Resupply

Overview

As with water so with food and fuel. Generally the north and the middle have sufficient resupply options, while the south needs a lot more planning.

Resupply points
These are the main places where I bought food. Occasionally there was a cafe or gas station. These are not included, but will be on your map. At least they were all on the maps.me map which comes from OpenStreetMap.

The North
Day 0 Tel Aviv - supermarkets, gas, SIM card
Day 1 (am) Kibbutz Dan - small supermarket
Day 4 (am) Dishon village - small minimarket
Day 8 (am) Safed/Zfat - supermarkets in small town, gas
Day 15 (am) Kfar Hasidim - supermarket (opposite school)

Day 17 (am) Ein Zur - supermarket (at road crossing near winery)
Day 21-26 Tel Aviv - supermarkets, gas, phone recharge, six days rest

The Middle
Day 27 (pm) Somewhere along the way here I found a full 460g gas canister
Day 28 (am) Sakhlabim logistics centre - lunch (mobile food stall)
Day 29 (am) Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut shopping centre, lunch (cafe)
Day 31 (pm) Mevo Beitar gas station - small store (top up)
Day 33 (am) Netiv HaLamed-Hey - small supermarket, gas
Day 35 (pm) Beit Kama gas station - cafe and small store (top up)

The South
Day 39-40 Arad - cafe, trail angel - one day rest
Day 41 (am) Arad - supermarket (6 days), cafe (eat before leaving), gas

Day 46-49 Sde Boqer - cafe, supermarket - three days rest

Day 50 (am) Sde Boqer - supermarket (3 days)

Day 54 (am) Mitzpe Ramon - cafe, supermarket (6 days food), eat lunch, gas
Day 55 (am) CACHE (gear plus any remaining food and water), hitchhike to MR
Day 55 (pm) Mitzpe Ramon - cafe, supermarket (6 days food), eat lunch

Day 58 (pm) Zofar - minimarket (top up), eat lunch, gas available

Day 60 (pm) CACHE (6 days food, 9 litres of water, gas) - Zihor Junction camp
Day 65 (am) Be'er Ora - minimarket (top up), eat lunch, gas
Day 67 (pm) Eilat - enjoy a feast at the end!

Food caches

I created only two caches. Both caches were deposited on a single day by hitchhiking down one highway and back. All very neat and simple.

Cache one
This was a cache of food, water and gas that would be hidden for a week. 

My food cache after recovery on day 60
including some fruit I was given

I chose a discrete spot some 300m from the campsite out of view of the road and trail. I climbed up and away from any sign of tracks, which also reduced any potential impact from a rainstorm. 

The water bottles are fine as they are. The food was packaged in plastic, boxed in cardboard for transport, then wrapped in a plastic sack for storage. 

I scooped a shallow hole in the soft sand with my hands, placed the items inside and then piled plenty of rocks over the top. Finally I scattered sand all over, partly to blend in the colours and partly to obscure my footsteps as I retreated. 

I took photos of the location from several angles and recorded two GPS points using two devices. Then I left an obvious stick as a reminder of where to climb back up. Finally I had a good look at the surrounding and noted some key features.

I also had a plan B in the event that it was missing when I returned. As this was close to a road I would simply have to hitch hike back into town (60km away) and start over again.

Cache two
This cache included almost all my gear as well as my remaining food and water. It had to last for just one day, while I hitched into town, bought more supplies and walked back.

I climbed 50 metres up a steep rock slope above my campsite, which itself was discretely hidden away from the trail up a side valley. Then I found a cleft in some rocks and hid my bags there. One was already a dry bag, the other was a large plastic sack. I then covered these completely with rocks. I took two GPS points as before, in addition to my regular one for the campsite itself.

Food

As one might expect Israel has fabulous Middle Eastern food. However you are not going to be able to eat fresh food on the trail as much as perhaps you might like. And in Israel food is relatively expensive, although a Pita bread with Felafel and salad can make a cheap and healthy meal. These are possible infrequently in the north and barely at all in the desert.

"Falafel and salad filled Pita - so good"

Food preferences are evidently a personal choice, but they must intersect with what is both available and portable. And indeed affordable.

So for what it is worth here is my daily menu and a shopping list of the regular items that I was able to obtain. I eat a fairly simple vegetarian diet.

"Food is just fuel - get over it"

Daily diet

Breakfast Porridge and muesli with Tahini 
Lunch Bread or Crackers with Hummus, Boiled eggs
Dinner Pasta with Lentil and Tomato Sauce
Snacks Dried fruit, nuts, chocolate
Drinks Chai with fresh ginger and spices, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Rooibos
Occasional Stuffed Vine leaves, Olives, Fruit, Pita with Felafel

Shopping list

Carbs
Porridge Oats, Fruit and Nut Muesli, Sliced Bread/Pita/Tortillas, Crackers, Biscuits, Pasta

Protein

Red Lentils, Whole Sesame Tahini, Hummus, Eggs, Olives, Olive Oil

"Fresh" and Dairy
Condensed Sweetened Milk, Fresh Milk (seldom), Yogurt, Cottage Cheese
Raisins, Dates, Dried Figs, Nuts, Fruit (seldom), Avocados (seldom), 
Ginger, Garlic, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Tomato concentrate paste

Miscellaneous

Loose Leaf Black Tea, Cocoa powder, Sugar, Chocolate
Salt, Black Pepper
Chai Spices - a mixture of Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamon

Other

Baby wipes

Batteries (AAA and AA)

Fuel (Gas canister)

Unobtainable

Powdered Milk. 
Hence the unappealing (but long lasting) Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Treats and bonuses

From time to time I had a treat in a cafe, often at a gas station. Usually this was a coffee and a croissant or pastry of some sort.

You will feel you deserve this too.

The big bonus was that I was often given food very generously by people who saw me passing and who even called me over expressly to give me something. Nice!