[Goldsborough]

First, I second the Tabasco sauce recommendation. Laugh all you may, but I go to Cash & Carry locally at least once a year, and buy a case of Tabasco brand Garlic Pepper Sauce, the best of breed. You can hunt local stray dogs if necessary and make them palatable with Tabasco.

Item two is an MSR Miniworks. Water is way more necessary than food, and a pump action cartridge water filter solves two problems at once if the water supply is compromised. First, you have fresh drinking water, even if it is stored in a rain barrel, a hot water heater, or a toilet reservoir. Secondly, you don't have to come up with any fuel for a fire to boil, or create possibly unpalatable water using iodine or bleach.

Having had many MRE's in my time, both as a veteran and as a backpacker, they have their virtues, but in a fixed site "bug in," what I go with is a mix of preferred canned goods with their contents Sharpied onto the lid in the event of label loss from flooding or whatnot, over the expense of anything more than a few MREs placed in reserve in my bug out bag.

Twelve MRE or knock-off meals at $50-70 per dozen is freakin' expensive compared to canned goods, let alone buying enough to get by for weeks, especially when the only real world advantage is weight savings and the possibility of a minor morale boost from a warm meal if clean water is available, differences which are not at a premium in either a home or vehicle storage situation.

Canned goods, a world class field packable water filter, a metal match, and an authentic Swiss Army Knife or a name brand multitool with a tested can opener, are better investments for non end of the world disasters than anything other than a three day supply of MREs.

[JRandomFreeper]

Water is way more necessary than food

Preach it brother!

3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. All of those can be deadly to humans.

/johnny