Most American Contingency members have the preparedness mind set, and if you are new to AmCon you joined to learn about preparedness. Most people go out and buy dehydrated or canned food as apart of their preparedness plan. If that food runs out, that’s it. A lot of members have taken up gardening. Ryan is going to walk us through some of the things he does to be a successful gardener.
The next best thing to gardening is to know what wild plants are edible in your area. Wild blueberries, strawberries, cattail roots and dandelions are some of the more common plants found throughout the United States. Edible plants can help substitute your garden or food supply.
As you probably know, most stores only have about 2-3 days worth of food on the shelves and in the stock room. If something happened and transportation shut down, that food would go very quickly.
Depending on what research you look at, a woman on average needs around 2,000 calories per day and a man on average should take in around 2,500 calories per day. This all depends on the person, but it gives you something to work with. If you are active and working to survive in an austere environment you will require more calories. As you purchase food, plan on having 2 or 3 meals per person, per day.
As we all know, water is a must necessity for life. The amount of water and water purification should be high on your priority list. Again, depending on what books or articles you read, a person needs at least 1 gallon of water per day for drinking (strenuous activity would require more), 1 gallon per day for hygiene and 2-7 gallons per day for sanitation (bathing, flushing toilets, washing eating utensils etc.).
As we go forward with the videos, realize that they offer a little bit of information and that you will do more hands on skills with your local group.
Introduction video for Food and Water
Get Started video for Food and Water
Skills to be done at local charter.
- Explain some of the ways to obtain water in your area (streams, below ground, catching rain water in a tarp etc).
- Purify water by boiling, using a water filter, and iodine water purification tablets.
- Identify 5 edible plants in your area.
Other resources: