How low do you let your fresh food get before restocking? Also pantry items.

[UserNameTaken]

OK, I think this is in the right place, if not, sorry.

Background:
We ate our fresh supplies down before our recent trip. When we got back, the market's freezers went down Saturday and they "lost" all the cold food. (Lost, that means they let it defrost, then refroze it and are selling it. Probably.) So I haven't restocked yet and we are eating mostly frozen and pantry the last few days. That could continue a long time, and still not hit the LTS. But not as long as I'd like. When everything is full, we usually could live on fresh and frozen for 3-4 months before seriously hitting the canned and still not use LTS. On a diet we might extend that by half.

Also, being summer we reduce our frozen food. We have two double door fridge/frzrs and a 7 cu ft deep freeze. If we lose one (which has happened) I can redistribute to the others. I usually top frozen food in the fall. I'll buy several turkeys and hams on sale. Last spring they had big chickens for $5 each, I bought a bunch. Same with salmon planks. About once a year there is a super sale on flash frozen, vacuum sealed salmon. On Sr discount day they were $9 each. I got there early and bought 25 planks. We eat a couple a month. One plank covers two days of 2 tacos each and two dinners with veggies, for two. Not bad in this economy.

During the covid shortages we stocked the pantry deeper. Like 4 bottles of ketchup, instead of rotating one spare. But I don't like eating "old" food nearing the "good by" dates. Also our house is kept at 78 in the summer, so not really optimal for food storage, though never had a problem with "in-date" food.

I usually do a market run every ten days or so.

So anyway - this morning I was looking at our stock as my wife was making breakfast. (Egg McGuffins with summer sausage instead of ham.) We have 4 eggs, the freezers are about 1/4 full, there's three old cucumbers that will be soup later on. 6 ripe avacados, some tomatoes about to go bad, 1 block of sliced cheese and a bag of shredded. No fruit, but some ancient apples. One bottle of OJ left. Lot's of frozen tortillias. (I buy a bunch when the mexican market makes a fresh batch and freeze them.) In other words if TSHTF today, we'd be hurtin' or having to fight the mobs for the last head of lettuce.

So what I'm wondering, is how low do you let your fresh/pantry/frozen food get before restocking?

 

[Amish Heart]

Those are good questions. I can always pull something out of the garden. Today was peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and beets. Don't need a store. I keep a portable electric ice chest plugged in this time of year for overage. Right now it's full of greens...lettuces and spinach. Just got back from our local little store because cases of peaches came in, so picked up a case, and lettuce on sale that I was low on so got that, too. Green beans where in there last week, so bought a bunch. Neighbor across the road a little way sells out of her greenhouse, so she usually has something that maybe I don't have or am out of. My butternut didn't do well this year, but bought a bunch from her for the basement at a buck a piece. Eggs....we have so many, sometimes I use them for animal feed or trade for something else (chicken, turkey, geese). Raise our own chickens, turkeys, geese, rabbit and buy a half a cow each year from my cousin. I pay for the processing of the cow he raises and we each take half. Cousin has raw milk, or a neighbor does at $4 a gallon. Traded eggs for some really good bread the other day. I do go to Aldi and fill a cart once a week or so, but I don't have to. But I continually increase my food storage, so that's why I do it. Some I buy for convenience, like a good yogurt or a cheese, and I know I can make my own, but for now I don't have to unless I want to. We keep things full up constantly and things seasonally. It's time to seed for more greens this week, but still getting summer stuff. Seven years is good.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Those are good questions. I can always pull something out of the garden. Today was peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and beets. Don't need a store. I keep a portable electric ice chest plugged in this time of year for overage. Right now it's full of greens...lettuces and spinach. Just got back from our local little store because cases of peaches came in, so picked up a case, and lettuce on sale that I was low on so got that, too. Green beans where in there last week, so bought a bunch. Neighbor across the road a little way sells out of her greenhouse, so she usually has something that maybe I don't have or am out of. My butternut didn't do well this year, but bought a bunch from her for the basement at a buck a piece. Eggs....we have so many, sometimes I use them for animal feed or trade for something else (chicken, turkey, geese). Raise our own chickens, turkeys, geese, rabbit and buy a half a cow each year from my cousin. I pay for the processing of the cow he raises and we each take half. Cousin has raw milk, or a neighbor does at $4 a gallon. Traded eggs for some really good bread the other day. I do go to Aldi and fill a cart once a week or so, but I don't have to. But I continually increase my food storage, so that's why I do it. Some I buy for convenience, like a good yogurt or a cheese, and I know I can make my own, but for now I don't have to unless I want to. We keep things full up constantly and things seasonally. It's time to seed for more greens this week, but still getting summer stuff. Seven years is good.

Yes, seven years would be nice. Though at my age, might be overkill...

I have enjoyed hearing of your homestead. I doubt we will ever reach that kind of sufficency here, but we are doing a little better each year. Because if the trucks stop running we are hosed. But I definately feel a little extra vulnerable at the moment when looking in the refrigerator.

At least we have cookies!

 

[Amish Heart]

Sounds like you need to go shopping!

 

[d_marsh]

I have long term provisions and I have short term provisions. The long term stuff should last a really long time, the short term stuff comes and goes rapidly. The life of a single person living alone.

I am more concerned about the 78 degree temp.

 

[Amish Heart]

Maybe, but you might take in more people if things get bad.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Fresh veggies are always low. It's a bit of a drive to the store to buy crap product. With the drought, we eat frozen. I have a 20 cft freezer just for veggies that are slowly making their way into the freeze dryer; veggies in one end and out the other.

I always have onions, potatoes, carrots, squash ect.

I rarely go to a grocery store. If I do, it's bulk buys and feed. I was in town yesterday to pick up a pkg. and electrical wire to make a 12v extension cord. I wasn't tempted in the slightest, to visit a grocery store. They really don't have much that I want to buy. I keep things simple.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I have long term provisions and I have short term provisions. The long term stuff should last a really long time, the short term stuff comes and goes rapidly. The life of a single person living alone.

I am more concerned about the 78 degree temp.

Yes. Our back storage room aka the cat's room, is the coolest, about 76. That is literally 50 degrees below outside in July. Like I posted somewhere the other day, our July elect bill was $387 and we were gone half the month! (At night we cool to 77, which with a sheet and ceiling fan is quite comfortable.)

I worry that our 25 year stuff is more like 8 or 10 years. But it's the nature of living in the Wastelands.

 

[Tirediron]

I guess it all depends, on what fits fresh in your definition, I eat "dirty Keto" so the fresh vegis thing is not really a concern, weather and work got in the way of my garden plan this year. but I ussually wait til my eggs run out, same with "whipping " cream, the rest usually frozen, frozen vegis are better than store fresh when I do eat them. I can easily walk to get eggs, cream I would have to get creative.

 

[UserNameTaken]

Fresh veggies are always low. It's a bit of a drive to the store to buy crap product. With the drought, we eat frozen. I have a 20 cft freezer just for veggies that are slowly making their way into the freeze dryer; veggies in one end and out the other.

I always have onions, potatoes, carrots, squash ect.

I rarely go to a grocery store. If I do, it's bulk buys and feed. I was in town yesterday to pick up a pkg. and electrical wire to make a 12v extension cord. I wasn't tempted in the slightest, to visit a grocery store. They really don't have much that I want to buy. I keep things simple.

Yeah, we're even out of carrots and potatoes.

 

[Amish Heart]

I still have a basket of volunteer potatoes I dug. Haven't dug the potatoes yet I planted earlier this year. They keep.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I still have a basket of volunteer potatoes I dug. Haven't dug the potatoes yet I planted earlier this year. They keep.

Great comment. That is something I've noticed of late. Store bough potatoes, especially cheaper places like Walmart, about 3 weeks in, they are growing and turning green. We don't eat a lot of potatoes and end up tossing about half a bag.

That's part of my concern - being able to store sufficient fresh food for a problem, but reduce loss too.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

It shouldn't matter if you are out of an item or two or three. There should always be options to eat something. To me, a shortage is when you can't go to plan b,c,d.....for the fore seeable future.

The answer I give to your question.

I never let my storage get below at least 4 years of anything in some form or another.

 

[d_marsh]

Maybe, but you might take in more people if things get bad.

Only if I am dead or run out of ammo.

Sans the lady and her kid of course.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

You need to turn those potatoes into longer term storage before they are wasted. You can do something as simple as making mashed potatoes or Shepherds pie freezer meals.

 

[LadyLocust]

I think someone else asked - what are you calling "fresh"? To me fresh is the broccoli I have in the crisper in the fridge. I keep more frozen or canned. We buy beef once per year. I can corn once per year. I buy turkey once per year. When I buy (or can), I try to get at least two years worth which puts me that much further ahead. Frozen foods and canned foods are good for about 2 years so expiration dates if you are only keeping 3-4 months worth of food shouldn't be an issue. (Not that I really go by those dates anyways) If you are concerned that some foods are nearing their best by dates, just start eating more whatever it is - yep greenbeans again tonight sorta thing. As a society, we've sure become spoiled about having variety.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I think someone else asked - what are you calling "fresh"? To me fresh is the broccoli I have in the crisper in the fridge. I keep more frozen or canned. We buy beef once per year. I can corn once per year. I buy turkey once per year. When I buy (or can), I try to get at least two years worth which puts me that much further ahead. Frozen foods and canned foods are good for about 2 years so expiration dates if you are only keeping 3-4 months worth of food shouldn't be an issue. (Not that I really go by those dates anyways) If you are concerned that some foods are nearing their best by dates, just start eating more whatever it is - yep greenbeans again tonight sorta thing. As a society, we've sure become spoiled about having variety.

Yes, I'm about like you said. Fresh means veggies and greens from the market cooler to mine. And I notice they don't stay fresh like they used to. I try to buy to our menu, but also pantry replacement.

I didn't mean to imply we are running out. Just lower than normal. I got a little gobsmacked when I looked in the fridge. We've been gone, so not having the crispers at least half full was a bit disconcerting. Part is time of year, near the end of our draw down period. Usually early mid Oct into Jan is our peak, with freezers and shelves stuffed.

If TSHTF say around Thanksgiving we'd probably go 6 months longer than if it kicked off today. Heck we could probably go 6-8 weeks on p-nut butter and jelly alone. If we went on a diet we could probably double our time and slowly starve over 2-3 years. Not sure I'd have the willpower for that.

Luckily there's no shortage of brownie mix. Priorities you know.

 

[Amish Heart]

I also think about fresh food substitutes. For instance, cream. I can get raw milk down the road and take the cream off. Or I can use the liquid box cream that Trader Joe's sells, or I can use the freeze dried powdered cream. Butter....(I also have a bunch in the freezer) but I have butter powder (Auguson Farms) and Ghee in jars. Fresh green beans, etc....would make do with frozen or canned or home canned or freeze dried.
I even freeze dried yogurt and sour cream so I would have it if I needed it.
Use your imagination. Also remember to eat "in season", and to preserve in season food if you buy it. Berries are a good buy right now, so are peaches, and they all can or freeze well. Nothing like a good berry or peach cobbler in the dead of winter. Brings back summer to your brain.
Food preservation and preparation take up a good part of my day. I get it if you're not into that. Then just buy it in some form.

 

[sonya123]

depends on if its winter or not, we usually have at least some fresh stuff in the garden from about April till November, last year we had collards in the garden till January
In the summer I mostly buy bananas, mangos, and veggies we can't grow, and lately a bunch of watermelons
we have eggs all the time, and goat milk when I am milking, we have meat all the time but it's frozen or walking around
I stock up on stuff we can't produce and need if there was nothing available in stores: rice, flour, sugar, Asian stuff like bamboo shoots in cans or Korean hot pepper paste, or rice noodles from Thailand
went shopping today and got this fresh stuff: mozerella ( not enough goat milk to make enough right now, I make a lot of pizza) , cheddar, butter, fresh leeks ( but I chop and freeze them to add to various foods) , bananas, a cantelope , a pack of chicken thighs on sale ( we have chicken but not enough for all year ) which went into the freezer, 2 -10 lb bags of sugar, 1 20 lb bag of Jasmin rice, some canned pineapple
I think that's it for food
no wait, 2 containers of ice cream , forgot that

oh and here is what we currently have in the garden or already harvested : potatoes, onions, some tomatoes, cucumbers, Kale, Collards, cabbage, basil, zuccini , apples but the garden is not great this year so I won't be freezing or canning much

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I will address the pantry portion. This comes from someone that sold cellophane bags of processed corn or potatoes with a 6 week shelf life for 10 yrs. I used to have a stale rate of 25% of what was allowed.

To me it comes natural and I know in my head when I bought a case of canned corn. I used it up in 2 yrs. The green beans were 2 yrs 6m. What I would suggest to you is marking the date you buy it with a sharpie.

Some staple items such as rice and flour need extra attention. I buy 25lbs at a time, vacuum seal it in usable portions like 2 cups. Then I throw in the freezer for a week to kill any weevils.

You also have to plan for what you can’t get. Let’s say bread for your peanut butter and jelly. Got the bread flour prepackaged the same way, a bread machine and recipes for baking in cast Iron Dutch Ovens.

Frozen has 2 yrs. If the power goes out, a way to can it up to salvage it.

Fresh, I still struggle with. Wish I had a root cellar.

My newest struggle is incorporating what my wife has canned in the past year. Until I get a good visual storage system, it will probably remain a struggle. I don't know what she canned.

 

[dademoss]

To me, Fresh is what is in the garden, NOW, or just Picked. God controls that part, I have no say.

After that is cool stored , frozen or canned.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I also think about fresh food substitutes. For instance, cream. I can get raw milk down the road and take the cream off. Or I can use the liquid box cream that Trader Joe's sells, or I can use the freeze dried powdered cream. Butter....(I also have a bunch in the freezer) but I have butter powder (Auguson Farms) and Ghee in jars. Fresh green beans, etc....would make do with frozen or canned or home canned or freeze dried.
I even freeze dried yogurt and sour cream so I would have it if I needed it.
Use your imagination. Also remember to eat "in season", and to preserve in season food if you buy it. Berries are a good buy right now, so are peaches, and they all can or freeze well. Nothing like a good berry or peach cobbler in the dead of winter. Brings back summer to your brain.
Food preservation and preparation take up a good part of my day. I get it if you're not into that. Then just buy it in some form.

What a wonderful place you live! I miss Trader's. But since I retired we only go about once a year in the fall. Our closest is about 150 miles away, in Las Vegas, so ends up being an all day thing. Go to the bank, run errands, lunch out, Traders. We'll take two big coolers and a smaller one and stuff them with frozen fish and goodies. I like their water crackers, no junk in them, we buy like 20 boxes. But they stopped carrying so much that we like.

We don't have any way to preserve other than a food saver, but we should. My mother used to can and had a couple of pressure cookers. My wife's getting more interested though. So many options now.

 

[Hardcalibres]

What a wonderful place you live! I miss Trader's. But since I retired we only go about once a year in the fall. Our closest is about 150 miles away, in Las Vegas, so ends up being an all day thing. Go to the bank, run errands, lunch out, Traders. We'll take two big coolers and a smaller one and stuff them with frozen fish and goodies. I like their water crackers, no junk in them, we buy like 20 boxes. But they stopped carrying so much that we like.

We don't have any way to preserve other than a food saver, but we should. My mother used to can and had a couple of pressure cookers. My wife's getting more interested though. So many options now.

On the bright side, you are in the perfect climate to run a dehydrator.......just make sure you have enough water to rehydrate with.

 

[UserNameTaken]

I will address the pantry portion. This comes from someone that sold cellophane bags of processed corn or potatoes with a 6 week shelf life for 10 yrs. I used to have a stale rate of 25% of what was allowed.

To me it comes natural and I know in my head when I bought a case of canned corn. I used it up in 2 yrs. The green beans were 2 yrs 6m. What I would suggest to you is marking the date you buy it with a sharpie.

Some staple items such as rice and flour need extra attention. I buy 25lbs at a time, vacuum seal it in usable portions like 2 cups. Then I throw in the freezer for a week to kill any weevils.

You also have to plan for what you can’t get. Let’s say bread for your peanut butter and jelly. Got the bread flour prepackaged the same way, a bread machine and recipes for baking in cast Iron Dutch Ovens.

Frozen has 2 yrs. If the power goes out, a way to can it up to salvage it.

Fresh, I still struggle with. Wish I had a root cellar.

My newest struggle is incorporating what my wife has canned in the past year. Until I get a good visual storage system, it will probably remain a struggle. I don't know what she canned.

Yes, I date everything with a sharpie. We have a bread maker. A neighbor moving gave it to us, they'd never used it. I forget the make, but a really good one. My wife makes bread. Though lately we've been buying that french bread from Walmart for a buck a loaf. Can't make it for that.

Keeping the pantry and food organized is never ending, and stuff still gets "lost" in the shuffle. But we're pretty good about it. Like I say, with the supply chain in better shape now we stock less things like condiments. Like I rotate two jugs of honey and maple syrup, instead of 4. Before the 99 Cent stores closed I bought an entire cart of canned olives for $1 each. I forget, but like 120 cans.

Yeah, if our power goes out it's a problem. If the generators fail too, about all we could do is dry the fish, the chicken and beef would probably be lost. I need a smoker. Still a LOT of gaps in our preps. Never ends.

 

[Bacpacker]

It is never ending

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Yes, I date everything with a sharpie. We have a bread maker. A neighbor moving gave it to us, they'd never used it. I forget the make, but a really good one. My wife makes bread. Though lately we've been buying that french bread from Walmart for a buck a loaf. Can't make it for that.

Keeping the pantry and food organized is never ending, and stuff still gets "lost" in the shuffle. But we're pretty good about it. Like I say, with the supply chain in better shape now we stock less things like condiments. Like I rotate two jugs of honey and maple syrup, instead of 4. Before the 99 Cent stores closed I bought an entire cart of canned olives for $1 each. I forget, but like 120 cans.

Yeah, if our power goes out it's a problem. If the generators fail too, about all we could do is dry the fish, the chicken and beef would probably be lost. I need a smoker. Still a LOT of gaps in our preps. Never ends.

I am not knocking you. Everybody has their own system.
Honey is a perfect food, it doesn’t go bad. It may crystallize and you have to remelt…….
I have a rule- prep what you eat, eat what you prep. Our rice consumption has gone from 2.5 lbs in 2019 to 25lbs a year. It would take me 40+ years to eat those olives.

 

[Amish Heart]

What a wonderful place you live! I miss Trader's. But since I retired we only go about once a year in the fall. Our closest is about 150 miles away, in Las Vegas, so ends up being an all day thing. Go to the bank, run errands, lunch out, Traders. We'll take two big coolers and a smaller one and stuff them with frozen fish and goodies. I like their water crackers, no junk in them, we buy like 20 boxes. But they stopped carrying so much that we like.

We don't have any way to preserve other than a food saver, but we should. My mother used to can and had a couple of pressure cookers. My wife's getting more interested though. So many options now.

No Trader Joes where we live now. We're in amish country. I can only shop there when I visit Weedy's city. Closest one there is (8 hrs)
I really like the electric pressure canners that are out now. Easier to lift than my regular one.

 

[LadyLocust]

What a wonderful place you live! I miss Trader's. But since I retired we only go about once a year in the fall. Our closest is about 150 miles away, in Las Vegas, so ends up being an all day thing. Go to the bank, run errands, lunch out, Traders. We'll take two big coolers and a smaller one and stuff them with frozen fish and goodies. I like their water crackers, no junk in them, we buy like 20 boxes. But they stopped carrying so much that we like.

We don't have any way to preserve other than a food saver, but we should. My mother used to can and had a couple of pressure cookers. My wife's getting more interested though. So many options now.

Fruits and tomatoes all you need is a big pot of water. Meats and veggies require the pressure canner. Might be worth it to try some jam or tomato sauce before spending the money.

 

[UserNameTaken]

No Trader Joes where we live now. We're in amish country. I can only shop there when I visit Weedy's city. Closest one there is (8 hrs)
I really like the electric pressure canners that are out now. Easier to lift than my regular one.

Ah, then you can relate. People are always wanting a Trader's here, but they told us our "demographics" don't fit the profit model. In other words we are too poor and there's not enough of us. Heck I think there's too many! LOL We'll look into those elect canners.

Fruits and tomatoes all you need is a big pot of water. Meats and veggies require the pressure canner. Might be worth it to try some jam or tomato sauce before spending the money.

I didn't know that, thanks. Our goal this year (AZ growing season is backwards) is tomatoes, scallions, potatoes and corn. I'll be really happy if we can get some tomatoes. Enough to learn to can would be great!

 

[joel]

We let the up stair refrigerator get down to half full so we can find anything buried in the back.
The back up refrigerator down stairs, the produce is then moved up stairs & used, we shop weekly..
Weekly gave us time to replace staples & paper good a little a long, as well as hunt for sale.
Meats & frozen food never runs low, to many sales to get new customers keep it full.