Costco sells just about everything you might need to get through a really bad storm — or civilization's decline.
Cork Gaines/Business Insider
As modern life gets increasingly comfortable, it can also get more anxious.
For a growing number of Americans, this means preparing for the possibility of major disruptions of public services as a result of natural disasters or other doomsday scenarios.
According to an analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency data, some 20 million Americans can withstand a full month of self-reliance. Within that number, there are those who identify as part of "preppers" communities online, which include enthusiasts stocking up on years' worth of supplies or building bunkers.
When stocking up for weeks of outages, there's one place many of these preppers love to go: Costco.
A recent New York Times feature about the Fortitude Ranch prepping community included a photo of a well-provisioned pantry with multiple bottles of Kirkland Signature vitamins and antacid tablets.
"Heading to Costco this week and was planning on getting some prepping necessities," one user posted on the r/preppers sub-Reddit back in February. "My plan was to grab a couple bags of rice and some canned food for long term food storage. Anything else I should consider while there? Thanks!"
The list of supplies in the replies was extensive: butter, protein bars, coffee beans, medicine, and (of course) bins to store it all.
And it doesn't stop there. Need a generator? Costco has them. Apocalyptic quantities of toilet paper and bottled water? You bet.
Dominick Reuter/Business Insider
The wholesale club is also a huge seller of gold and silver bars and coins, which are extremely popular among those who are concerned about a breakdown of the financial system. (A one-ounce silver coin is currently worth about $30.)
There are also ready-to-go food kits in a variety of sizes, one of which contains 130 meals that last 25 years and costs $63. Bigger budgets can spring for the palletized version containing 36 kits with more than 13,000 servings for $6,000.
Of course, prepping requires a fair amount of disposable income, since the activity is necessarily about buying stuff and not using it.
Still, John Ramey, the founder of a popular prepping website, told the Times he expects business in the space to grow.
"The market for preparedness will continue to grow as the world continues on the wrong trajectory," he said.
