Y2K food kits selling like hotcakes

Canadian Press/April 1, 1999

Toledo, Ont. -- Their foods have been taken to Mount Everest, both the North and South Poles and the Gobi Desert.

Now, the dehydrated entrées produced by a company in this hamlet north of Brockville are being stored in the basements and bunkers of Y2K survivalists.

Harvest Foodworks says it's getting more than a dozen calls a day from people asking for its 30- or 60-day emergency food kits in preparation for problems that may be caused by the Year 2000 computer bug.

While most of the calls are coming from people in the United States, one Edmonton customer ordered 36 kits at a total cost of more than $16,000.

"That's a three-year [food] supply and the biggest order we've ever had," said Tony Barnes, an owner of the company.

It's a change of pace for Mr. Barnes and his partner, Bill Eckersley. Until the Y2K threat captured public attention last year, they ran their company based on supplying healthy dehydrated and freeze-dried meals to people who enjoy the great outdoors.

Things started to change about a year ago when Harvest Foodworks began receiving hundreds of orders for its products, ranging from tandoori curry chicken to non-alcoholic wine, all with a shelf life of two years.

When their retailers gave the company's emergency food kit a cool reception, Mr. Barnes and Mr. Eckersley decided to package and market the kits themselves. The kits have since increased business by 35 per cent.

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