5 Ways to Build Your Food Storage – Free Food Storage Inventory Worksheet

 

Last week, a large part of the country was affected by some huge snow storms – maybe you were one of those people!

I watched as social media filled up with pictures of shelves being completely empty at the grocery store. The impending “doom” of the snow storm had people scurrying out before the first flake hit to make sure they had food and other supplies to make it through being snowed in.

In this situation, people had a warning of this snow storm and were able to prepare. However, that’s not always going to be the case. Something may happen that leaves us all without power, trapped in our home, or without access to the grocery store. And if that happens – will you have enough food and water to survive off of?

Although our food storage isn’t huge, we have enough to survive for awhile. Both Forrest and I have felt a bit of urgency to build our food storage since we have the extra resources to do so right now. I feel somewhat confidence knowing that we’d be okay for awhile if something bad were to happen.

Building your food storage doesn’t have to happen all at once. In fact, it’s better not to spend your life savings on a food stockpile but build it up little by little. My sister sent me a great home storage inventory that her husband created, and they were happy to let me share it with all of you. Here’s little bit of a “sneak preview” of it, and you can sign up at the end of the post to have it and another free preparedness printable sent to your email.

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I thought I’d share a few tips on how to build a food storage, along with some resources to get you started.

1. 1. Case Lot Sales 

      I don’t know if these happen everywhere, but when we lived in Utah, most of the grocery stores had case lot sales several times a year. Basically, you could buy cases of different products (canned goods, pasta, etc.) for discounted prices. It was a great time to stock up on non-perishable goods. Check with your local grocery store to see if they ever do this.If you ever see something on sale, try and buy up a case of it from the shelf. I think one of the best ways to build a food storage is buying products when they are on sale (especially if you have a coupon!)

   2. One Week at a Time 

      Something that I’ve found to be helpful is just to buy a little extra of something each week. It doesn’t have to be much, but if I am buying two cans of soup, sometimes I will buy two more one week to add to our storage.Another technique is just allotting $5-$10 extra a week to building your food storage. It’s not a ton of extra money to build into your weekly food budget, and it’s pretty neat how much you can get over the course of a year. Below you can sign up to download this printable with a suggestion of things to buy each week that will be between $5 and $10 (prices may vary depending on where you live)

   3. Prepackaged meals 

      We have a nice supply of “just add water” meals in our basement. While it’s good to have canned foods, bags of wheat and rice, etc., in the midst of an emergency, it is nice to have some prepackaged meals ready to go.We’ve tried a lot of different foods from companies that offer this type of food storage, and we are often not super impressed. A lot of them are filled with sodium and don’t taste very good.Awhile back, Valley Food Storage  reached out to us, and we’ve been able to try some of their different items, and we honestly love them. Both Forrest and I felt like the food tastes fresh and homemade after we rehydrated it. They have everything – breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and other preparedness. All their products have a 25-year shelf life and everything ships free. We have the one month supply and love it. When you subscribe to their site, you can get 20% off your first kit!

   4. Canning 

      I’m not the best at canning foods, but it’s a great way to preserve foods. This last summer, we had an excessive amount of cucumbers from our garden – far more than we would have eaten. Forrest took it upon himself to make and can pickles. Now, pickles probably aren’t the #1 choice for food storage, but it is food storage nonetheless, and it didn’t cost much at all to do. If you garden, canning your extra fruits and vegetables is great.When you see different fruits and vegetables on sale, consider buying a lot of them and finding some recipes to can them with. You could make spaghetti sauces, jams and jellies, and much more. I highly recommend the Ball FreshTech Auto Canner or the Electric Water Bath Canner. I know those are a bit pricey though, so a simple water bath is a great product, too.

   5. Non-Food Items 

      While it’s great if you have food that can be prepared without electricity, heat, or water – chances are, you’ll want a few resources to help prepare hot food. You also will want some items in your home storage beyond just food-related! Here are a few ideas:
      
      Water purifier or water purification tablets (these water purification straws seem pretty cool)
      Crank Radio (this one has a charger on it as well)
      Games (here is a list of some of our favorites)
      Candles and Waterproof Matches
      Manual can opener
      Hand operated wheat grinder
      Emergency Stove

My sister wrote a great post on two simple ways to build your water storage. Water is something you can never have enough of, and it’s probably the most important thing to have in your food storage.

Be sure to subscribe below for your home storage and emergency preparedness inventory document and 52-week food storage plan!

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