On July 12, FEMA published a 33-page solicitation document inviting vendors to put in a bid to produce "an indefinite quantity" -- but up to 17,500,000 million units -- of survival meals. Here's an excerpt from the official documents:

All meals must be shelf stable, self-heating, and include an entrée along with additional meal components that can be consumed either as part of the meal or reserved for a supplemental snack. The meals should provide a variety of nutrient dense foods that reflect the basic food groups... Meal components should be appropriate for consumption by the full range of disaster survivors including children and seniors (65 years and older)... All meals/kits must have 30-36 months long shelf-life remaining upon delivery... The contractor must have the capability to produce and ship up to 1,000,000 meals within 48 hours of notification.

According to the official documents, chosen vendors should be prepared for multiple orders to come in over a period of time, and delivery could be required to multiple locations. In other words, the government is saying, "We may need millions of meals, on multiple occasions, and in different places."

Vague as it is, it's nonetheless chilling. What do they know that we don't?

I can think of at least 3 scenarios that the government may be quietly preparing for...

A major EMP event takes down the grid: potential disaster #1?

Last month, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich wrote an op-ed piece for the Washington Post about the effects of an EMP event. Whether from an enemy weapon or a naturally occurring solar flare, an electromagnetic pulse would devastate the national power grid, with repairs taking months or years to complete. With the grid down, civilization as we know it would come to a grinding halt.

Gingrich is one of the few political insiders working on this issue -- and it's possible that his ongoing efforts have finally gotten some attention from FEMA.

Remember, if the grid goes down, the U.S. food distribution system literally grinds to a halt. With just 3 days' worth of food in any given community, we depend on electricity to run gas pumps to fill the trucks that carry food from farm to market. We depend on electricity to prevent food from spoiling by keeping it frozen or refrigerated. We depend on electricity to keep stores open and cash registers running so people can purchase food. If the grid goes down, within 72 hours the supplies of food coming into cities and towns will stop. (And then all hell breaks loose.)

We're delighted that FEMA has the foresight to order up to 17.5 million meals. But in a major crisis, that's barely a drop in the bucket. You simply can't depend on FEMA to keep you from starving. That's why it's so important to have your own emergency food supply.

An event that involves a nuclear incident and destruction of housing: potential disaster #2?

If you want to know what the government is worried about, just watch what they're buying. A few weeks ago, the feds put out an RFP for "Program Management Support (subject matter experts) for the FEMA Domestic Emergency Support Team and Nuclear Incident Response Team... This is a new requirement... to acquire subject matter experts and technical support."

Around the same time, with Solicitation No. HSFE80-12-R-0033, FEMA announced plans to award contracts to housing inspectors -- the folks who assess the damages in disasters. The work involves onsite inspection of disaster-related property information, including the extent of damage to the dwelling, insurance status, how the habitability of the home is affected, verification of ownership, damage to personal property including vehicles, road and bridge access, and more. According to the official documents, "FEMA anticipates awarding multiple Housing Inspection Services contracts. Multiple Contractors may be required to respond to the same disaster(s) as needed and required by the DHS-FEMA."

Whether it's a New Madrid earthquake that affects nuclear power plants, a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, or some other disaster, these days the federal register is filled with contracts like these. Are they just being prudent, or do they know something we don't?