Building a “Bug Out Bag” Part 2: Food & Water
Two weeks ago, I shared the essentials of a Bug Out Bag that I recently put together. This included items like a utility knife, emergency radio, and emergency whistle. The idea was to cover the basic, most obvious stuff you’d need if struck with a true emergency.
Now, it is time to dive into more specific categories of items you’ll want. Today, I’ll talk about my preparation in terms of water and food.
Perhaps you’ve heard that humans can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without air. I’m going to assume that with air you’re either good or you aren’t and that this blog isn’t going to fix that for you. Hence, we focus on water and food, two important and more manageable variables.
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Water
In an emergency, water is critical for two reasons:
To drink
To cook food
You probably already knew the first reason. But perhaps you didn’t know that most “survival food,” such as dehydrated foods, require water to be cooked properly.
Therefore, these are the water-related items I keep in my Bug Out Bag (or next to my bag, in the case of the first item):
- A gallon of distilled water. Distilled water can practically last forever. A gallon of water isn’t going to take up a lot of space while you’re making your break from town but depending on the disaster you’re running from it could be your lifeline for a while. You can use it to drink or for cooking.
- Collapsible water bottles. You need a means of carrying water easily that won’t take up a lot of space when unused. I found these on Amazon. They are one of the more affordable options and seem adequate for my purposes. My plan is to try filling these up for the road if I have time before ditching town.
- Straw water filters. If worse comes to worse in an emergency, you might find yourself drinking water that you wouldn’t drink on a random Tuesday. Think lakes, ponds, creeks, etc. These straws are reusable for a while and filter out junk and toxins so you don’t die trying to save yourself.
- Water purification tablets. You can simply drop these into water to help eradicate impurities. I bought these because they are cheap, lightweight, and an easy insurance policy against the straws.
If things really go south, water is going to be one of your top priorities. Don’t neglect it, especially since everything I just outlined can be had for less than $100.
Food
Beyond water, you’ll probably want to consider having some food. I’m personally a big fan. But I don’t keep this stuff in my Bug Out Bag, because I bought in bulk.
Instead of packing small individual servings of “space food,” I bit the bullet and got my supplies from My Patriot Supply. I went with a couple of buckets of the Beans Trio & Rice Kit (100 servings) and a bucket of the Mega Protein Kit (72 servings). Both options should be filling and sound very easy on the stomach, especially in dehydrated form (the latter said sarcastically, of course).
I also added a couple of cartons of Survival Shot to the order to round out our nutritional needs.
Why so much food for a 72-hour Bug Out Bag? Two reasons.
First, I have a truck. Space is not an issue, and I’d rather just toss a couple of buckets of food into the bed with my bags and not have to wonder if I have enough.
Second, there is probably a better chance of food shortages in any near-term scenario than a need to actually leave my home. A surplus of food is just me double-dipping on preparation. I’m ready if I need to bug out or if the grocery store shelves are empty.
Keep in mind that the gallon of water I have will serve as an integral part of the cooking process for these meal kits.
Food & Water Supplies
There are an endless number of things you could consider carrying in your Bug Out Bag. Again, I’ll get to those later. Here are the things I’ll have handy at the top of my bag in an emergency situation.
So, you’ve got your water. You’ve got your food. You got out of your house, drove for a while, and made it safely to… the middle of a forest. Then what?
Well, you’ll need a few simple camping items to prepare your food. I’m not much of a camping guy myself so I am sticking to the basics.
I got this tiny camping stove and three cans of fuel to go with it. The fuel takes up a bit of space in the bag, but the stove topper is very compact. This should make it easy to cook all of the food that I have.
I also bought a set of collapsible cookware to prepare the meals, as well as some 3-in-1 utensils so we won’t have to eat with our hands like cavemen, even if we wind up living and looking like them for a few days.
All in, this stuff, and a Bug Out Bag in general, can start to get expensive if you let it (which I did, to some degree). The food I bought alone was several hundred dollars. If you aren’t concerned about massive shocks to the supply chain (thanks to COVID shutdowns, war in Europe, and probably a dozen other factors) or natural disasters, then maybe this level or preparation doesn’t fit the bill for you.
Maybe a cheaper 72-hour survival kit is sufficient for food. Whatever you get, read the instructions so you know if there are other items/supplies you need to actually prepare said food.
Just do me a favor and don’t totally skimp on water. Water is essential whether you’re cooking, grooming, hydrating, or doing any other important human activities.
As with anything, you can do this on a budget. My list may be spot on for you. But if it’s not, I hope that it gets you thinking about what you would need.
Would you make a Bug Out Bag? Any other food or water items you’d include? Send me your thoughts at michael@theothermichaeljordan.com. I hope to hear from you.
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