Back on August 4 of this year I wrote a blog post article where I tried to warn people in western North Dakota to hurry up and begin buying emergency supplies and stocking up on the everyday consumer items that they normally use. I tried to give an explanation of what was happening, so that people didn’t have to just blindly do what I was saying, they could check this information for themselves.

Due to changes in workplaces and industry following the first Covid outbreaks more than a year ago, very large Distribution Warehouses have steadily become increasingly empty, to where many are almost completely bare. For example, due to increased scrutiny and delays at the largest commercial shipping ports in California, for almost a year there has been a growing waiting-line of ships anchored off the coast of California, unable to unload. Here is a short 60-second CBS News station story showing this, but downplaying the significance of what this is causing:

I encourage readers to go look up other sources regarding the inability of very large cargo ships to unload, that has been going on for almost a year.

Commercial truck drivers across the United States have been trying to warn friends and family for almost six months that the large Distribution Warehouses are becoming nearly empty, with no ability or expectation of being able to catch-up any time soon. Although I can find comments written by individual commercial truck drivers describing their experiences at nearly completely empty Distribution Warehouses, where sometimes their scheduled pick-ups have been cancelled because there is nothing to load, the Mainstream Media chooses to stick to the narrative that empty grocery store shelves are the result of “a shortage of truck drivers”.

Here is a recent August 2021 LA Times newspaper article that describes some of the Distribution Warehouse shortages, where it places blame on a labor shortage in both production and warehouse workers, a delay in receiving imported goods, a shortage of truck drivers, but does not go so far as to admit that there is an actual food shortage: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-24/u-s-food-suppliers-are-having-trouble-keeping-shelves-stocked

I hope that the people reading this blog post article can understand that due to the delay and back-up of large cargo ships waiting to unload, the shortage of food production workers, warehouse workers, and truck drivers, that there is an actual shortage of food and supplies at Distribution Warehouse that will not be solved any time soon, but will continue to become worse.

Once again, I will give my list of items that I believe people need to stock-up on at this time, to not wait until later:

Canned food like soups, chili, spaghetti & meatballs, beans, corn, carrots, peas, peaches, pears, pineapple, mixed vegetables, mixed fruit; Boxes of rice, pasta, ramen noodles; Powdered drink mixes like tea, lemonade, gator aide; Bottled individual water, larger gallon bottles, and bulk water that you keep in five gallon water jugs possibly with added bleach or iodine as a preservative; Canned or bottled fruit juice drinks. Extra pet food.

Hygiene & Cleaning supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, plastic garbage bags, bleach, windex, dish soap, bath soap, laundry soap, hand-sanitizer, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine solution, ibuprofen, pepto-bismol, cortizone cream, skin lotion, shampoo, deodorant, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandages, your own personal medications, your pet’s medications.

Household supplies like batteries, light bulbs, flashlight, candles, matches, duct tape, hatchet, hammer, nails, miscellaneous plywood & boards; Depending on your housing situation, one or more 5-gallon cans of gasoline possibly with Stabil added to preserve it longer.

One or more firearms with extra ammunition. If you are inexperienced with firearms, or you are a female who is reluctant to own a firearm, I would recommend a Ruger 10-22 rifle, which is probably the most common rifle sold in the U.S. Ruger 10-22 rifles are usually sold at any gun store or Walmart, they are inexpensive, very reliable, easy to use, make the least amount of noise, have the least amount of recoil, and ammunition is available and inexpensive.

Note: One of my goals in writing this particular article and a similar article six weeks ago, is to get as many people as possible to understand what is happening and become prepared ahead of time, so that there isn’t sudden frantic panic and a “run” on stores. Especially in sparsely populated North Dakota where I live, if the majority of people are somewhat prepared for the coming shortages, there will be much fewer problems.