Food | S.W.A.T. Magazine

Crisis Cuisine: Long-Term Food Storage

Having access to long-term food stores can definitely increase your chances for survival in even the most serious crisis situations. But storing that much food is not without its complications, and can also become very expensive. Figuring out what to store and how to store it can often be the most difficult part of the entire process. Let’s take a look at the basics of long-term food security, with specific emphasis on tips, ideas, and suggestions to help you start making your preparations, while also saving some serious money.

Water Storage Essentials: What To Do Before the Tap Runs Dry

During a disaster, one of the most significant problems you’re likely to face is the lack of clean drinking water. People living in highly congested urban areas are especially vulnerable, since municipal water supplies can be contaminated or may stop flowing altogether.

Cache is King: Secret Stash for Hard Times

Once the last-minute panic starts, it’s only a few short hours before the shelves of many local grocers, convenience stores, and even big-box retailers are completely stripped of all emergency supplies.

Survival’s Big Seven: Must-Have Basics

The most successful survival strategies are usually the ones that focus on the basics—food, water, first aid, medical, sanitation/hygiene, self-defense, security, and of course, knowing when to stay put and when to get out. These are all crucial for staying alive, especially during a disaster aftermath, when you’ll most likely come face-to-face with the maximum

Bug-Out Bag 101: Planning and Packing

You’re sitting quietly at home, watching TV with the family, when something unimaginable happens. The “why” or “what” doesn’t really matter—what does matter is that you only have a few minutes to gather up your family and evacuate your home. It’s uncertain what you will face or when you might be able to return. If

Offbeat: Meals Ready to Eat

Meals Ready to Eat, or simply MREs, are the main individual self-contained field ration for U.S. military personnel. MREs are primarily intended for use in combat or field conditions where other food facilities may not be available. They have been around for over 30 years, but their roots stretch back to the C-Rations used during

Emergency Food Supplies: Are They Safe To Eat?

You’re in the process of rotating your food supplies when you notice that the “Best By” date on some of the containers came and went over five months ago! If you’re like most people, your first reaction is probably to throw out any food products that appear to be out of date. After all, who

Home Sweet Home: Bugging in During a Disaster

What started off as a normal day is turning out to be anything but. Something is terribly wrong. News reports are vague, but early indications point to a massive failure of key computer networks that run the nation’s power grid. In your neighborhood, power is failing, traffic is at a standstill, and most businesses are anxiously closing their doors and sending their employees home.

Packin’ Meat: Long-Term Preservation Primer

I am a hopeless carnivore. I love just about any kind of meat, but one of my favorite dinners is a generous serving of canned venison, combined with brown gravy served open face over oat bread, with a side of homemade French fries. Yum. I discovered this “man food” by virtue of learning how to

Tree Treats: Free Food From The Forest

When we consider our forebears’ traditional harvest resources, we see that common trees are a cornucopia of good food that’s free for the taking. Trees have always supplied essential good things to eat, from fruits to nuts, but the tree itself can supply wholesome—and tasty—sustenance to more than beavers. Few people chew on tree parts