I have been shopping all of the bargains that are around at this time of year. My cupboards and freezer are full. We won’t need much until March now. It is not unusual for me to have full cupboards. Pantry preparedness is really important to me.
Having a stock of spare food reduces stress and anxiety for me. It gives me the security of knowing that whatever happens globally, or locally, I have a cushion so that events don’t hit me as hard. It has also meant that the massive price hikes in food, or local shortages, have had little impact on me this year. Anyone that has ever experienced lack of food, or worry about how to feed the family will know the calmness and stability that food security provides. If there suddenly is an unexpected crisis like the loss of a job, or illness, for example, knowing that there is good food in my cupboard means that I are not panicking or making rushed decisions. Having a full, well stocked pantry, is my safety net for whatever life throws at me.
I built my pantry up slowly as I have a low food budget. When I shopped weekly, I would spend two or three pounds each week on stocking up my cupboard. I didn’t even notice that extra on my weekly shop. One week it might be a bag of oats and a tin of tomatoes. The next week a tin of tuna, some pasta and a tin of beans. The following week some cooking oil and some stock cubes.The next week pulses and spices. Three months and I had enough food stored for a couple of weeks or more of meals.
I coninued stocking up. Some would be offers, but others were staples at full price. As my pantry grew I was able to mainly shop offers and buy in bulk. My money went further. I rarely went to the supermarket. It is important to keep an inventory of what you have and to rotate the stock so that it is not wasted. At the end of each month I put things into a separate cupboard that are getting near their sell by date. My meal plans that month will use those items. The inventory is important so you are not wasting money duplicating items.
It is important to only stock up on things that you like. They will be wasted otherwise. I stock items that will store well for a number of years, eg rice, barley, dried beans. I also have some cans in case it is difficult to cook if we have a black out or something.
When I am stocking up I think about nutrition.
Carbs. I will need energy and not to feel hungry. I therefore have plenty of grains and things like pasta.
Proteins. My cupboard has a large variety of pulses and beans, but I also have some tinned meat and fish, as well as frozen protein. Dried milk is in the cupboard, and cheese in the freezer.Protein important to keep our muscles and bones healthy.
Fats. I have bottles of oil, and a jar of coconut oil. Home made butter is in the freezer and I save lard when cooking. these are needed for cooking as well as health.
Vitamins and minerals. Outr immune system needs these, and our organs invorder to stay healthy. Our homegrown and foraged food supplies mosts of these, but I do have a few tins of fruit and vegetables in case my freezer stock is spoiled.
Luxury items. These include spices, cocoa, coffee (for Mr S), and all the things that can make a meal enjoyable. They are important to keep up morale in hard, stressful times. I couldn’t survive without chocolate. 😊😇
Preserving items. I always have a stock of vinegar, sugar, and salt so that I know that I can preserve items that I grow or forage. These items help me stock my pantry for little money.
Each month I identify gaps or foods that are running low. I will then buy them when on offer or search for the best price. Your pantry doesn’t need to be perfect or pretty. Buy what is best for your family. We are all different.
My friends often laugh at me and call me a prepper. A lot of preppers are stocking for survival. I am not really doing that. I am giving myself some breathing room and food security.
Just as important as the food pantry are the skills and knowledge that you can learn. Mine help me to make the most of my pantry, and keep it stocked with no waste. If you have skills you don’t need a perfectly stocked pantry as you can adapt the ingredients that you have. Knowing how to stretch food, how to cook from scratch, how to preserve seasonal food when cheaper, how to grow food, or buying if things are on offer are all skills and habits I have learned over time. Making a tasty meal out of nothing is my super power. Knowing how to how to make basics like wraps, bread, yoghurt, bone broth, means I can have more variety whilst storing less food. Knowledge about rotating my pantry so that food is not wasted was learned from making mistakes. I keep learning new skills to build my confidence before I might need it.
I am not trying to fighten people when taking about keeping a well stocked pantry. The media does that enough. We already know how unstable the world is. We have also studied history, and many of us have lived it. We know about depressions, financial crisis, weather, inflation,war, poor harvests, pandemics, industrial action, etc,. All of these can impact on our ability to obtain certain foods. Supply chains are broken. It therefore makes sense to be one step ahead. It is inflation proofing yourself as well.
Having my stocked pantry has definitely changed by life and made my frugal journey easier, and my life less stressful. I am not anxious or living in fear. I have a head start for 2026. I am being proactive rather than reactive. When the world was chaotic in 2020 and people were scrabbling for flour and basics, I wasn’t worried. In fact I was able to help friends and relatives. None of us can predict the future, but we all know that the past has been full of curve balls and unexpected costs, like the car breaking down, or extra petrol needed to support a sick relative in hospital. My food pantry is therefore not about fear of not being able to buy food, it is about me taking control to ride those waves in order to feed my body and soul in 2026. Have you got a well stocked pantry, or are you going to start one in 2026?
Here are some oother older blogs that may help.
7 tips for Building a Stock Cupboard
Getting ready to build my food store for next year.
I also have a well stocked pantry as well as an emergency box in the attic with pastas rice and beans, which i stocked up on when the Ukrainian war started. Im Polish and it feels too close to home. My mum always had a full pantry with preserves such as jams, pickled veg, sourkraut, veg and compots. Its what everyone used to have when I was growing up, although now people don’t do that any more. I still do, i have cupboards full of jams with foraged apples and blackberries , freezer full of meats on offer and well stocked bean cupboard, as we eat plenty of those. As you said, it makes one feel secure and gives peace of mind, knowing that no matter what happens you have few weeks worth of food at home
It certainly does. I also know that my daughter always has little food in the house and so I always have her in mind when I am stocking up, as well.
I have a good pantry as well and it enables me to help my daughters out if they are short of anything as well. I also stock up on household items like laundry, kitchen and bathroom items and my personal items like face and hand cream. I have even bought some tins of dog food for my dog in case I’m unable to cook his food (I’m not sure whether he would eat it but if he’s hungry and there’s nothing else, he’d have to lol! I can always donate it to a dog rescue.
I’ll be looking out for the cheap veggies to freeze in the next few days, that hopefully last me a couple of months as I haven’t much in the garden now and eating my frozen supplies.
You are such an inspiration Toni, I have my 5 yr old grandson on Monday, so we are going to make gingerbread men using gluten free flour, so that will be interesting but at least he can take them home and him and his dad can eat them, or not if they don’t turn out very well😂🤣
I hope the gingerbread men turned out ok. I am hopeless with gluten free flour. Thanks for your lovely feedback.
As always Toni, you inspire me and more than likely everyone on this fabulous site. My late Mum always had a store cupboard, corned beef ( it was a lot cheaper then ) tinned fruit, baked beans and peas. I can’t remember what else 🤦♀️ Rice and pasta was not very popular in the 60’s. We did not have a freezer but did have a small fridge. Milk was bought from the milkman, no bottled milk from the shop ( no supermarkets in those days ). Mum shopped most days, meat from the butchers, fruit and veg bought every few days.
Now we have the opportunity to shop often, especially if we have transport to stock up on various foods. I feel food safe, I have plenty of pulses, beans, rice and pasta. My freezer is full. I have learnt my lesson after breaking my back 3 years ago, and I promised myself that I would always have food in the house in case I could not venture to the shops. I live alone but do have family nearby. I want to be independent ( some call it stubborn ) 🤔and not rely on others. Thanks for your wonderful tips 😘
Aww thanks for your locely feedback. Gosh. I hope your back is ok now. Yes, I am very independent, too 😁
This was very helpful, thank you. I used to keep a well stocked pantry with plenty of ’emergency foods’ just in case, but I got out of the habit. I’ve recently (literally over the past few days) restarted this! My fridge and freezer are in an old coal cellar beside my kitchen, and I’ve just moved some shelves in beside them for this purpose. At the moment it’s pretty full of things for the Christmas period, but after that I will build up more basic supplies. I’m pretty good at keeping up with pasta and rice, and various dried beans and lentils (I’m veggie so these are essential) but not so good with other store cupboard basics. So,like you, I plan on just picking up an extra tin or packet each time I go shopping. I didn’t know you could freeze cheese, so that’s great, I’ll be doing that too!
It is best to grate cheese to freeze it. I freeze it in portions that I will use in a week.
Thank you Toni. I think on e a food pantry is established then it’s possible to restock when items are on offer, which is a help.
Absolutely