Back to: Prepper Pantry

Have you ever bought food specifically in preparation of something happening? Stores recently ran out of many things, and many are predicting this will happen again soon. Did you actually eat the food you bought, or did it sit until it expired just to be thrown away?

I’ll admit, I’ve wasted food by forgetting about it or by ignoring it. I’m human, it happens. If you’ve ever had to throw food away because it went bad, did you add up how much money that cost? According to the USDA, Americans waste more than $161 billion each year on food, with dairy products being the food item we toss out the most. The average family of four throws out $1600 a year in produce.

Did you return your food to the grocery store after the threat of disaster was over? Did you know that most of the time, they have no other choice but to throw that food away? It usually doesn’t get restocked on the shelf.

Have a list of items that you use often and that you want to have on hand at all times. Every time you go to the grocery store, buy just a little bit extra. If you eat canned tuna fish regularly, and all you can afford is a few extra cans a week for your storage, well, that’s still a few extra cans that you didn’t have to begin with. It all adds up.

Once you have your food storage built up, it’s just a matter of maintaining it. Whenever you go grocery shopping, replace what you’ve used. If you have extra space and extra money, buy a few extras for your pantry.