/ first_moves
Do these first
/ failure_mode
How this plan fails
Do not eat food with chemical, floodwater, sewage, or uncertain contamination. When local health instructions conflict with a generic rule, follow the local instruction.
/ avoid
Do not spend your first mistake here
- Buying emergency food nobody can eat because of allergies, diet, teeth, or preparation needs.
- Mixing fuel containers, cleaning containers, and water containers.
Food is not the first survival problem, but it becomes morale, medicine, and decision quality very quickly.
Store food in layers. Start with normal shelf-stable food that rotates through the kitchen. Add dense no-cook calories for evacuation. Keep special diets, infant formula, pet food, and comfort food where they can be found without negotiation.
Sanitation is part of the food plan. Dirty hands, contaminated water, and bad waste handling can turn a stable household into a medical problem. Put soap, sanitizer, wipes, bags, toilet paper, menstrual supplies, diapers, and trash rules in the same mental drawer as food.
The best emergency food is boring enough to rotate and familiar enough to eat under stress.