On Sunday, after Hurricane Helen destroyed homes and lives across the East Coast, I received a text message from Jason Nelson. Nelson is CEO and co-founder. Prepper All-Naturals, sold at PrepperBeef.com. He is also a disabled veteran.
As a Marine, he joined the military's internal affairs and psychological operations branch and was assigned humanitarian missions.
“Western North Carolina is suffering right now because they want to. That's it.'
“I'm leaving tomorrow morning,” he wrote. “People are starving,'' he said, offering to pick me up along the way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend, but after Jason returned home, he talked about his experience in a video. The full interview is below:
Asheville or bust?
Nelson drove $60,000 worth of freeze-dried beef (about 7,000 servings) from Waco, Texas, and set off at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning. He arrived in Asheville at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, but was back on the road by 3 a.m. after dropping off supplies.
Nelson was able to get home by 11:30 p.m. that same day, with the help of a volunteer who gave him a ride. Today, he coordinates services across Western North Carolina to ensure aid reaches those who need it most.
cracks in the system
Nelson became a symbol of grassroots resilience, a champion of food independence, and someone who backed his beliefs with action.
A recent trip to North Carolina highlighted his commitment not only to his business but to the broader mission of ensuring people are fed, regardless of their circumstances.
Nelson saw cracks in the system that many still take for granted: the globalized, centralized food chain.
For him, his mission in North Carolina was more than just distributing food. It was a microcosm of the larger battle he has been waging through his company, Prepper Beef.
Nelson's philosophy centers around a locally-based supply chain, a concept that is particularly relevant in disaster areas like those affected by Hurricane Helen.
Jason has years of experience dealing with humanitarian crises on the ground from all angles. I asked him how severe the damage caused by Hurricane Helen and the disruption it caused compared to what we've seen in the past.
“I mean, it would be better to have a parking lot,” he told me. “I could work in a parking lot and that would be it. I would prefer that because in Afghanistan we have to convince the terrorists to unite and work together, because the government is putting money into Afghanistan. Because I'm interested in that.”
long line
In the aftermath of the hurricane, people waited in long lines for essentials such as water, canned goods and, in some cases, freeze-dried food, including Nelson's high-quality beef.
Prepper All-Naturals, sold at PrepperBeef.comWe use 100% Texas-born and Texas-raised beef.
While aid may have come from multiple sources, Nelson's message to the people of North Carolina was clear. Local food production is more than just an economic model. It's a lifeline.
He added, “Western North Carolina is suffering right now because we want them to suffer. That's it.”
Supply chain risk
Hurricane Helen left thousands without power, water, and food. Flooded highways and collapsed communications towers delayed aid and left many people stranded.
Nelson worked with local first responders, church groups, and community leaders to help coordinate the distribution of essential supplies in a town that had not seen relief for days.
“This is devastating,” Nelson told me. “But it's also a reminder of how fragile our system is. It doesn't take much, like a storm or a power outage, for everything to collapse. And it's also a reminder of how fragile our systems are. If we do, we from the other side of the world are putting ourselves at risk.”
It's hard to disagree with Nelson's point, especially when looking at the state of the supply chain post-hurricane. With ports closed and air transport delayed, imported goods were among the first to disappear from store shelves.
localize
What makes Nelson's trip to North Carolina more than just a humanitarian mission is the depth of his convictions and righteous indignation.
“There’s a lot to this, and it’s complicated,” he told me. “It's not that they lack funding or training. The national resources available to us have instead been used to serve communities that have hosted illegal immigrants.”
In Nelson's eyes, North Carolina's disaster response highlights larger societal issues. When a hurricane hits, people can no longer rely on distant supply chains. They need food grown close to home, processed by companies that understand local needs, and distributed without the bureaucratic hurdles that come with large government aid programs.
The hopeful success of his efforts in North Carolina stems from his belief that decentralized, localized supply chains are the key to surviving future crises, whether natural disasters or man-made economic disruptions. is supported.
Preparing for the future
In North Carolina, Nelson's donation was more than just a meal, it was also a symbol of self-reliance. A family who lost everything found solace in freeze-dried beef. Because in addition to providing nutrition, it embodied the idea that Americans could still take care of their own meat.
“You don’t have to rely on anyone else,” Nelson told me. “Everything you need is here.”
His trip to North Carolina solidified that belief. Seeing the devastation firsthand reinforced his mission to protect America's food supply chain by making it local, sustainable, and out of the hands of global corporations and governments.
food security
For Nelson, local food systems are the only way forward. His experience in North Carolina, hit by the debris of Hurricane Helen, was both a warning and a lesson. If this country doesn't start paying attention to where its food comes from, it could be left helpless when the next disaster strikes.
“I want you to think about your supply chain,” he told me. “And that we only have about two weeks' worth of supplies in our regular warehouses and are constantly dependent on this resupply. Well, they're being flushed out. They're not just being flushed out. It's the primary, The secondary and downstream supply chain.”
Nelson's trip to North Carolina was more than just an act of charity. It was a cry for the kind of change he believed would protect America's future.
That's what he must have thought as he loaded the last boxes of freeze-dried beef into the back of the relief truck. If we want to survive what's coming, we need to start growing, processing and consuming locally. Anything less than this puts our freedom, and our lives, at risk.
“The next goal is food security,” Nelson said. “And once that's gone, it's not just about what we eat, it's about who we are as a nation.”
