9 Places to Find Food After a Collapse of Society

I’m confident that most of you have plenty of food stocked away. Many of you have at least a small vegetable garden, and some of you even have livestock of some sort.

That’s great, but what happens during an extended disaster or a total collapse of society? Eventually, your freeze-dried food and canned goods will run out. You’ll have a tough time getting all the essential amino acids your body needs from plant-based protein sources alone. It’s not impossible, but the volume of plant-based protein you’ll need to consume will quickly whittle away your food supply.)

Fortunately, a little knowledge goes a long way because there are plenty of places to find food—especially protein, during a collapse of society. Here are nine places most people wouldn’t even think to look:

Kennels
kennel
We may view dogs and cats as our cuddly little pals here in America, but they are a food source throughout the world. If society collapses and your survival is on the line, you better be ready to get over your emotions and make a meal of Fido. Since most people would be busy fighting over the last pack of Oreos at Walmart, kennels would become a great place to find plenty of fresh meat with little or no competition. The dogs and cats are even tucked into convenient cages, making you job of harvesting them simple.

Pet stores
pet store
The same principles apply here, but with a larger selection of choices. (Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish, reptiles, etc.) You’ll find the added benefit of a stockpile of food for the animals and antibiotics used in aquariums and ponds.

I would also recommend taking a few pairs of animals you can breed for a sustainable food source. Rabbits are an ideal choice.

Zoos
Bush Gardens Zoo
I appreciate the beauty of the animals you find at a zoo as much as anyone, but I will happily slaughter a giraffe to feed my family. There are a couple of things to consider here:

Nearly every animal in the zoo is larger, stronger, faster, and much more dangerous than you.
Nearly every animal in the zoo provides more meat than you can carry or consume before it spoils.
Based on those facts, it’s important that you have a plan, support, and weapons. A semiautomatic rifle capable of efficiently killing the target is essential, along with enough people to quickly butcher that animal. (I recommend nothing smaller than a 5.56, but preferably .308 or larger.)

In the case of predatory animals like lions or tigers, it would be wise to drag it from the cage or pen before butchering so his buddies don’t attack you during the process. Sure, you could shoot them too, but a pride of dead lions would spoil before you could eat the meat, and during a collapse you don’t want to waste anything.

Also be sure to enter with caution and stay alert at all times because you don’t know if any animals have escaped their enclosures.

Aquariums
Tampa Aquarium
You’ll probably have to harvest food from aquariums relatively quickly due to potential water contamination. They usually have robust backup generators to keep their filters running, but that is designed for natural disasters like hurricanes that may only last for several days. Once you start stretching into weeks or months, algae, bacteria, and other pathogens can quickly overtake even the largest aquariums, killing of the marine life.

You may be able to harvest some marine life relatively easily, but the larger tanks, like the one we have here at the Tampa Aquarium will require fishing gear—in some cases, heavy-duty fishing gear, to pull the fish out.

Amusement Parks
Epcot
Speaking of restaurants, there are dozens of them scattered throughout most amusement parks, making them a plentiful and reliable source of food that never crosses most people’s minds.

School cafeterias
school cafateria
You can find a lot of food in school cafeterias and since most of it will be either canned or dehydrated, or frozen in walk-in freezers powered by backup generators, it should be fresh for a long time to come. Keep in mind that this will only be accessible during a total collapse of society. Schools are often used to temporarily house and feed people during short-term disasters.

Grocery Stores
robbing a grocery store
You’ll have to hit your local Publix pretty damn early if you hope to find anything, but even then your chances are pretty slim. People will usually mob the store leading up to the event, whether it’s a hurricane, financial collapse, or something else, and following the event, it’s one of the first targets for the unprepared. So don’t get your hopes up. It’s probably best to avoid this entirely due to the risk of violent encounters.

Restaurants
restaurant
Like grocery stores, expect restaurants to be picked over pretty quickly, but you might find something.

Distribution Centers
distribution center
Most people don’t give any thought to how the food gets to their grocery store so they aren’t even aware this exists, making it a step up from your local grocery store. When you take into account the fact that distribution centers are usually located outside of heavily populated areas, they become even more appealing during a collapse.

a reply to: Mizzazz22

Could also read... 9 places to find armed trouble...

If society collapses, it's better to stay away from society.

a reply to: Mizzazz22


Don't forget Acorns, if you husk them bash them up and leave them in a running stream for three days all the tannins come out, and you have a full diet, if you boil them and change the water three times you lose the tannins but the starch as well. So the old Indian way is best. Then make them into a nice nutty cake and cook over the fire.

a reply to: Mizzazz22

I take it your post was meant to be a joke; at least, I hope it was.
By the time stores are out of food, I'm pretty sure animal shelters, pet stores, etc. will have already been gone for some time.

If the world ever got to the point of needing to rob restaurants, pet stores and zoos I wouldn't want to be here.

a reply to: Mizzazz22

What about Cannibalism ? Waste Not , Want Not in Times of Dire Need.......)

I hear long pig will be plentiful and easy to hunt

a reply to: Mizzazz22

No, every place you mentioned will be hit by employees or mobs.

My #1 advice, learn how to forage in your area. Buy a book now.

originally posted by: Terpene
Could also read... 9 places to find armed trouble...

If society collapses, it's better to stay away from society.

This. The best place to find food after a collapse of society, would be well away from said society!

I'm not a survival expert, but in any kind of population center I'd expect the period of 1-3 weeks after a collapse to be the worst, i.e. when everything's been stripped completely clean and before the die-off starts. Any source of food would be found and fought for.

If it got so bad that I would have to eat cats and digs and goldfish just to stay alive a couple more days I'd kill myself.
Sounds too far gone.

Number 1 should be "The Woods" near a river or lake .
Will not need the other 9

a reply to: Mizzazz22

Your prepper neighbor that bragged about all the food and weapons he had.
You and about four or five buddies take him out.

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
a reply to: Mizzazz22

What about Cannibalism ? Waste Not , Want Not in Times of Dire Need.......)

Best idea. Added advantage of eliminating local competition.

Back straps and tenderloins = Deliciousness!! Anything else might be poisoned.

a reply to: Snarl

Ribs man, Ribs! Cooked Low and Slow, with Sweet Baby Ray's.

originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: Mizzazz22


Don't forget Acorns, if you husk them bash them up and leave them in a running stream for three days all the tannins come out, and you have a full diet, if you boil them and change the water three times you lose the tannins but the starch as well. So the old Indian way is best. Then make them into a nice nutty cake and cook over the fire.

Just last Sunday, my mother and a friend of hers, were talking about how they used to make acorn bread when they were young.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn

originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: Mizzazz22


Don't forget Acorns, if you husk them bash them up and leave them in a running stream for three days all the tannins come out, and you have a full diet, if you boil them and change the water three times you lose the tannins but the starch as well. So the old Indian way is best. Then make them into a nice nutty cake and cook over the fire.

Just last Sunday, my mother and a friend of hers, were talking about how they used to make acorn bread when they were young.

Maybe you are thinking of Acorn Squash Bread But Acorn bread is a thing too.

originally posted by: BernnieJGato
a reply to: Snarl

Ribs man, Ribs! Cooked Low and Slow, with Sweet Bay Ray's.

I use a pressure cooker to break down the ribs, then use SBR hickory brown sugar and either grill them over charcoal or bake them. Either way comes out good with SBR sauce. Comes out so tender and sweet, it's like meat candy.

Holy crap, man. Learn to forage and fish. Find fresh springs and learn to make fire. Even making snares is a last resort for me. I don't even know how to skin an animal other than fish and reptiles. But I could tell you what plants are edible on my property. Last time I killed a snake, I felt bad. But they're easy to cook up. Winter months would be hard, but zoos and things would be picked apart anyway. You'd be better off trading... Or at least I would.

Number one is get out of the city. Think riots was bad over politics? Wait until stores are out of everything, then you will see real violence. Learning to forage and farm is something everyone should do. Oh, and defend what you have without mercy.

If you're in Tampa, the last place you should go for fish is to the aquarium, right in the heart of downtown. You're literally on the gulf. Plenty of other places to catch fish.

All those fat neighbors will look like roasted turkeys walking around.
According to Looney Toons they will if you're on the Santa Maria.
Acorns, common weeds and rodents will be my menu but that will be at least a year in the making.