EXCLUSIVE: 'People are starving' — prepper advocate brings aid to Helene-ravaged North Carolina

Jason Nelson texted me the Sunday after Hurricane Helene destroyed homes and lives throughout the East Coast. Nelson is the CEO and co-founder of Prepper All-Naturals, marketed at PrepperBeef.com. He’s also a combat-disabled vet.

As a Marine, he joined the civil affairs and psychological operations branch of the military, where he was assigned to humanitarian missions.

'The reason Western North Carolina is suffering right now is because they want them to. That's it.'

“I leave tomorrow morning,” he wrote. “People are starving.” He offered to pick me up on the way. Sadly, I couldn’t join, but after Jason returned home, we spoke via video about his experience. Here’s the entire interview:

Asheville or bust

Nelson drove $60,000 worth of freeze-dried beef — about 7,000 portions — from Waco, Texas, setting off at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning. He arrived in Asheville at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, only to be back on the road by 3:00 a.m. after dropping off the supplies.

With the help of a volunteer who split the drive with him, Nelson made it back home by 11:30 p.m. that same day. Now, he's coordinating a range of services across Western North Carolina to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.

Cracks in the system

Nelson has become a symbol of grassroots resilience, an advocate for food independence, and a man who backs up his beliefs with action.

His recent trip to North Carolina highlights his commitment not just to his business but to the broader mission of ensuring that people have food, no matter the circumstances.

Nelson saw the cracks in a system that many still take for granted — the globalized, centralized food chain.

For him, the North Carolina mission wasn’t just about handing out food; it was a microcosm of the larger battle he’s been waging through his company, Prepper Beef.

Nelson’s philosophy centers on localized supply chains, a concept that hits particularly close to home in disaster zones like those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Jason has years of experience with on-the-ground humanitarian crises from every angle. I asked him how severe the damage from Hurricane Helene is and the resultant chaos compared to what he’s seen.

“I mean, you'd be better off with a parking lot,” he told me. “You can work at a parking lot. That's it. I'd be better off in Afghanistan, where I've got to convince terrorists to come together and work together. Because the government cares about putting money into Afghanistan.”

Long lines

In the hurricane’s aftermath, people stood in long lines for basics — water, canned goods, and, in some cases, freeze-dried meals, including Nelson’s high-quality beef.

Prepper All-Naturals, marketed at PrepperBeef.com, uses 100% Texas-born and -bred cattle.

The aid may have come from multiple sources, but the message Nelson delivered to the people of North Carolina was clear: Localized food production isn’t just an economic model; it’s a lifeline.

He added, “The reason Western North Carolina is suffering right now is because they want them to. That's it.”

Supply chain risk

Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction left thousands without power, running water, or food. Flooded highways and downed communication towers slowed aid, leaving many stranded.

Working with local emergency responders, church groups, and community leaders, Nelson helped coordinate the distribution of essentials in towns that hadn’t seen relief in days.

“It’s devastating,” Nelson told me, "but it’s also a reminder of how fragile our system is. It doesn’t take much — a storm, an outage — for everything to fall apart. And if we’re relying on food shipped in from halfway across the world, we’re putting ourselves at risk.”

Nelson’s point is hard to argue with, especially when looking at the state of supply chains post-hurricane. With ports shut down and air transport delayed, imported goods were among the first to disappear from store shelves.

Localize it

What makes Nelson’s trip to North Carolina more than just another humanitarian mission is the depth of his conviction and his reasonable indignation.

“There's so much to this, and it's a complex thing,” he told me. “It’s not that they are ill funded, ill trained. The national resources we could bring to bear have been instead brought to bear to serve communities that have welcomed illegal immigrants instead.”

In Nelson’s eyes, the disaster response in North Carolina illustrates a larger societal issue. When a hurricane hits, people can’t rely on distant supply chains. They need food grown close to home, processed by businesses that understand local needs, and distributed without the bureaucratic hurdles that come with large-scale government aid programs.

The hopeful success of his efforts in North Carolina underscores his belief that decentralized, localized supply chains are key to weathering future crises, be they natural disasters or man-made economic disruptions.

Prepping for the future

In North Carolina, Nelson’s donations weren’t just meals — they were a symbol of self-reliance. Families who had lost everything found comfort in the freeze-dried beef, not just because it provided nutrition but because it embodied the idea that Americans can still take care of their own.

“We don’t need to rely on anyone else,” Nelson told me. “We have everything we need right here.”

His trip to North Carolina solidified that belief. Seeing the devastation firsthand only reinforced his mission: to protect America’s food supply chain by keeping 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, amid the wreckage of Hurricane Helene, served as both a warning and a lesson: If the country doesn’t start paying attention to where its food comes from, it might find itself helpless when the next disaster strikes.

“I want you to think about supply chains,” he told me, “and how normal storehouses only have about two weeks' worth of supplies and they constantly depend on this resupply. Well, those are washed out. They're not just washed out. It's your primaries, your secondaries, your downstream supply chains.”

Nelson’s trip to North Carolina was more than an act of charity. It was a rallying cry for the kind of change he believes will protect America’s future.

As he loaded the last boxes of freeze-dried beef into the back of a relief truck, he must have thought: If we want to survive what’s coming, we need to start growing, processing, and consuming locally. Anything less is putting our freedom — and our lives — at risk.

“Food security is the next target,” Nelson told me. “And when it’s gone, it won’t just be about what we eat — it’ll be about who we are as a nation.”