Salvaging Supplies

Salvaging Supplies in a serious "event" may be essential to survival, yet this is not something we hear much about.  Even if you have supplies, replenishing them will extend the time window that you can survive. You need at least enough supplies to get a big or bigger garden planted and the harvest started.

There are several factors to consider:

1. The law - is the situation bad enough to justify breaking the law? The answer to this determines our strategy.  If the local law is functioning or outside assistance is expected to arrive, then it is important to obey they law if at all possible.
2. Risk - how desperate is our situation; this determines how much risk we are willing to take.  Don't underestimate the potential risk in salvaging supplies that are coveted by many people, possibly even desperate, violent ones.  House to house salvaging may be extremely hazardous in free countries where guns are permitted. Protecting your supplies will also require a gun, ammo and a good security plan to prevent loosing them.

Your best approach is to have a Salvage Plan that includes a map of all nearby locations that may have food.  If law and order exists, then that limits you to grocery and convenience stores provided you have cash. If you don't, go back and read our Beginner Prepper List section in the Blog Table of Contents.

IF law and order is gone, and finding food is a mater of life and death, then you should find sources of supplies other than the obvious grocery stores which may be crowded, looted or guarded by gangs.

First print or obtain a local map and regional paper phone books.  Remember Google Maps may not be working so phone books will be valuable. Then start to look for and mark the following on your map:

1. Wal Mart & Grocery Stores or even better - Delivery Trucks
2. Truck Stops
3. Fuel Trucks
4. Food distribution centers
5. Gas Stations
6. Schools
7. Restaurants
8. Restaurant supply businesses
9. Drug Stores
10. Bottled Water or soft drink distributors
11. Businesses with large staffs, break rooms or cafeterias
12. Gun Shops
13. National Guard Armory
14. Police Departments
15. Sporting Goods Stores
16. Hardware or Farm supply stores 
17. Day cares for baby formula

Map these and develop supply run routes around your retreat.  There are two basic salvage route approaches:

• Loop Routes that are shaped like flower petals that go out along certain routes and return via other random parallel routes.  The goal is to salvage triangular shape segments that extend out from your area as opposed to cleaning out everything immediately around your facility.  At the same time, you are exploring far out from your territory.  This route may be best with low populations, limited information, and when risk or threats are considered low.
• Concentric Ring Routes consisting of circles of increasing diameter.  With these, you first deplete all the supplies that are close to your retreat.  After which you must start going out further and further as supplies are exhausted.  This allows you to learn your immediate area very well and progressively explore out further and further as the rings grow.  This approach might be best for high risk scenarios where you don't want to get too far from home.

The best approach is potentially a couple of small concentric rings to explore your immediate area and then transition to the petal or triangle shaped routes. 

Your Scout / Salvage Teams (never solo) should practice Group Drills that allow them to work together.  The best shape is an expanded diamond (a four person team),  with the person in back staying behind as if secretly tracking the other team members so that if they get captured, the back up person can retreat and get reinforcements, or follow them to their destination to be able to lead a rescue effort.  A bounding over watch formation is best when it is known that the risk is high such as moving in to perform a rescue operation. If you are in the city you should have an Urban Security Plan and in the country, a Passive Layered Security Plan.

If it becomes necessary to Salvage to survive, the situation is serious, and you need to be looking for garden seeds and tools.

For more Prepper information see our:
Blog Table of Contents