Ask HN: Urgent – Where to Find Chicago Food Supplies for Hurricane Irma Relief?

26 points by JacobDotVI ↗ HN
Dear HN,

I know there is a contingent of military and "prepper" folks on this forum and I need your help.

I'm sure of you have seen coverage of Hurricane Irma's approach of Florida. What you may not have noticed was the devastation that Irma has already caused in the US Virgin Islands. Irma's first US land fall is not happening this weekend, but already happened last Wednesday in the USVI. I'm not going to sugar coat it - the situation on island is dire. We lost the roof of the hospital, two fire stations, two police stations, and many many many houses. The island has limited relief supplies and people are running out of water and food.

I am part of a group coordinating private air charters to provide relief supplies to the USVI. I am loading a plane tomorrow (Tuesday) in the Chicago area - does anyone know of Chicago-area locations where I can get MREs and other pepper type food supplies that can be transported to island and survive without refrigeration or the need for heating. The Great Lakes Naval Station has MREs at the commissary but I do not have a military ID.

Thank you so much for any help!!!!

Jacob

3 comments

[ 5.6 ms ] story [ 31.4 ms ] thread
This might not be the answer you expected, but I would highly recommend looking into the resources that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has available in the Chicago area. The Mormons have locations known as Home Storage Centers[1] where members can buy non-perishable food items in large quantities at low prices so they and their families can be self-reliant. They are generally open to non-members using the facilities if they ask first, and for your cause I would be very surprised if they would not support you wholeheartedly. There is one less than an hour outside of Chicago[2].

If you need a member of the church or the bishopric (clergy) to vouch for you, please feel free to get in contact with me at sam (at) mangane.se.

Good luck!

[1] - https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/home-storage-c...

[2] - https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/food-storage/h... and search for Chicago to get "Naperville Illinois Welfare Home Storage Center"

Thank you Sam! I found what I needed for this first relief flight, but we have a much larger flight headed down later in the week. I will reach out to you directly to ask some questions!
I am from Philadelphia area looking to send supplies to USVI (specifically St. Thomas). Any help would be appreciated.

Jacob, Can you email me? g1 at g1technology.net