Faith Farm

Food storage shopping list week #1

I've had many people tell me that starting a food storage was to costly and they just didn't know where to start.  So I decided to start a weekly food storage shopping list that most anyone can do, at a cost of $10.00 per week.  Now this is going to be pretty basic so it can be changed to meet your families needs and likes.  I will make note of any sale items I purchase to be accurate in pricing.  I shop mainly at lower cost grocery stores and usually purchase off brand items.  I would love for anyone to join me in this shopping adventure and please add any comments you think will help.  Thank you in advance for any input on this topic.  Remember we are starting from scratch-no current food storage. 

Week #1 Shopping list:

1lb pinto beans-dried                        .99

5lb long grain enriched rice           2.49

1lb salt                                                 .34

4lbs sugar                                           .99 on sale

5lb flour                                                .99

3lb shortening                                  2.29

2 cans Tuna                                      1.00 or .50 ea.

1 can peas                                           .34

1 can carrots                                      .34

Total cost                                       ---9.77----   Week one

I hope this was helpful.  Blessings>

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{ 12:29, Wednesday, January 2, 2008 } { Posted by schatzila }

This is a great idea....something I want to try.

Blessings,

Connie

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{ 02:50, Wednesday, January 2, 2008 } { Posted by gabbie427 }

Great idea for those beginners. Thanks for sharing!

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

Wonderful Idea!

{ 08:51, Wednesday, January 2, 2008 } { Posted by countrylivin }

Thanks for sharing your ideas on the Food Storage! What a really neat idea. Thanks for taking a minute to stop by my blog! I'll be adding more in the days ahead!

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{ 10:53, Friday, January 11, 2008 } { Posted by clw }

You have some really great advice for getting started on a food storage as many do find it overwhelming. We've been doing food storage for 10 years now and I have some suggestions for those who have accumulated a large supply of dried goods.
I buy most of our food in bulk. I know approximately how much of each item I go through monthly. Example unbleached flour. Sense I know the monthly amount I go through when it comes on sale I purchase a years supply, usually saving me almost 1/2 of what I would pay if I bought it just at normal price. I try to keep 2 years supply in my pantry of most things (yes hubby had to convert a porch for us, bless his heart) but I make sure I rotate so every year bringing in one new years worth of supply. Putting that in back of the older stuff. Knowing in advance I will go through x number of pounds and the general sale price I can save up for the large purchase. I purchase 5 gallon food grade buckets (new, not pre used) and store my dry products in those. They seal air tight and no bugs can get in them. I also put bay leaves on top. We shop often at a near by Amish bulk food store as their prices are often times better than the sales because we buy in such large quantities of wheat, beans, lentils, oatmeal etc. You can also get chemcial free through them. Only buy what you know your family will eat. If you plan on changing your eating habits, change them before you stock up on something so you don't end up wasting your resources. Storage area and containers certainly is important when doing your food storage. Food storage has saved our lives on more than on one occasion. Thanks for the great post, more people need to know about food storage and thinking ahead.
Lea

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{ 01:09, Friday, January 11, 2008 } { Posted by Anonymous }

You have no idea how much fun it is for me to find others who actually think about food storing other than just for Y2K. I have only met a handful of people in 10 years that feel this is important so to actually meet someone else is just a Godsend.

As for the info on the 5 gallon buckets:
I use to get my 5 gallon buckets from a pickle factory in a neighboring town. I could buy them new and they sold them to us very reasonable. However about 5 years ago they sold the factory and the new owners would notlonger sell to the public. So I tried several different things when I wanted to increase my bucket quantity. First thing I had to do was come to a stop on storing more. Neither my husband, my children nor myself liked that. So I searched the net and found several options for new food grade buckets but they were all so expensive. Then I found out at the Amish store we buy in bulk at, that they sell their used buckets that their food comes in. These particular buckets held bullion powder. I had never bought used buckets for our food storage before because I just had some bad thoughts toward that. However I figured for the price and the lack of other choices if I cleaned them really well, and I mean really well, that they should be okay. I did just that. They actually seemed to have lost any of the bullion smell. So I filled 20 of them with different foods. About a month later I wanted to buy some more buckets from there but I started thinking that I should open one up that was already filled and check it first. To my dismay the chicken and beef bullion smell had returned. Now for some that might not be an issue but when I thought about my morning bowel of oatmeal, beef flavor oatmeal just didn’t appeal to me. I had spent money (although not a lot) on those buckets but worst off I had filled the majority with food. My only compensation was we have 5 dogs and I make a lot of their food and I knew the food wouldn’t go to waste. Also we are always in need of water buckets for the barnyard. So for about a year I quit additional storage but I kept searching the net and finally found a place that was reasonable for new food grade buckets. My family was so excited, once again we could continue on with our food storage. The link is posted below. They aren’t cheap but they are affordable and sometimes they do run sales. We waited for tax return one year and purchased a large number. The great thing about the buckets is that they last forever. My food storage is down right now, I have about 80 buckets filled and I have 80 empty ones waiting for me to do a shopping trip or two. They really are worth the investment.

If you store large like this I would encourage you to make sure you don’t buy from discount stores, as mostly their products are old. Also get your stuff in containers as soon as you can. It will eliminate the chance of moths from getting in them, which is a nightmare in the pantry.
Also if possible, either from a freezer, deep freeze or severely cold winter temps, put your stuff in the freezer or outside freezing temps (in containers of course). Leave them there for one week. When the weeks up bring them back in to normal pantry temps for 30 days then go through the freezing process again. This helps to catch any stage of bug life cycle that might be in you flour, corn meal etc. I know the thoughts of bugs in our dry goods is not a pleasant one but the reality is the storehouses and the stores the goods are stored in and purchased from are not a sterile environment. In 10 years I have never found any bugs in my buckets but with the importance of the food storage I do try to follow the above rule however I haven’t always accomplished it. Just an extra safety step.

Happy Proverbs 31ing
Lea

http://beprepared.com/category.asp?c=442&name=Food-Grade%20Storage%20Containers