies under a heading like ” What FEMA doesn’t Want you to Know” – “The Government is Stockpiling Millions of Pounds of Food Storage.” Basically, their ads are all about selling the “sizzle” of food storage, not the food storage itself.
The first thing to know is that Food4Patriots is a MARKETING company owned by Allen Baler, not a food company. They, as does my company, own multiple websites in multiple niches. (You can see a partial list here.) They dropship their food from a company in Indiana called MyPatriotSupply, a dehydrated food packing and marketing company.
I spoke with a representative at MyPatriotSupply today asking about Food 4 Patriots and she was very clear that she had nothing good or bad to say about that company other than the owner of that company was a “great marketer” “and he was one of their biggest clients.”
So Far So Good: Where’s the Rub?
If you haven’t seen the pitch-page, take a minute to review it. In fact, if you want to buy food storage from f4p, it’s nearly impossible to buy their food unless you go through their sales funnel. The pitch page starts off about like any other pitch page does, playing on your fears.
Fear of losing a good deal, fear of not being able to get food storage when you need it, or the worse fear of them all, not being able to provide for your family. The pitch man is called “Frank Bates” and the pitch is his personal story and the struggles he has had to overcome.
You must act quickly! — the video repeatedly hammers home, implying that time is running out to secure your stock of preserved “survival foods,” available in 72 hour, one month, and three month packages.
Their “unique” low heat dehydration method ensures the food will be safe for 25 years, plenty of time after the “coming food crisis” created by “food mobs” of “freeloading people embracing the idea of a few hard working patriots supplying all the food and the labor, and the rest sitting back and getting a handout.”
Sigh, Let’s Break This Down … I will stop listing the inaccuracies when I get tired.
1. First the pitch man. There is no person named “Frank Bates” that lives in Tennessee that is associated with Food4Patriots. He and his story are fictitious. I poked around quite a bit trying to locate Frank Bates. The only public image ever identified as Bates is tracked back to its source, a now-deleted stock photo taken by an Austria-based photographer named Kemter.
2. “I can probably make more money selling out to FEMA.“ Well Frank, if you do not own or make the food you are hocking, how are you going to sell out to FEMA? By the way, FEMA regularly purchases food storage, way below the retail price you see anywhere online, it’s kind of what they do. They are called the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and they are first responders to all types of disasters. What the video doesn’t tell you is that it is FEMA’s job to source foods for these occasions. I spoke with a representative from MyPatriotSupply who told me that she personally saw the famed email from FEMA that the video touts … but it has now been lost or unavailable.
3. “You must act now to secure your stock of preserved “survival foods.” Yes, “survival food” is selling at a rapid pace. However, since the creation of this niche, arguably made popular by Y2K , this industry and the suppliers to this industry have multiplied exponentially, virtually unequaled by any other products in that time range. Food storage is more available now than any other time in the history of the food storage market.
4. “Keep this to yourself, we don’t want this getting out on Facebook.” So you spend thousands of dollars each week ADVERTISING ON FACEBOOK? Really Frank?
5. Why would a company that is called Food 4 Patriots have their company based out of Panama? The country, not the beach resort. Panama is a 100% Tax Haven: Non-resident Panamanian International Business Corporations (IBC’s) and Private Interest Foundations do not pay tax on any of their income, nor do they have any reporting requirements to the Panamanian government. Here is a copy of the Whois report that companies must file with ICANN when registering domains:
Food4patriots.com
Creation Date 2012-09-04 11:44:00Z
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.4252744500
Reseller: NAMECHEAP.COM
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
Registrant Organization: WHOISGUARD, INC.
Registrant Street: P.O. BOX 0823-03411
Registrant City: PANAMA
Registrant State/Province: PANAMA
Registrant Postal Code: NA
Registrant Country: PA
Registrant Phone: +507.8365503
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +51.17057182
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:
Okay, if you watched the video, you know I can keep going on pointing out the inaccuracies of their claims, but I would rather move forward and let’s discuss the actual food aspect. This whole scare-pitch is centered around you buying some survival food.
So, let’s talk about the food.
This is where I was pleasantly surprised. My Patriot Food Supply stacks up a lot better than I thought it would against the competition. There are a few caveats. For one, they market their food by the serving and by time. (To keep things honest, I compared evenly priced food packages, not their serving or time claims.)
If you notice below, My Patriot Food Supply calls their package a “3 Month Food Supply” that has 432 Servings! They, and others in this market, do this because most people are too lazy to do the math and will blindly choose the least expensive “3 month package.”
In reality, this package will only last the average person around 40 days. So, if you buy this food storage package thinking you are getting a 3 month food supply you will have to get used to living on 898 calories a day, not the 2000 calories a day the FDA recommends. Other than the packaging and marketing, they stack up calorie to calorie with the big boys. We will be doing taste tests and other tests on the MyPatriotSupply in the future.
So which food company do you reend and why? Thanks.
Hi Beth, we recommend Mountain House for several reasons. First a disclaimer, we are a MH distributor so I am biased. However, 99% (this is not an exaggeration) of all of the food storage companies have been in business less than 10 years. 97% less than 5 years. Mountain House is the ONLY food storage company that can open up 25, 35 and 40 year old food storage samples to prove their product does what they say it does. They are the only major food storage producer that uses real meat and completely freeze dries everything as opposed to dehydrating. They are also one of three companies that are inspected by the USDA, companies that do not use real meat are not inspected … hope this helps.
Thanks Samson Bearkiller. I’ve been completely trying to figure out who is best to buy from for long term food storage. They all sound wonderful and all are quite expensive so I want to be careful. What you say about Mountain House has persuaded me to look more closely to their food. Thanks, I needed that :>)
“Mountain House is the ONLY food storage company that can open up 25, 35 and 40 year old food storage samples to prove their product does what they say it does. ”
That does it for me. If I have to open this stuff ten years from now I am not going to say, “Yes, it really sucks and is nearly inedible but I sure am glad I saved 20¢ a serving or whatever by going with XYZ or whatever when I bought it back in 2016.”
Thanks for doing the sleuthing work on this.
Does being a distributer give a discount to the prices
And can anyone become a distributer of the Mountain House brand?
That’s assuming it’s a company like AMSOIL for example where people become distributors of the product
And market to others to make them distributors
What is your online store to buy some Mountain House food storage?
If that is true about the food product of Food4patriots, that the
Servings are small and would not last as long as they claim, my
Family would either eat twice as much, or be constantly hungry.
Consumers need to know the truth about each company’s products
So we can make wise decisions. Thank you! Natalie Henry
1. In a crisis time you will not be gouging food! You will be conserving food! 2. Americans eat too much proven by the amount of visible obese people every where you look! In a survival situation, which we are speaking about you would be stretching your assets dramatically. 3. You are listening to a review by another Co. come on 🤔
1) It gorging, not gouging. Completely different verbs.
2) There are a lot of obese people in many western nations, but the USA is probably the worst. I’ll give you that. However, less than 900 calories a day can only be sustained for a few weeks before ketosis starts killing you slowly. Some doctors say 1200 is a minimum, but that’s only if you’re sedentary. Any activity would increase your caloric needs.
3) Actually, this review is just one of many such reviews of 4patriots.com that I’ve come across. Also, the author stated from the outset that he owned a competing company. He/she only offered information (aka facts) that YOU can verify with a few key strokes and Google. At no point did they say, “take my word for it.”
thanks for a heads up on f4p. they did seem to be too much hype selling their products and playing on fears. I’ll consider others now.
I want to buy meat only for storage
What do you recommend?
Thank you for this info. I have bought from F4P once a few months ago & to be honest their 4 serving packs that we had for lunch tasted ok to my 6yr old daughter & I which she ate most of herself (I got a couple bites if that says much) & she was still hungry after it was gone… I will be trying MH next!
I am not biased for any reason. I have purchased various amounts of “25 year” food from various firms. There is no evidence that “dehydrated”food will last 25 years under typical conditions. Any moister will contaminate the package and ruin the contents. Condensation, caused by a fluctuation of external temperatures, will ruin dehydrated food.
Freeze dried may be contaminated in the same manner. However, not nearly as likely as “dried” food. I have dried food in a commercial dryer. It must be maintained at the same temperature, best frozen. But without freezing, 30-60 days is about the best you can expect. Some may last longer, but don;t count on 6 months or 25 years. Regardless, freeze drying in laboratory test, actually lasting 20-25 years, conducted by the University of GA.
I have purchased from “West”foods. Price, quality and packaging is competitive across the board.
Thanks for the review and honesty on food storage/retain companies. Invaluable!!
During emergency situations stress is a big factor in determining human health; therefore, the body requires wholesome, nutritious and safe food to counteract negative influences during these times. F4Ps products do not meet the criteria for healthy diets. Why? The food contains: FD&C petroleum based food colorings; hydrolyzed (which may be MSG) and hydrogenated (hard fat) ingredients; soy and corn which more than likely are Roundup Ready (nothing on the packages states “non-GMO”; high fructose corn syrup.
Something else about Foof4Patriots. I ordered their sample pack for $9.95 shipping and in a few minutes I received an email from my credit card company that a charge had been made for $497.00 by F4P. I had to have my card cancelled to be sure the charge didn’t happen. Not the best company to deal with.
I would like more information about this company. I want a company that’s honest and been in business for a while
thanks for the good Info. I’m always wondering about the quality and the truth about if it will hold up for the 25y they state
I have purchased some of the discounted packages from food4patriots it’s mainly potato soup. From the way the advertising is the wording and the style I suspect it’s the same person who came up with http://soldoutaftercrisis.net. my friend bought The Complete Book package that this man was selling and you can get better information for free simply visiting a few websites I guess for someone totally new to prepping and survival it had some decent information basic at best but it was not worth the amount of money he wanted and the wording and verbiage used in the style in the advertising the way it’s presented I suspect that he has something to do with or some of the same people working for him is food4patriots. I will not be purchasing anything else from food4patriots. And good grief how many freakin emails a day can you get from one company food4patriots took up most of the space in my inbox.
I need Frank Bates to contact me immediately about a $497.00 credit you have never given me and I sent the package back to you several months ago. I am going to contact a legal authority if this is not taken care of immediately. The credit is supposed to go back on my Discover card and every time I call them they say you have never issued and we have sent you several tracking numbers. This is unacceptable and should be resolved today, October 17th.
Sincerely,
Genevieve Schardt
christineschardt@gmail.com
Thank you for this! I was tripping and thinking of selling a kidney to stock up. Lol
I’ll look into Mountain House and I’ll order what I can afford!
I think it’s a good idea to buy food from multiple companies. You’ll get a better variety and just in case ones method of preserving is bad u have others to fall back on.
Looking for non gmo at best price long storage
I ordered Food 4 Patriots 10/27/2016 , the money was withdrawn from my account but I still haven’t received my order. It’s been 6 weeks . I am expecting a refund .$497. And 6 weeks and no product . Please just cancel the order and refund my money . I also ordered the 72 hr free package and haven’t received that one .im sure you are busy , but the money was taken from my account and no product . Thank you !
The same has happened to me. Going on 3 months and no product. I’m getting a little nervous. I ordered 2-$495.00 kits. I better call F4P.
Lonnie did you get anywhere with your complain? I’m asking for refund and getting run around.
I have purchased from mypatriotsupply and have eaten the food and it taste very good no freeze dried that at all I highly recommend these over mountain House any day just buy a little more well worth the price I paid for a good tasting meal
My wife called me a dummy for ordering. I received my order today. Looks as if they threw it out of a plane and it somehow ended up on my porch. After a stroll down the street and driveway. Got something coming out of both bins, which the handles are torn off of, looks like coolaid. Your response will determine if in fact I am the dummy my wife called me.
My wife called me a dummy for ordering. I received my order today. Looks as if they threw it out of a plane and it somehow ended up on my porch. After a stroll down the street and driveway. Got something coming out of both bins, which the handles are torn off of, looks like coolaid. Your response will determine if in fact I am the dummy my wife called me. Never seen the survival tool either.
I have ordered a fair amount of Food 4 Patriots and have never had a problem. They always deliver what I have ordered and it has always arrived on or before the day they say it will arrive. I’ve eaten it a few times, both the “sampler packs” and the regularly ordered stuff. It’s all the same food. It tastes good when you’re not particularly hungry, so I’m sure it would taste great when you are REALLY hungry. Yes, a “1 week supply” will probably only last a grown, “working off the calories” man 3 to 4 days. But that’s most likely true of all of the “survival” foods. I buy a variety of brands just to have some “variety”, plus in case something goes wrong – as it always can anywhere to anybody – in their processing and you get a bad batch.
How does Wise foods stack up to Mountain House? After reading reviews, know I do not want food4Patriots. Please send me an e mail and let me know my best option as am a widow 65yrs. Old and on fixed income.
Sad to hear that this review turned you off to 4 Patriots. I ordered 3 month packages for each of my 10 immediate family members about 5 years ago and just recently ordered another 10 3 month packages for other family members I worry about. The packaging is great, the food is great and the company communication has been great. I received everything I ordered and all the extra free promo items in promised time. Doesn’t matter to me if the company is just a marketing front company or the manufacturer if the product is competitive with other products on the market. It is my opinion that 4 Patriots is in the top 3 of the providers of emergency and storage food and products.
October 14, 2021
Thank you for the honest information about Food 4 Patriots. The old saying “if it’s too good to be true….” seems to apply more and more. Their ad makes them sound legit, but I’m learning to do online checks of companies I might potentially be doing business with before actually buying so I don’t get screwed. I recently ordered from a company I did not check out and never received the order or a response to my inquiry. Fortunately, my credit card reversed the charge, and I still have not heard from them. Thanks for preventing me from making another mistake.
I started by getting sucked into the 72-hour emergency pack, buy one get one free. Ok, the price was ok. Then they keep me going along the line until they wanted to sell me $497 worth of food. I did opt into the 3-week tote for $197. Then I started to get email after email until I had to unsubscribe from their email list – it set off my “scam” alert and I started to get worried that I had made a bad choice.
The food arrived pretty fast, which was nice. I at least didn’t get scammed out of $197. But when I opened the box it was covered in a white powder, then I opened the tote that has the food packs in it, and they where all tossed in as if they got dumped in carelessly and they were also all covered in some white powder like the packages had a leak. I was getting worried. So my next stop was to email their support team, It was nice to see they had a support email. I got a fast “automated” return email assuring me they had gotten my message… Now I’m waiting… No response 2 days later… tick-tock. For a company that says they have world class customer service, I’d have expected an email back the same day at least or a phone call.
I’m not sure if I can come back and edit this but if I don’t hear back from them the next step will be a review and story of what I got. O – and I did send them images. I took several photos.
I totally agree on MH meals – I think they are the gold standard. I won’t order any more of the F4P packs.
I love honesty. Thank you for the information and transparency. Everything you pointed out about the marketing approach “scare” Urgent, act now sales pitch in all true. Its important to know what we are putting in our bodies.
This has been educational. I was looking into buying from 4Patriot or My Patriot. My Patriot told me they are two different companies, yet use the same food product from Ready Hour. I will be researching some other sources now.
Thank you
In my $197 kit 7 of the 13 dinner pouches were PLAIN WHITE RICE. That is right, PLAIN WHITE RICE! Nothing more needs to be said.
What about Augason food? It has a 25 year date. Is it any good? Have I wasted my money?
I love their banana chips. I buy them when the price goes down.
Decided to make a purchase from 4patriots 3 month food supply #1. 3 week wait time took over a month. 2, they over sell without having the product on hand. 3, Bombard you with unsolicited emails. 4, customer service responds with computer emails that don’t have anything to do with your order. 5, damaged items in order. 6, Incomplete order, customer service doesn’t respond to missing items they just send computer generated I’m sorry emails and not address what’s actually missing. Playing off the patriot them do you due diligence before placing order.
I ordered 3 month packages for each of my 10 immediate family members about 5 years ago and just recently ordered another 10 3 month packages for other family members I worry about. The packaging is great, the food is great and the company communication has been great. I received everything I ordered and all the extra free promo items in promised time. Doesn’t matter to me if the company is just a marketing front company or the manufacturer if the product is competitive with other products on the market. It is my opinion that 4 Patriots is in the top 3 of the providers of emergency and storage food and products.
October 14, 2021
I agree, I have a lot of their food that has to be eaten by 2029 so we are going to start adding it in to get use to eating it but since I have read this I am not ordering more. Since food is going to be scarce my wife & I deccided to order two 6 month supply’s from different places just so we don’t have a year of the same thing and I have 4Patriot now, a 90 day of Mountain House, a bucket of Weise that I believe is only a 28 day, and a lot of food kits fromMy Patriot Supply that have a good rating. Was going to order tonight or tomorrow but now not sow sure but think I will get a 6 month from My Patriot and read good reviews from Valley Food, might do them. I also am a gardener and can my own food so we usually have things but you better stock up on things. My wife made crackers yesterday because Walmart has not had crackers in months. Make your list of things you need like flour, corn meal, sugar, salt, you know the drill. It’s hapinnin capin.