17 replies to this topic

[cookiejar]

In the novel "Some will not die," the character cheerfully moves about the city gleaning food and drink from things like offices, hotel lobbies, etc.
At one point he fills his canteen with club soda from an empty of booze bar.

It got me to thinking about lots of areas that sheeple forget contain edibles or drinks in a pinch. How many companies have a break room? Everyone's heading out the door concentrating on family and ways home while boxes of coffee, dried creamers, teas, sugars are forgotten. Most car dealerships, mechanics shops, tax offices, etc keep complimentary beverages and such for clients. How about that water cooler? Where are the spares stacked? Fleeing people won't think of that.
Vending machines are tucked away in parking garages (malls, airports, hospitals).

A bar/lounge may be ransacked for it's booze while the quinine tonic water (good for malaria,) selzters and club sodas are forgotten (clean drinkable liquids).

Many gyms contain juice/energy drink bars, or counters to buy bottled water and energy snacks. School cafeterias may be emptied but what about the teacher lounge or the hallway snack machines?

The bowling alley and the movie theater may be stripped but what about the vending machine by the county pool?

Just some ideas for you to think about if and you need to get home or Bug out or suppliment your supplies.

Just an idea

[Mother]

Okay, I have freely admitted that I'm NOT a city girl so this might be way off base but..... Those seem to be all good places to find 'forage' but getting to them could be a real killer.

When do you envision yourself 'foraging' these goodies and what would the situation outside your door be at that point?

[PoGo]

I suppose while everyone else is fighting over the last loaf of bread at the grocery store, one could be visiting those least thought of places that cookiejar listed. I'd make sure I had someone watching my back though.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

never thought of that - good idea thanks

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: PoGo

I suppose while everyone else is fighting over the last loaf of bread at the grocery store, one could be visiting those least thought of places that cookiejar listed. I'd make sure I had someone watching my back though.

That was somewhat my scenario PoGo...
or after the If the city/suburbia had emptied out/fled, if the GOV. had pad locked the stores (confiscated). I'm not advocating becoming a looter, really more of a gleaner after the fact.

In the case of the story I listed, a huge plague had wiped out most of the population and nutso snipers were shooting everyone else (who knows why?). So, he was heading from building, to lobby, to rooftop etc.

is this working to clarify more? It's just thinking outside the box for finding supplies.

[HSmom]

I think it's a viable option to consider.

As you said, it's 'outside the box' thinking. Once you start with an outside the box idea - even if it's not one that will work - it's easier for your brain to find other unique ideas.

[burbsteader]

The big office supply stores (Office Max, Office Depot) have an aisle of food items such as crackers, cookies, hard candy, etc.

I'd also be tryin the thrift stores. They would be the most overlooked stores for things that could help prepare the food, such as cast iron pans, canning jars, etc.
Looters like to loot NEW items

[Amishway Homesteaders]

SO when the and everybody is running this way --->
we will be going this way <----
I like that!

[anna]

Initially, duck and cover and stay covered. Maybe after things calm down you could go gleaning, but until the first craziness passes much better to stay safe and hidden at home as invisible as possible. Better to be hungry than shot or mugged without medical assistance available.

[ArmyOfFive4God]

Originally Posted By: Amishway Homesteaders

SO when the and everybody is running this way --->
we will be going this way <----
I like that!

I like <-- that way

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: anna

Initially, duck and cover and stay covered. Maybe after things calm down you could go gleaning, but until the first craziness passes much better to stay safe and hidden at home as invisible as possible. Better to be hungry than shot or mugged without medical assistance available.

Oh yeah Chica,
Pretty much what I'm advocating :quack: and cover.
But then, when things simmer down and thin out (people fleeing or what have you), it's just interesting to note that Linens and Things has a snack aisle and do you have a Michael's Crafts? They have all kinds of nibblies by the door. Just thinking wayyyy outside the box.

Food for thought? When the hurricanes were coming, those fleeing stripped every grocery store/gas station food store/7-11 bare like locust in hours.

<--- that way

[Darlene]

Now wait a minute.

If TSHHTF, why would any of you want to be going out and *foraging*? Isn't the purpose of preparing now, one of the reasons that you won't hafta do that?

Don't kid yourself and think that your thoughts are so unique...there will be thousands of others that will be considering the Office Max's and Michaels, etc...

This shouldn't even be a consideration for those of us here...and I find it irresponsible to even think about it.

Invest your thoughts and energy into stashing what you can in your environment ahead of time, and what you can continually grow or reap from your personal property areas.

Thinking about venturing out is a very dangerous idea, and one that shows lack of forethought and planning now.

Sorry to rain on your parades, but this whole thread scares me for you.

[Mother]

I've been reading this thread and I believe I like it. Oh,,,not because I want any of you to be out there when the chaos is going on. Not at all!

I agree with Darlene in that we 'prep' or in this case maybe the words should read "stock up" just so that we can shelter in place. That's fine if the chaos is of short duration or if some disaster doesn't come along to change the situation, like losing your preps to a fire, flood or worse yet, someone bigger than you with a bigger gun....Including the military perhaps. What if you find yourself suddenly on the road and would need to have some ideas of where to locate strange places that might still have food. What if you find yourself in a long term situation where the food is gone or you know you are going to have to supplement it somehow? Then what are you going to do? And that's both city AND country. When the FOOD is gone, you have to have plans in place for SURVIVAL!!!

Most country people that 'prep' automatically think of the bounty that surrounds them. Wild plants, corn fields, animals, etc. It's not unreasonable for city dwellers to think in the same terms of their own environment.

Okay, so getting sugar and creamor packets from office coffee rooms might not be the answer to actual survival and it's true that there probably will be others ahead of you who have the same thoughts but at least this thread is talking about forage outside of the "box" and NOW is the time to think of those things, not when you are in need. This thread could very well be the jumping off place to a deeper thinking about what resources you have in your area. Like Cookie's abandoned golf course wild food foraging, it's thinking outside the proverbial box and if any of us are going to survive in that sort of situation, city OR country, we will need to think outside the box before it hits.

I'd like to read more suggestions for "found" food in this thread. Think specifically about what you have in your own CITY area, after all, this is the Urban homesteading forum isn't it? Tell us about warehouses, storage areas, factories or anywhere else you might find stashes of food. Think about what problems you might encounter getting to them and post those too. In the mean time, I'm going to start another thread I've been pondering on for a couple of days. Hop in there too.

((((all)))

[Darlene]

Mother, I'm sorry, but I still don't think the answer is finding a warehouse or place of business to ransack to augment ones own preps.

That violates all the foundational premises of what preparing means to me.

[Mother]

I agree, you should see how much it violates MY ideas about prepping. But through Mrs. S I've learned that there are many faces of being prepared. When I first came here I believed that all or at least most 'preppers' were into self suffeciency. I believed they knew how to live off the land or at least knew how to grow their own. I was not being superior at all, I just didn't KNOW. When I started reading Mrs. S I realized that a majority of the posts were about stocking up on food and supplies and I was puzzled. Being prepared, to me, means being ready to SURVIVE even after the initial stored foods were gone. Why else bother to prep at all?

Through you and through many of the wonderful friends I've made here, I learned that we each do what we can with what we have. I learned that I might want to be in a position where I can defend what I have. Never really gave a thought before to the hungry, angry hoards. I learned that I might have to have barter items or skills to use in place of them. I learned that I might think of stocking some luxury items to make life a bit easier. I've also learned that each of you brings another piece of the ever widening puzzle of survival and I've tried to open myself to as many possibilities as I can. This thread is one of those possibilities.

Do I believe that a person can live on what little they might find in coffee rooms, no, I don't. Do I believe that each of us should have as much food, water and supplies stored as we possibly can so that we don't HAVE to be out in the hungry hoards? Definitely!

It would be great if everyone could just stay all safe and secure in their warm, comfortable homes with their MRE's and shelves full of T-paper and let the rest of the world go by. But the truth is, depending on what type of scene hits us, we have to be ready to do whatever it takes. I, not being a city person, would never even have THOUGHT of looking in those places for food though once mentioned, I realized they were always there. It's the same way with country living. Those who have never lived in the country could be forced by circumstances to flee the city and could be standing right next to an edible food source on a country road and starve. If I ever find myself hungry, in a ravaged city without my preps, you can bet I'm going to remember some of the things the members here said. They might keep me alive until I can figure out a way to exist. And I'll bet a lot more city dwelling members who suddenly find themselves fleeing that same ravaged city will remember some of the country survival techniques that have been posted on this site.

It's what we do best,,,,,help each other learn.

(((Darlene)))

[dogmom4]

Originally Posted By: Leah

The problem is, when something happens you might not be home.

This is how I was thinking as well. In my opinion, we should all have our preps at home set, but most people are not going to spend every day at home. My fil lives in San Francisco and you can bet every time we go across the Bay bridge my mind doesn't start thinking of how would we handle different emergency situations that could come up. We're not gonna stop visiting dfil just because of what COULD happen so we think about what we could do if something happened when away from home and also is it possible to get BACK home.
Stacy

[dogmom4]

bump

[Amishway Homesteaders]

wow!
thanks for bumping this had forgoten all about this great thread!
Yesterday while we were gleaning a field of the last few tomatos (yes I asked) was thinking along this line.
As we like to go out when a field is cleared (and after getting permission) to se what we can find, sometimes beans, sunflower seed (for birds), corn (for us or squarrels/birds) potatoes, carrots, soy beans(crafts), cauliflower, cabbage, apples, pears, etc.
It is one way we save money and also help others as we do share.