Food and Water…it can cover a vast amount of things in many different shapes and forms. It can be daunting and when faced with a crisis it is one of the first things people think of. It is also the area that will cause panic and stress when people think that they don’t have enough of it.

Food. Day-to-day…you have food. For most people there’s more food around you than you could possibly want. Grocery stores everywhere, food deliveries, mail-order, etc.… For many it’s a hobby to grow some vegetables in a garden. It’s a double edged sword…on a regular day food is abundant, ready at hand and easy to get but in a crisis it can disappear really quickly and if the food chain delivery to where it’s accessible to you is compromised, delayed or broken the situation can seem very dire, very quickly.

Water. Same…for many you just turn on the tap and have unlimited drinking water. So much clean water that you can dump gallons on the grass to grow a decorative lawn or wash your car. When the water system is compromised, panic ensues quickly.

Both food and water are lumped together here because they’re essential items and it is neither easy nor quick to make your own.

As a mental exercise, imagine that you drive to a provincial park (not a local playground…somewhere a bit remote for camping without facilities), get out of your car and assess right then and there two things: 1. If I needed a drink…where would I get clean drinking water? 2. If I needed sustenance…where would I get something to eat? Many, many people would be standing there scratching their head.

Food…it is convenient to think of types of food in tiers. Fresh/perishable...dried/long shelf life…very long shelf life. Fresh food is just that…veggies/fruit/milk/etc…stuff you buy every couple of days or once every week or so. Dried/long shelf life…pasta, rice, “normal” canned/jarred foods. Very long shelf life…items that are typically purpose made/designed for long term storage (the still have a shelf life though!!)…these would be dehydrated air-vacuumed