When I was little in the 1950s, some people maintained large gardens. As the years went by, though, they became smaller and smaller, possibly because the people got older and older. Of course, not everyone has the space for a garden and a small vegetable garden just isn't worth the trouble. We're a little spoiled now, though, in that many vegetables are available year-round, which didn't use to be the case. I also think that the quality of some items is much better than back then.
I've mentioned this before but emergencies of one sort or another usually happen often enough, if not regularly, so that you probably already know what you really need to be prepared for. It varies from place to place, naturally, but they're generally all weather related. Hurricanes, tornados, heavy snows and windstorms, floods, fallen trees, power outages and the like. Those things are fairly localized and never affect everyone equally, meaning you really won't all be in the same boat. Some people build on high ground, some have generators and so on. The current coronavirus is unusual in that it seems to be worldwide in scope. But things that are more personal can be more serious. Things like job loss and long-term illness can be much more difficult to recover from.
I don't worry about the collapse of civilization. I suppose it could happen; it just never has. There are other serious things that only government can really do anything about but the current US administration is not disposed to do anything like that or, for that matter, anything at all. These are also things that have happened before, too, although at the moment, all I can think of is long term drought. Nobody thinks in terms of lean years and fat years, I guess.
