It’s a new year! Let’s get your food storage started! Having a backup supply of food is great not only for emergencies, but you also never run out of ingredients. Gone are the phone calls to your neighbor for a cup of sugar!
This plan will end up providing you with sufficient food for two for one year. Go ahead and purchase more to accommodate your family. You will spend an average of $10 a week. Some weeks will be more expensive than others, some cheaper.
Keep your food storage rotated. In other words, use the things you buy, just replace it. Like if you use two cans of diced tomatoes, put it on your grocery list. If you use a bag of flour, write down another one on your grocery list.
On this list, I did not include water or wheat. Unless you have a wheat grinder, having wheat is almost completely useless. But buy wheat if you have a grinder.
If you want to store water, the recommended amount is 1, 55 gallon barrel per person. Barrels can be purchased at most Wal-Marts in Utah or even on Amazon
As for bottled water, I would buy a few cases to start with and then rotate through them, buying more as you use them. Or you can refill used 2 liter soda bottles with water.
This list is quite basic, but a great start. Add more as you are able to afford it. Good luck and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having a food supply! Check out our other food storage posts like, where to put all that food you will have!
Here is a list of what you will end up with by the time the year is over:
- 15 lbs flour
- 4 42 oz containers oatmeal
- 12 lbs rice
- 10 lbs pasta
- 20 lbs sugar
- 6 lbs brown sugar
- 6 lbs powdered sugar
- 2 boxes baking soda
- 2 cans baking powder
- 4 lbs honey
- A little over 6 1/2 pounds peanut butter
- 6 bags chocolate chips
- 2 jars yeast (keep it in the freezer)
- 1 lb cocoa powder
- 15 cans chili or soup
- 4 lbs shortening
- 1 1/2 gallons vegetable oil
- 1 jar cinnamon
- 1 can Lawry’s seasoning salt
- 1 jar chicken bouillon
- 1 jar beef bouillon
- 12 lbs rice
- 20 cans of tuna or other meats
- 20 cans of fruit
- 20 cans of beans
- 20 cans of vegetables
- Tylenol
- Ibuprofen
- Tums
- 2 large boxes of tampons
- 20 rolls toilet paper
By the weeks!! Copy and paste this list, or get our printable here!
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WEEK 1: 5 cans tuna or other meat, 2 boxes salt
WEEK 2: 5 1 lb bags pasta or boxed macaroni and cheese
WEEK 3: 5 15 oz cans vegetables (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, corn, peas, green beans, carrots etc)
WEEK 4: 3 16 oz bags rice,
WEEK 5: 5 15 oz cans beans
WEEK 6: 2 18 oz jars peanut butter
WEEK 7: 2 42 oz cartons oatmeal – quick or regular, your choice
WEEK 8: 5 15 oz cans fruit (pineapple, applesauce, peaches, pears etc)
WEEK 9: 3 5 lb bags flour, 1 4-pack toilet paper, 1 large box tampons
WEEK 10: 5 15 oz or more cans chili or soup, jar of cinnamon
WEEK 11: 2 5 lb bags sugar, 2 1 lb bags brown sugar
WEEK 12: 5 cans tuna or other meat
WEEK 13: 1 32 oz bottle honey, 1 8 oz can cocoa powder
WEEK 14: 5 15 oz cans beans
WEEK 15: 5 1 lb bags pasta or boxed macaroni and cheese
WEEK 16: 2 48 oz bottles vegetable oil or olive oil
WEEK 17: 2 18 oz jars peanut butter, 1 can baking powder
WEEK 18: 1 jar yeast, 2 bags chocolate chips
WEEK 19: 2 42 oz cartons oatmeal – quick or regular, your choice
WEEK 20: 2 1 lb cans vegetable shortening, 1 box baking soda
WEEK 21: 3 5 lb bags flour, 1 4-pack toilet paper
WEEK 22: 1 32 oz bottle honey, 1 8 oz can cocoa powder
WEEK 23: 5 15 oz cans vegetables (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, corn, peas, green beans, carrots etc)
WEEK 24: 3 16 oz bags rice, 1 can Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
WEEK 25: 2 1 lb bags brown sugar
WEEK 26: 5 15 oz cans fruit (pineapple, applesauce, peaches, pears etc)
WEEK 27: 1 bottle Tylenol
WEEK 28: 2 48 oz bottles vegetable oil or olive oil
WEEK 29: 5 15 oz or more cans chili or soup
WEEK 30: 3 5 lb bags flour, 1 4-pack toilet paper, 1 large box tampons
WEEK 31: 2 1 lb bags powdered sugar, 1 can baking powder
WEEK 32: 5 cans tuna or other meat
WEEK 33: 2 5 lb bags sugar, 2 1 lb bags brown sugar
WEEK 34: 2 18 oz jars peanut butter
WEEK 35: 5 15 oz cans vegetables (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, corn, peas, green beans, carrots etc)
WEEK 36: 1 bottle Advil
WEEK 37: 1 jar yeast, 2 bags chocolate chips
WEEK 38: 5 15 oz cans fruit (pineapple, applesauce, peaches, pears etc)
WEEK 39: 5 15 oz cans beans
WEEK 40: 3 16 oz bags rice, 1 jar chicken bouillon
WEEK 41: 2 1 lb bags powdered sugar, 2 bags chocolate chips
WEEK 42: 5 15 oz or more cans chili or soup
WEEK 43: 2 1 lb cans vegetable shortening, 1 baking soda
WEEK 44: 5 cans tuna or other meat
WEEK 45: 3 5 lb bags flour, 1 4-pack toilet paper
WEEK 46: 3 16 oz bags rice, 1 jar beef bouillon
WEEK 47: 5 15 oz cans fruit (pineapple, applesauce, peaches, pears etc)
WEEK 48: 1 bottle Tums
WEEK 49: 2 1 lb bags powdered sugar
WEEK 50: 3 5 lb bags flour, 1 4-pack toilet paper
WEEK 51: 5 15 oz can beans
WEEK 52: 5 15 oz cans vegetables (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, corn, peas, green beans, carrots etc)
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Shani
Friday 27th of January 2017
Hello!
I'm new to your site, but find it interesting. I think that the importance of stocking up is underrated, but did want to say that after looking over your list of what you believe would feed two people (assuming adults) for one year, I'm curious as to how you came to these numbers. 15 pounds of flour is only 3 bags; I could *maybe* make that stretch for two months, but certainly not for a year. Am I missing something? Usually these lists are assuming that you don't have any other food incoming throughout the year; maybe yours isn't? Just curious. :)
Cheers! Shani
Monica
Friday 27th of January 2017
Wow! Interesting post, but I feel a bit in the dark- is this a "thing" that people do - store up for an emergency like this? If so, just wondering what type of emergency are people expecting? I am 57 years old, have lived in Connecticut, New York and California and now live - just outside of Boson and have never known anyone who does this. I do keep a couple of gallon bottles of water and normal pantry of some canned goods, but we live a mile or two from a Trader Joes, a Stop and Shop, a community farm and a regular grocery store, so really I can stop and pick things up very easily - wondering if it is middle of the country thing? Thanks!;)
Megan
Thursday 16th of February 2017
Yes, people do! I'm LDS and our Church encourages us to prepare for emergencies. It may be easy to stop by a store, but if there were flooding that prevented access or even just a threat of a hurricane that had people emptying shelves, food storage can come in handy! Your food storage can cover you in several situations: -loss of a job -times when finances are tight -natural disaster that limits access to grocery stores, power, etc. -political crisis -forgetting to plan dinner!
Plus, with the consumer price index rising, it can save you hundreds of dollars. And it allows you to stock up when prices are down and spend less that way (for instance, Progresso Soup ranges here from 68 cents to $2 at Wal Mart depending on the week). Our food storage has been a blessing to us on a regular basis just for being able to go downstairs and grab something when I forgot to get anything for lunch! For my personal food storage, I like to can quarts of chicken pot pie filling, hearty spaghetti sauce, chili, meatloaf, soups, etc. so I have "fast food" that take very little preparation!
Shani
Friday 27th of January 2017
Hi Monica,
I don't think that this thinking is specific to any particular part of the country; it's just good sense. If the electricity were to go out for any extended period of time, all of the shops that you mentioned would be closed and your bank would be unavailable to you. If you were ill for any extended period of time, even for something as relatively simple as a broken leg, navigating shops for supplies would be difficult at best. Having a reasonable food storage insulates you from a crisis during that critical, shocking moment when you're faced with a new reality. My uncle went into hospital this week for an a-fib event, and because of a domino effect on his health, my aunt is now facing the possibility of being the sole wage earner for the rest of their life together. Being blindsided by life is certain, but giving yourself the gift of not having to worry how you're going to feed yourself or your dependents is a blessing that we can all preprare for. As is having extra cash on hand, a good emergency fund built up, a back-up emergency budget to slide into place, and a good stock of items that you use every day, perhaps without even thinking about it. Common sense. It's what people have done for generations; the modern conveniences have made us turn away from our roots.
Cheers! Shani