Regarding Food in an Emergency Situation.

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I spend a lot of time camping and riding my bicycle around the country,and frequently find myself in situations where I cannot find food and water,and am too tired to strike out naked (No panniers or trailer,no backpack),to locate food in a nearby town.

Because of this,I have developed the habit of carrying what I refer to as my "Worst Case Scenario Supplies(WCS)",the most effective worst case scenario supply component is money.But the true worst case scenarion is when money isn't any good for anything but wiping your butt,or starting a campfire.I have in the past used it for both.

My "WCS" consist of many things other than food,but that is what I am going to concentrate on here,and water...

The most important aspect of carrying these supplies,is making sure you can lug them around,there are little or no tools required to utilize them,and they don't spoil from lack of refridgeration.

Water is easy,just stretch out a tarp with the lowest point funneling into a container,collect rain this way too,the bigger the tarp the better.Any non-permeable membrane or sheeting will work.You can risk springs and rivers for drinking water,or aquire a water filtration system,strain and boil works too,but make sure you Tindallize it,or let it cool down enough to put your hand into it without scalding yourself (like I should have to tell anybody that),and boil it again for 15 minutes.Empty containers are a must,even if you drank up all your water,keep enough empty containers to last a couple of days if you run across a place to fill them,it don't really help if you can't carry it since you tossed your empties.Empties are lying around everywhere,by the way,just look.

Food is not so hard if you know what to do,if you have the option of buying it,make it non-parishable.

-Whole peanut butter,the type that doesn't have the peanut oil removed and replaced with some other crappy garbage your body doesn't know what to do with.

-Tortillas don't need refridgeration,and don't squish like bread does,and take up very little space.

-Honey doesn't spoil,and is yummy,and a little goes a long way.

-Nuts don't spoil,but critters like them too,so storage is an issue.

-Cheese is good,and believe it or not,it doesn't have to be refridgerated either.

-A big metal ammo can,or Pelican Case,or even an old Samsonite Hard case will work for storage.If you are out and about,you probably won't have to fight off any but human critters to protect your stash.

There are Many other considerations here,but I'm going to stick with non-parishable food and water to keep it simple.

Now I ask,what does your "WCS" stash consist of,and yes,I know we have some preppers out there,and the parameters of my query are:,No gas,No Electricity,Roads blocked with debris,Rainy wet and cold,and You can't stay where you are.


Maybe some of those New Yorkers,and others will read this when they get their power turned on,and prepare more effectively for the next big mess,if and when it comes.

I'm not sure this will help those in NY and NJ, but knowing your local edible plants is a good skill.

I bought a book specific to my area that shows color pictures of all the edible plants in my area. It also had a list of "home remedies" that the plant could be used for (upset stomach, cough, sore throat, ect).

The suggestions on peanutbutter, tortillas, cheese -- all excellent. If you can manage to supplement them with wild plants along the way, you can stretch out your "good stuff" even longer!