Survivalists and other self-described ‘preppers’ say they were ready for COVID-19 – USA TODAY

Coronavirus may be spreading, but it isn't necessary to randomly hoard supplies. Here are some basic necessities to have at home in case of an emergency. USA TODAY

SOMERSET, Ky. Josh Sutton saw this coming months ago.

The virus was far awaythen, barely registering in the minds of most Kentuckians. People still ate at restaurants and watched basketball and talked about politics and planned for that first Saturday in May.

That all changed, of course. And Sutton was ready for it.

He already had a years worth of food, tomatoes and beans picked from his garden and canned in mason jars, along with MREs made for combat troops.

He already owned a box of surgical masks and gloves.

Its something you pick up for a few bucks, he said of those now-coveted supplies. You toss it in your garage or attic and you dont think about it, and when times like this happen you think, 'I already have a box.'"

The shredded beef in barbecue sauce MRE, which included seasoned black beats, tortillas and a tropical punch flavored beverage powder.(Photo: Jim Smilie/The Town Talk)

Sutton, 25, is a father, an independent contractor and a self-described "prepper," one of 700-plus members of the private Facebook group Kentucky Preppers Network. "Preppers" believea catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely and prepare for it.

Turns out they were right.

Sutton and others like him in Kentucky and across the country were stocked up on supplies well before people rushed to strip store aisles bare of toilet paper and guns and bread flour, before efforts to slow the virus spread involved limited or shuttered businesses and calls for social distancing.

He and his fellow preppers have been called survivalists, hoarders, conspiracy theorists living in remote bunkers waiting for the world to end.

But this isnt the time to be smug toward those who derided them, Sutton and others said.

Instead, they see this pandemic as their chance to help their neighbors and teach the larger community about ways they can prepare for the next time.

A prepper is like a boy scout, said Dan Brown, founder of the preppers Facebook group and owner of This Old Prepper supply shop in Richmond, Kentucky, about 30 miles south of Lexington. They keep to themselves, help others when they can, receive help if they need it, share and teach skills to each other.

"Kind of like the Amish.

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A Texas native, Brown opened his shop in 2013 in a hard-to-find white building near a self-storage business and a bingo hall.

Its a one-man operation, he said, primarily conceived to pass along lessons born from his country upbringing and honed over the years.

It was mostly going to teach people what to do, he said. If I was going to teach something, I needed some sort of product to give examples.

He sells things like water filters, fire-starters and surgical gut suture. He doesnt keep much in stock.

Its not about the money or business. Its more interacting and helping people learn to get by on their own or keep their families fed. Its not an organized thing whatsoever.

The prepping lifestyle, though, has become big business. An estimated 3.7 million Americans are either preppers or survivalists, according to a 2013 article from 24/7 Wall St., and they have fueled a multibillion-dollar industry that has seen unprecedented growth amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Right now, in this environment, everyones a prepper, said Paul Fulton, president of The Ready Store in Lehi, Utah, which sells everything from freeze-dried foods to water storage and emergency gear. Ive never seen anything like this.

Demand for some food items like canned meals or buckets of freeze-dried, dehydrated food has increased by 2,000% since January, Fulton estimated.

The company has met some delays in getting food from processing plants, but there have been no shortages yet.

People wait until its too late, and when its too late, no one can get food quickly enough, Fulton said. Get ready before the disaster happens. Fix your roof while the suns shining.

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While the virus has left prepper supply stores struggling to meet the demand, its also put an uncomfortable spotlight on the prepping community.

Preppers, by and large, are somewhat leery of attention, in part because of how theyve been portrayed as fringe members of society in shows like Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic Channel. (Preppers interviewed for this story hate that show but acknowledge its not entirely inaccurate either.)

They also dont exactly want to advertise that they are flush with supplies in the middle of a national emergency.

Because they are private folk, they get looked at differently, Brown said. Thats why a lot of people wont tell you theyre a prepper.

Most in the Kentucky group have a similar origin story, Sutton said. They grew up in the country, learned out of necessity how to hunt and fish, to grow and can food, to feed their families if and when work dried up.

The term prepping just put a name to what they were already doing.

We are normal people, he said. Nothing separates us from anyone else, with the exception of we can look ahead.

The prepper group started monitoring COVID-19 news out of China in late December. Most realized it was only a matter of time before it came to America.

It may or may not affect me adversely, Sutton remembered thinking. But at the same time, I have a mom and dad and grandparents. I have to worry about them.

Since its rapid spread, its kind of been like shelter-in-place, he said.

Hes been to the grocery store twice to buy milk and eggs. He hasnt needed much else.

He and his fellow preppers have reached out to family, friends and neighbors to see if they need help or supplies. From a 50-count box of N95 masks he owned, he said he has four left the rest went to elderly neighbors or friends who are first responders or who work in nursing homes.

Prepping," he said, "isnt about being selfish."

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Survivalists and other self-described 'preppers' say they were ready for COVID-19 - USA TODAY