Although food is not exactly high on the priorities of survival, it is on people’s mind a lot! It also pays to know some things about wild food for various reasons; it can stave off the boredom that is likely to set in, it can keep up the spirits as well as provide some sorely needed vitamins and minerals. But should you find yourself in a survival situation you can’t simply go out and gather some food. It requires prior knowledge, otherwise there is the possibility you could be turning your survival situation into one with a very detrimental outcome.

Learning about wild foods is fun and a journey not a destination. There is an abundance of food out there, ripe for the picking, if you know where to look. This can be food that is foraged from your local neighbourhood, weeds, natives, and what is lovingly referred to as garden-escapees. Fennel, garlic, dandelion, rosehips and puha are all such common and easily used ‘wild’ foods.

The secret lies in getting knowledge, practice, knowledge and practice. Start simply. We have mentioned some easily obtained wild foods on this website before such as dandelion or onion weed. Start by really incorporating these foods into your daily life and then think about the more ‘survival’ type foods such as the cabbage tree, the black fern or the supple jack.