Budget Shopping

In a recent blog post we introduced you to the concept of stockpiling enough food to feed your family for a full year. We are beginning to do this ourselves, and we recommend it to you. We don’t want you to have a “Mother Hubbard Experience” of not having enough food in your cupboard so we want to take a further step to help you actually be able to do this without busting your budget. If you can budget just $10 per week to accumulate your stockpile, we will show you how to have the full year of  emergency paleo food storage by spending just $10 a week for 52 weeks.

How do I set up my budget for this?

This way of stockpiling food is the “low and slow” method. It takes time, 52 weeks, but it also only requires a low financial burden. If you are on a tight budget, this is the perfect plan for you. Remember that this plan begins by developing a master plan. You will need to:

• Determine what you eat
• Determine how much you need
• Determine what you will use your $10 for each week.

It is our plan to grow and provide as much of our own food needs as possible. We will not need to purchase as many items at the grocer, but will be preserving and storing the bounty from our own harvested fruits and veggies, and the livestock and poultry from our own farm animals. If you also plan to grow as much of your own produce as possible, you may want to begin your 52-week accumulation by using the first 4 weeks, or $40, to stock up or save your seeds for the next planting year. It would be ideal to begin this process in the spring with the start-up of your planting year. 

I recommend that you use an envelope system for your weekly $10 and saving for your emergency paleo food storage. Make an envelope and label it, “Food Storage”. Each week you will purchase $10 worth of food items for your food storage and ONLY use the $10 you have in that envelope. If you have money left over from last week, move it over and use it for future food storage purchases. What the weekly envelope achieves for you is an easy way for you to roll over any spare change each week into the next week’s envelope. Don’t use credit cards for this process; interest rates are self-defeating and just create a bigger problem. To budget for this new process, you may need only to forego one restaurant meal a month or decide to rent a video to watch at home rather than paying full admission for your family at the theater. 

It will be very important for you to watch for seasonal sales, holiday sales, special offers at local co-ops or farms, and other money-saving opportunities.

How do I ensure that I am getting the specific foods we will need to continue our Paleo or gluten-free lifestyle.

I know that the majority of those who follow my blogs have very specialized eating styles, most of whom follow a Paleo lifestyle. Not all the information you can research on this subject takes into account the specialized Paleo needs. That’s why we want to help you do that with information we will share in this blog. 

As you develop your list, be sure to list the approved foods you are willing to use. For example, you will need a grain-free substitute for the flour grains that may be listed in an online proposed master list. Determine what you are willing to use: almond and coconut flours, flaxseed and quinoa, dairy substitutions like almond or coconut milk, cheese substitutes like nutritional yeast, and ghee as a storage ready butter substitute. 

Be sure that your emergency paleo food storage is weighted toward wonderful fruits and veggies that can keep well in a root cellar, and plan in advance the kinds of grain-free, dairy-free (unless you are primal) and protein-dense meals you can make from your storage foods. Stockpile your recipes also, including delicious soups and stews along with your favorite menu items.

What specific foods should I purchase each week to have a one-year supply in 52 weeks?

It will take you some time to thoughtfully plan out how you will accumulate the foods for your one-year storage plan. There are many proposed lists that  you can review, but ultimately your master list will be specific to your family’s needs, favorite foods, and what foods you will grow or produce yourself as opposed to those you need to purchase. 

There is a wonderful list available that is specific to the Paleo diet, and we recommend that you begin with that list. You will purchase the listed item for each week. For example, on week one, when you do your grocery shopping, you will purchase one refill pouch of Real Salt. The second week you will purchase 3-4 cans ($10 worth) of full-fat coconut milk. You can use the suggested purchases in that list to plan your own purchases, taking into account your family preferences, local and seasonal sales in your area, and relationships you may have already developed with co-ops, produce stands, or local farmers.

Your list will also need to be adapted to the preparation and preservation you can accomplish for your own home-grown fruits and vegetables, or home-raised livestock and poultry.

If you are not quite Paleo, but you eat real, whole food, then I recommend you take a look at this list. 

Hints from Experienced Food Storage “Addicts”

You can learn from those who have been doing this for some time. They have gone through the trial and error periods and have developed time-tested ways to be successful at storing food for a year. Here are just a few snippets of the advice they can provide to the novice stockpiler.

1. “In the beginning when I started to plan for a year’s worth of household needs, I had absolutely no idea about how many…pounds of hamburger or coffee were used in my home in any given year. The way that I was able to determine that information was with a wall calendar diary and pen. Every time I’d open a package of chicken…or jar of peanut butter I’d note it on the calendar. I was determined and faithful about recording all food, supplies and ordinary household sundries. By the end of the first year I had a pretty good idea of what I was and wasn’t using and how much of each item I was consuming.” – Granny Miller
2. “When living off food storage adequate vitamin and mineral consumption can be a problem.  Fresh sprouts pack an enormous punch relative to their size.  In a long term emergency situation, they may be the only fresh food you can get your hands on.  You don’t need a fancy sprouter, a simple canning jar with nylons, or cheesecloth in place of the lid will work beautifully.” – Eating Food Storage
3. “Take the amount of food you would need to purchase to feed your family for a day and multiply that by 7. That is how much food you would need for a one-week supply. Once you have a week’s supply, you can gradually expand it to a month, and eventually three months.” – LDS
4. “Every June I start anew the annual cycle of putting aside a year’s worth of food and supplies. The goal is to have all the food and supplies I need in my pantry, cupboards, closets and cellar by Halloween. My practical food storage education first began in the mid 1980’s when I attempted to store a winter’s worth of food and household sundries. I live in the snow belt on a rural back road and in those days it was not at all unusual for us to be literally snowed in and house bound for a week at a time; a few times every winter. My winter pantry proved to be such a wonderful convenience, and time and money saver, that by 1990 I extended my pantry and household stores to last 1 year. I took a lesson from my husband’s Appalachian grandmother and coincided the beginning of my food storage efforts with each year’s new gardening and growing season. For my household, the food year begins with planting the garden in spring and ends with the final harvest in the fall.” – Granny Miller
5. “There are actually 2 types of food storage. When I finally realized that I need to have 2 plans it was like a light bulb went on. First, a shorter term emergency food supply. Short term emergency food supply is what will be used on a continuing basis. I consider my 3 – 12 month supply of food to be short term food storage. This food is used on a regular basis and is rotated and restocked regularly. A longer term emergency food supply. Figure out how much food you need to collect for your long term food storage. These foods will be the types of items that can be the basics of survival food.” – Simply Canning

Resources

• https://www.intentionallydomestic.com/real-food-storage-on-10-a-week-paleo-diet-edition/
• https://www.intentionallydomestic.com/build-your-food-storage-on-10-a-week-general-real-food/
• https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-start-a-food-storage-on-138765
• https://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hagan59.html
• https://www.grainfreeliving.com/list-of-grain-and-grain-free-foods/
• https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/07/29/eating-grain-free-resources-and-recipes-all-in-one-place/

 

There are many people today who are talking about the importance of storing enough food to feed your family for a year. TV talk show host Glenn Beck has said that he feels “it is critical for Americans to be ready for whatever life might throw their way. He and fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity are promoting a program from which you can purchase kits containing survival food for yourself or your entire family—however it will cost you thousands of dollars.

Nearly everyone we know is not prepared to pay that kind of money to stockpile food for an emergency, even one lasting as long as 12 months. But we have begun to feel the urgency of having such a plan, and are starting to take “baby steps” toward the goal of just such a stockpile of food for our family. In this post we want to share with you some of the things we have discovered that will help us to reach that goal eventually. We are much more interested in economical ways that promote the possibility of developing the ability to grow, harvest, and prepare for storage many of the foods we would need. And we are discovering great recommendations for how to economically purchase those we cannot produce ourselves.  In this blog post, we want to share five factors about stockpiling food that may be important for you to consider also.

5 Factors About Stockpiling Food That is Important for You to Consider

1. Why consider preparing a one-year supply of emergency food?

The current world situation is, at best, unstable and scary! All it would take for our grocery stores to have empty shelves is a shortage of fuel, economic collapse, wide-spread electronic power failure, civil unrest or devastating natural disasters. In addition to these big considerations, maybe you haven’t noticed how expensive a trip to the grocery store is becoming. 

It is our desire to begin growing most of our own food, and preserving and storing it in our root cellar or other storage areas. Living without our weekly or monthly trips to the grocery stores sounds wonderful, but it is important to remember that being in charge of our own pantry is time-consuming and needs to be carefully organized. For example, I love making goat cheese for my family, but it takes a whole lot more time to do that than a quick trip to pick up cheese from the grocer.

2. How much food will it take to feed my family for a year?

Our family will need to figure out exactly how much food we need to store to feed two adults and two children (and a myriad of farm animals) for a year. No two households will have the same food preferences, living arrangements, or dietary needs or restrictions. If we really are anticipating some kind of emergency that could end all grocery purchases for a year, then we need to be including the household supplies, medicine, personal care, and food preparation tools I’ll need to be using. This post will not address those additional supplies, but you should do your own research to discover what these are. Be sure that you are cataloging your favorite recipes along with your master list of foods.

A simple but effective way of figuring out your family’s food needs is to carefully compile a list of all food (including spices, sauces, or other recipe items) your family eats in one week. Then you can multiply that by 12 to make your list for three months, and again my 4 to arrive at a total for a year. 

There are some food storage calculators available online to help you figure out the exact quantities you need to be considering of some food items. Here’s one that is great, but keep in mind this is a basic one that is NOT made of real food, but instead, highly processed. 

On your master list, you will need to include food items in the following categories:

• Meat (protein sources)
• Vegetables and fruits from your own home-grown garden
• Additional fresh or frozen food from the grocery store
• Dairy (or your Paleo dairy substitutions like cans of coconut milk)
• Condiments, sauces and jellies
• Pantry mainstays (vinegars, oils, Almond butter, spices, etc.)
• Probable non-Paleo items such as beans or lentils, nuts and seeds (because let’s face it, in a crisis, eating beans and lentils is OKAY)
• Baking supplies and natural sweeteners. Honey can last up to 10 years if stored properly
• Water and other drinks supply

CLICK HERE to go to my follow up post and see how to spend $10 to build up your emergency paleo food storage. 

3. How much will it cost, what storage space will I need, and what kind of containers do I need to store my food?

There are examples online of several people who recommend starting your food storage plan with just $10 per week. Others have written about their one-year storage food, which cost in the neighborhood of just $300. Considering the fact that many of us spend an average of $100 for just one-week’s supply of food, $300 for an entire year is mind-boggling. You can begin with the simple step of picking up a few extra items each time you head to the store.

If you are allowing yourself about $10 a week to accumulate your non-homegrown food items, you will want to decide in advance what extra items you’ll pick up. Be sure you are watching for sales (such as seasonal sales and holiday sales), and researching opportunities through co-ops, farm stands, and local farmers. Don’t forget to date each item before adding it to your storage. 

You will want to get creative with where you keep your food storage. The ideal space would be a root cellar , but we’ve heard of people who keep things stored under a bed, in an extra closet, or in an unused room in the basement. The key is to keep all foods in a space that is clean, dry, and low in humidity.

There are many food grade storage containers that can be used for long-term food storage. These include:

• glass
• plastic (make sure it’s BPA-free)
• buckets
• liners

Each of these type containers are good for most dry foods. Remember that you must store dry foods without any moisture. Think about the BPA-free plastic bottles that you can recycle for food storage. Use only plastics that contained food. Also consider getting recycled empty plastic buckets from your local grocer or bakery store. Most bakeries have 3-gallon buckets, which will be much easier to move around than the 5-gallon buckets. Be sure that your buckets have a tightly fitting cover. There are also many glass jars that make great storage containers, including the canning jars you will be using. Don’t forget the number 10 can, which can keep foods fresh and rodent and bug proof for several years. To assure that your storage containers are airtight and pest free, you can use mylar bags, foil pouches, and oxygen absorbers.

4. How do I preserve my home-grown harvested food to keep for at least one year?

Another important step for you to take is to learn how to preserve your home-grown food supplies by canning, freezing, freeze-drying, or safely storing in your designated root cellar or food storage location.

Canning and preserving can go a long way towards filling up your master list of foods to store for one year. It will also ensure that you are using your home-grown bounty in the most economical way. As I mentioned earlier, you should have first carefully planned for what you wanted to grow in your garden, and how much food it will take to feel your family for a year. Now figure out the approximate number of pounds of food you will harvest, and calculate how many pounds of each fruit or vegetable per quart jar. (Two links that can help you with this are HERE and HERE.)

There are several different methods you can use to preserve your garden bounty for storage.  There are also many, many websites that can help you learn the methods of preserving your food. I’m listing some of these below with one link you can use to begin learning how to use each one.

• Water Bath Canning 
• Pressure Canning 
• Freezing 
• Dehydrating 
• Preserving Jams and Jellies 
• Step-by-step pickling
• Lacto-fermenting

Your master list should also include the type and quantity of livestock or poultry you need to have to add to your food storage. If you raise your own livestock or poultry, determine how much butchering you will need to do. (If you do not raise your own livestock and poultry, research your options for purchasing this economically from local co-ops, butchers, or local farmers.)

Much of your livestock and poultry can be frozen and stored in a freezer. But there are other ways to preserve meat that you could use also. Some of these are:

• Canning
• Curing
• Smoking
• Dehydrating
• Biltong (marinating meat in a vinegar solution and then rubbing it with a spice mix)

5. Most importantly, how can I be sure I’m storing food that will support my grain-free, dairy-free, preservative-free natural, Paleo lifestyle?

One of the first things to consider is to begin your food storage efforts at the start of your gardening an growing season, and to end at the time of your last garden harvest. You need to be sure you are growing the foods that fit your Paleo or gluten-free lifestyle, and that are the actual foods your family will enjoy. 

In a food storage plan for a year, it may be difficult to store only foods that are 100 percent Paleo or Gaps approved. I know for our family we are already only about 80 percent Paleo, and I would consider storing some non-Paleo items like grain-free seeds, Quinoa, and other grain-free things like sprouted amaranth, buckwheat or millet. I would also be willing to store beans and lentils as a protein source. 

 Other grain-free supplies could include: 

• Almond and Coconut flours (but keep in mind that if we were in an emergency situation, you won’t see me making baked Paleo goods) 
• Chia seed
• Flaxseed
• Cooking staples like Almond and Coconut Milk, oils, Ghee (shelf stable form of butter) 
• Flavor enhancers like Cocoa powder or chocolate, coconut shreds, and extracts
• Nuts and seeds, including nut and seed butters

Our family purchases most of our food in bulk and we are gradually building our one-year stockpile by purchasing items we need from Azure Standard. Check to see if Azure delivers to your area! 

Make a decision to start now

This has been a longer blog post, but one we hope has whet your appetite for researching and preparing to gather and store some food supplies that will be available to you for a protracted period of time if necessary. If Old Mother Hubbard had done her research and prepared a food storage plan for her family, she would not have had a cupboard so bare there was not even a bone for her dog. 

 Remember these two cardinal rules for successful food storage:

1. Store what you eat and eat what you store.
2. Rotate, rotate, ROTATE!

By developing your master plan, and being willing to make a moderate investment of time and effort, you will have a successful food storage program for eating in good times or bad.

Be sure to check out the follow-up post to this on how you can store a year’s worth of food for your family on only $10 a week! 

Resources:

• https://billyandanuttama.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/how-to-have-a-years-worth-of-food-stored-what-to-store-and-why-you-should-do-it/
• https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-start-a-food-storage-on-138765
• https://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm
• https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-331/426-331_pdf.pdf
• https://www.oldfashionedfamilies.com/how-much-canning-do-you-need-for-a-full-year/
• https://www.granny-miller.com/use-this-tool-to-help-plan-a-years-worth-of-food-supplies/
• https://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-skills/old-methods-of-meat-preservation/
• https://www.rodalenews.com/grain-free-shopping-list
• https://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hagan59.html