Just as firefighters train extensively before facing a fire, addressing known barriers to eating in patients requires thorough preparation and proactive strategies. Reported barriers that impact feeding should be addressed prior to the first meal. Additional barriers that arise during or around meals should be addressed as they are observed, ideally in between mealtime treatment sessions. Though this section has been written by an occupational therapist and therefore inherently has an occupational therapy lens, it is recognized that many medical treatment team members may find these strategies useful to teach while working with patients.