How does one begin preparing? This is a large question and can seem overwhelming. But truly, the answer already exists right in your own pantry. Analyzing your current eating habits can help you anticipate what you’ll need to stock up on or what holes you’ll need to fill.
Consider each of your family’s nutritional needs. How are they filled now? How can you fill them in a sustainable way? Can you grow these yourself, or trade with neighbors? Can you store them for long periods of time? Make a list of how your family fills each of these needs within a week, make sure to include meals, snacks, treats, and special occasion meals.
- Grains: Wheat, rice, corn, flour, pastas, breads, etc.
- Proteins: Meats, beans, peas, lentils, etc.
- Dairy: Milk, cheese, yogurts, creams
- Sugars
- Spices: Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, etc.
- Fats and oils: Vegetable oils, shortening, butter, etc.
- Vegetables: Potatoes, onions, zucchinis, squash, carrots, etc.
- Fruits: Apples, citruses, berries, melons, etc.
Once you have this information, you can expand upon the patterns you find within. What meals are the most common in your house? Do you eat out at all? Are there any vegetables that you use year-round, even when they’d usually be out of season? Take a week's worth of your food habits record and multiply it as far as you expect you’ll need to prepare. 3 months of preparation is a common choice for average preppers. This is accomplished by storing shelf-stable foods that can be saved for a long time. While frozen food can also last virtually forever, this will quickly degrade if power is ever lost, or the temperature ever gets too high.
What are you eating right now, and how much? Make a list of what your family consumes in a week, and what is included in each meal. What is your family primarily consuming as main courses? Americans eat a lot of meat, and this may be one of the most difficult options to source when supply chains are disrupted. Consider swapping some meat-based dishes with a hearty, vegetable substitute. Burgers can be made with black bean patties, wings can be made from cauliflower, chicken parmigiana can be made from eggplant -- the options truly end only with your imagination.
What do people eat for snacks, or special treats? Which of these choices are shelf-stable? For those perishable items, can you find a sustainable substitute? This may mean swapping fresh strawberries for freeze-dried, or frozen options instead.
Some great options for starting your Prepper Food Pantry:
- Some food items are shelf-stable virtually indefinitely if they are kept somewhere cool, clean, and safe. Salt, sugar, raw honey, and various alcohols are all comforting options that can last for extremely long times.
- Various kinds of grains are excellent shelf options. These can last between 8 and 10 years if vacuum sealed and kept in a temperature-controlled environment, somewhere in the range of 70 degrees. This includes wheats, millets, barley, oats, and quinoa. A general recommendation suggests 25 pounds per person per month when it comes to storing wheats, rices, corn, and grains.
- Beans are a highly versatile and shelf-stable item, lasting up to 10 years when vacuum sealed and dried. Pinto, kidney, garbanzo, and black beans are all great choices. Black eyed peas, and lentils can also be used in a large range of dishes. You should store 5 pounds of dry beans per person for each month you expect to be waiting
- Flours, rice, cornmeal, and pasta all last up to 8 years when dried and kept somewhere clean and cool. These can be used as main staples in almost any dish and are essentials for any food pantry.
- Canned goods, like canned greens, meats, fish, fruits, or canned meals. These are typically high in salts and preservatives, which is important to keep in mind.
- Coffee, teas, peanut butter, instant soups, candies, powdered milk, dried herbs and spices, are all essential comfort items that can last a long time when stored properly. Be sure to have some or all of these on hand.
Food itself won’t be the only resource that you’ll need to conserve and have prepared. High quality tools and equipment will be less likely to break, which can be a serious concern in an emergency. These can include canning machines and jars, freezers, dehydration machines, storage bags/containers, etc. Basic household and garden tools are always good to invest in, and perhaps a spare, or the tools to repair it, could make all the difference in a pinch. Seed starters, soil, fertilizers, sprinklers, vents and their filters, patches or extra cover materials for your greenhouse structure; these are all essential things that may become hard to find in an emergency. Some other key household items to make sure you have plenty of:
- Lighters, lighter fluid, charcoal
- Toilet paper, paper towels, washcloths
- Soaps, toothpaste, shampoos, detergents
- Bottled water, water filtration supplies, extra filters
Vitamins, medicines, bandages, peroxide, other first aid supplies
