Short Term
When preparing for food shortages, it’s important to define whether you’re considering a short (no more than a few days) or long (perhaps months) period of shortage. Brief shortages, like those that you might encounter after a bad snowstorm or during a temporary gas shortage can be managed simply by keeping a pantry stocked with bottled water, canned goods and pastas, for example. If you’re able to store fruits and vegetables safely in a cool, humid root cellar or similar environment, it’s helpful to maintain a stock of potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, green beans, squash, or similar root vegetables. Apples are also a great option and can last 4-6 months in a cool cellar. Just make sure to rotate your stock to keep fruits and veggies fresh.
Long Term
If you’re preparing for a longer-term food shortage -- say in a natural disaster like Louisiana’s Hurricane Katrina or Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria; or in an economic disaster like the Great Depression, exacerbated by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s -- you’ll need to consider a more comprehensive, adaptable approach. Most importantly, it’s wise to begin preparing now. It’s counterproductive to wait until a shortage shows signs of ramping up, because you’ll be competing with others who see the same signs, purchases of certain staples may already be limited, and prices may be rising precipitously.
If you’re wanting to protect against long term shortages, it’s worthwhile to plan for 6 months or more of limited food availability. Both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria caused disruptions with insufficient access to food that continued more than two years after the disaster. In addition, food aid packages provided to victims were almost universally high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats. Crates full of chips, candy and beef jerky were typical examples. You won’t want to rely on this kind of aid to keep your family healthy under an already difficult situation.
Some things you can stock up on for an emergency pantry include:
- Freeze dried fruits and vegetables, which can replace any canned food. Freeze dried options are sodium- and preservative-free and can last for 25-30 years when sealed and stored properly.
- Freeze dried meat, which typically lasts 10-15 years if protected from light, moisture and oxygen. Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers are your best bet. When you’re ready to rehydrate your meat, it’s as simple as placing the raw product in a bowl of cold water and keeping it in the fridge overnight or until rehydrated.
- Vacuum sealed dehydrated fruits and vegetables are also a good option, with a shelf life of about 15-20 years. Dehydrated meats should be kept in the freezer or refrigerator but typically last only a single year.
- A reasonable supply of your favorite canned beverages and bottled water.
- It’s impractical to store more than a few days’ worth of water in plastic bottles, particularly for a family. For families and situations that last more than a few days, larger amounts of water can be stored in 50-gallon food-grade plastic barrels. Alternatively, you may consider constructing a cistern which can reliably store 500 to upwards of 10,000 gallons of potable water. If you choose to construct a home cistern, be sure to choose a potable-grade liner to maintain your drinking water in a safe condition.
- Grain-based foods like dried pastas, flours, and rice. Unopened dry pasta is generally good for two years from date of purchase. It won’t ever really expire, but it will lose quality over longer periods.
- White flour, with its lower fat content, typically stores longer than whole-wheat or gluten-free varieties but still won’t typically last more than 3-8 months in normal conditions. To store white flour long term, seal it in airtight mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Complete protection from light, moisture and oxygen are the key, and under these conditions, white flour can last from 10-15 years.
- Yeast doesn’t have a definitive expiration date, but its viability can be reduced over time if it’s stored in less-than-ideal conditions. If you have access to a subzero freezer and an uninterrupted power supply, active dry yeast stored there will keep indefinitely. If you’re not banking on reliable power, you can still rely on yeast for up to 2-3 years if it’s sealed in an airtight container. Good to keep in mind: break any large bricks of yeast down and store them individually in relatively small amounts and allow frozen or refrigerated yeast to warm to room temperature before using.
- Cheese can be safely frozen for a year or more, but only if you’re able to maintain power to your freezer. Cheese can also be kept in an environment like a wine cellar or anywhere the temperature typically stays between 45°F and 55°F. If you choose to dig a cheese cellar, that range of underground temperatures is typically found around 6’ - 8’ deep, where the temperature doesn’t vary with the seasons, making it an excellent choice for long term storage. Wrap your cheese well to prevent drying out and store it in secure containers to protect it from intruders.
- Butter can also be frozen for a year or more, but if power is expected to be unreliable, pasteurized butter is safer than unpasteurized when stored at room temperature (67°F). Salted butter lasts longer than unsalted in these conditions, but in any case, butter should be stored well wrapped, in an air-tight container.
There are a lot of good options here, but there’s only so much you can do with shelf-stable food. A good variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs are the key to keeping your diet appealing and optimizing your nutrition. Fortunately, even when grocery stores and roadside farmer stands are disrupted, you can provide your family with excellent quality fresh food year-round by establishing a home garden and greenhouse.
What Else Can I Do to Prepare?
When preparing for long-term food shortages, take time to learn all you can about building and maintaining your food supply, gardening, food preservation, and even basic survival skills. This education can literally be lifesaving in the case of a disaster or widespread food shortage.
Plan ahead to purchase tools and equipment to support your disaster plans. High quality tools for canning, freeze drying, dehydrating as well as storage containers like canning jars, vacuum sealer bags and mylar storage bags with moisture or oxygen absorbers may quickly become hard to find in the face of a natural disaster or a more serious global pandemic. Best to buy them now and know you’re ahead of the game.
Gardening tools, open-pollinated seeds, seed starters, and greenhouse equipment, including extra cover material for repair or replacement. If you’re concerned about power supply, investigate passive heating and cooling methods, including geothermal design. Even urban residents can establish indoor gardens to augment your diet.
Fertilizer is already in short supply, partially due to disruptions in the global production of potash, nearly 40% of which comes from Russia and Ukraine. Russia has historically been the primary exporter of agricultural fertilizers worldwide, and both civil disruption and trade sanctions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have drastically reduced availability. To make matters worse, many fertilizer companies are responding to the shortage by directing most of their product to big agricultural concerns and restricting sales to retail outlets. In the near term, it’s wise to stock up on soil and fertilizer, but in the long term, establishing a comprehensive composting and soil enrichment regimen is the best, not only for healthier soil and plants, but reliability.
What else appeals to you, not only for food-shortage planning, but for a natural and nutritious diet every day of the year? Do you have enough land to support some beehives? Maybe to keep a few goats and chickens to keep you in eggs, milk, and meat products? Do fish appeal to you? Aquaponics is an exciting method for producing both protein and fresh produce in an organic, sustainable system that saves water and can provide a complete diet for your family.
