Food & Water
The two things a household runs out of first. Long-term food storage, rotating pantries, freeze-dried, canning and mylar — plus water filtration, storage, sourcing and treatment. The ground truth on what actually feeds and hydrates a household when the supply chain stalls. Plain reviews and honest taste tests, no panic.
Top picks in Food & Water
Curated by topic, not commissionAll curated
10 Emergency Foods You Need To Have
Two-minute breakdown of ten shelf-stable foods recommended for emergency food storage, with links to purchasing options.
What Happens When the Water Stops?
How power outages disable both well pump and municipal water systems, and why households need an emergency water plan.
Cheap Greenhouse Pond: One-Year Update
Follow-up on a DIY greenhouse using a pond for thermal mass and passive solar heating to extend the growing season.
Hurricane Survival: Powering Your Home with EG4 6000XP
48-second walkthrough: wiring an EG4 6000XP battery system to run a well pump during extended grid outage, with real hurricane-outage performance data.
The Secret to Longevity: Growing Your Own Food
Forty-second overview of home gardening as a longevity practice, with practical entry points from container gardening to raised beds and tips on financial returns.
Processing Turkeys
Step-by-step walkthrough of butchering and processing a home-raised turkey for meat and meals.
My Vegetable Garden is Done for the Season | First Hunt with my Homemade Longbow
Seasonal garden closedown, foraging wild berries, and testing a homemade longbow in autumn wilderness conditions.
Catching and Cooking Catfish with Wild Bamboo Shoots
Hour-long walkthrough of fishing for catfish, field butchering, cooking over an open fire, and identifying wild edible plants.
Free Food at Our Forest Homestead: Harvesting and Foraging
Eleven-minute walkthrough of foraging wild blueberries and harvesting potatoes on a Norwegian forest homestead, demonstrating practical food self-sufficiency.
Too Many Problems Are Hitting the Food System at Once
Analysis of converging pressures on the food supply—energy, fuel, weather, and global shipping—and why early warning signs matter more than empty shelves.
Clean Drinking Water for $25? Here's How We Do It
Twelve minutes on budget water filtration systems, including the HydroBlu Versa Flow, gravity bags, activated carbon, and backflushing techniques for emergency preparedness.
Art of Baking Meat in Mud
Seventeen-minute demonstration of primitive earth-oven cooking technique for wild game in a wilderness setting.
When the Grid Goes Down, Here's How to Keep Cooking
Learn practical cooking methods for power outages that conserve fuel, water, and energy while maintaining nutrition.
Foraging for Wild Foods in my Favorite Place
Identify edible berries and practice foraging techniques along Canadian shoreline terrain.
The Only Crop That Survives My Chicken Run
Fourteen-minute walkthrough growing Jerusalem artichokes in a chicken run: why they outsurvive other crops, how to dig and store them through winter, and the planting mistake to avoid.
What I'm Buying Now as Prices, Shortages, and Tensions Rise | Prepper Pantry Haul
Hour-long walkthrough of freeze-dried foods, shelf-stable staples, water storage, and preparedness supplies being added to a family emergency pantry, with purchasing rationale tied to current supply-chain and cost concerns.
Greg and Jan's South Poll cattle herd and sheep flock thriving in summer drought
Eight-minute walkthrough of how Greg's South Poll cattle and sheep are managing through drought conditions using regenerative pasture techniques.
Powering My Entire Homestead Off-Grid: 5.5-Year Update
30-minute tour of a 30-acre tropical Australian homestead's off-grid power system and orchard development, demonstrating practical energy independence and food self-sufficiency implementation.
World Food Prices Hit 3-Year High: What's Coming to Your Grocery Store
39-minute breakdown of rising global food prices (sugar, grains, fuel, fertilizer), what's reached U.S. stores, and a 90-day pantry-stocking plan to protect household food security.
Hand Scythe for Garden Maintenance: Chop-and-Drop Mulching
34-second walkthrough of using a hand scythe ($10 tool) for efficient seasonal garden maintenance, chop-and-drop mulching in beds, and soil management without mechanization.
DIY Gravity System: Simple Setup & Versaflo Hacks
One-minute walkthrough of building a gravity water filter and adapting the Versaflo system with charcoal filters and drinking caps.
Making Your Own Spice Powders
Monday Night Fireside Chat discussion on making spice powders at home, with hosts and guest experts from food preservation and culinary backgrounds.
Food Is Freedom: Food Preservation and Storage as Economic Security
Twenty minutes on food preservation through canning and bottling dry staples like rice and beans, framed around food scarcity risks and supply-chain vulnerability.
Off-Grid Cabin Bathroom: Bucket Toilet to DIY Septic System Installation
Walkthrough of off-grid wastewater handling: why bucket toilets work for remote properties, toilet installation, DIY plumbing, and septic system preparation.
Editor's note
“If you only have a weekend and $200, fix water before anything else — it's the prep with the highest ratio of survival impact per dollar. On food: most $400 emergency kits could be replaced with $120 of supermarket staples plus mylar bags. The expensive part of food prep is the marketing, not the calories.”
— Cockroach editorial
Major Earthquake in Panama, Hurricane Isaias Landfall and Inland Storm Analysis
Real-time analysis of a major Panama earthquake and approaching Hurricane Isaias, covering storm surge, wind impacts, and inland effects using NOAA and USGS data.
Installing sheep wire on pasture for winter grazing
Seven-minute walkthrough of setting up rotational sheep grazing infrastructure on pastureland, with Greg Judy and crew installing fencing for winter feed management.
No Power, No Water? Do This First
Calculate your family's 2-week water needs, learn safe storage methods, and identify backup water sources within walking distance for grid-down scenarios.
Can You Actually Cook a Meal With Nothing but Sunlight?
Eight-minute test of solar ovens as a backup cooking method during grid-down scenarios, demonstrating effectiveness with water and beef.
Are Backyard Chickens Worth It? It's More Than a Money Question
Twenty minutes on the real five-year costs and payoff of raising backyard chickens for eggs and meat, including hidden expenses and why fresh home-raised birds differ from supermarket poultry.
Winter Power Outage? Complete Home Preparedness Plan
Twenty-minute walkthrough of food safety during outages, backup power layering, heating and carbon monoxide safety, pipe protection, and supplies for medicines and pets.
Stockpile These 7 Canned Meats — Don't Waste Money on the Rest
Nutritional and cost analysis of canned meats: which 7 brands deliver real protein and shelf life per dollar, and which to skip despite appearing cheaper.
Mylar Bags & Oxygen Absorbers: The Complete Guide to 25-30 Year Food Storage
Learn how to seal dry foods in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for 25-30 years of shelf-stable storage.
BougeRV CRD2 V2.0 Portable Refrigerator Review: Dual-Zone Cooling for Off-Grid and Emergency Use
Eight-minute hands-on review of a 61-quart portable electric fridge with dual-zone freezing, battery operation, and smartphone controls for camping, RVing, and grid-down food preservation.
Dual-Use Gas Mask Canteen
27-second look at the Mira Safety Canteen, a hydration system designed for use in contaminated or dangerous environments.
Managing a Large Garden Efficiently: BCS Tractor and Flail Mower Setup
Walk-through of using a BCS garden tractor with flail mower attachment to manage larger garden plots, reduce labor, and maintain soil health through mechanical mulching.
Building a Multi-System Utility Room: Off-Grid Cabin Retrofit
Eleven-minute walkthrough of converting a 4-foot-wide porch section into a multi-purpose utility space handling laundry, composting toilets, plumbing, freezer storage, and HVAC while solving winter freezing problems.
When the Power Goes Out, What Else Stops?
Overview of cascading infrastructure failures during grid outages: water systems, fuel, communications, medical equipment, and payment systems.
The Silence of the Bow: Traditional Skills in my Off-Grid Log Cabin
Learn longbow crafting and wood-stove cooking techniques for off-grid wilderness self-reliance.
What to Do When the Tap Stops Working
Learn how to prepare for municipal water emergencies through real incidents, storage strategies, and a household water safety plan.
I Was Scared It Would Happen This Quick. I'm Buying Everything I Need.
Survey current shortage signals and build a practical household reserve across food, water, power, and essential systems before demand spikes.
Offgrid Homestead: Winter Prep, Water Catchment & Generator Protection on Raw Land
Twelve months into an Arizona off-grid build: RV tank maintenance, rainwater collection setup, generator insulation, solar wiring organization, and winter preparation on raw land.
8 Freeze-Dried Foods for Your Fall Pantry: Testing the Thrive Fall Favorites Box
Suttons Daze opens and tests eight freeze-dried pantry staples from a seasonal box, evaluates each item, and demonstrates a one-skillet meal using the contents.
Why Your Garden Looks 'Bad' But Works Great
A working garden doesn't need to be perfect: how to grow productive food with minimal maintenance, inconsistent input, and real-world constraints.
Planting Fall Garlic in Zone 2b3a
Step-by-step guide to planting garlic in late fall for zone 2b/3a climates, covering timing, soil prep, and basic technique.
Food Labels, Ingredient Transparency, and What Companies Don't Have to Disclose
Eighteen minutes on how to read food labels critically: what FDA/USDA rules require, what they don't, how legal claims can mislead, and how to source food you actually trust for storage.
Growing Cucumbers On Trellises: Space-Efficient Garden Techniques
Garden tour demonstrating why trellising cucumbers saves space and reduces pest damage, with notes on peppers, zucchini, and harvest-ready produce for preservation.
Is Our Food Even Real Anymore?
Ten-minute walkthrough of reading ingredient labels, understanding what's actually in processed foods, and making informed grocery choices for you and your family.
Mulching Over Drip Irrigation: Reduce Water Loss and Build Soil
Step-by-step walkthrough on layering mulch over drip lines to cut evaporation, maintain soil moisture, and use chop-and-drop composting to feed the garden.