You may be thinking, “What? Who keeps a year’s worth of food in their house? Only total weirdos and preppers. Why in the world would I ever do that?” Outside of the Mormon religion, there isn’t much emphasis in our society on keeping a food supply at home. It’s considered fringe behavior at best, and full on tinfoil-hat territory at worst. I’m going to make a confession here — I have a food storage closet. And I promise it’s not as weird as it sounds.

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What Is A Food Supply Closet?

It’s a different thing for everyone, and is actually pretty personal in the sense that each one varies. Some folks swear by pricey freeze dried meals, or MREs, canned or packaged water containers and processed foods. Others go for bulk storage and look into local co-ops to figure out how they can buy and effectively store 400 pounds of wheat for 25 years. My own closet is a work in progress. Initially I started by making a list based on several online guides, many of which are provided for free by the Mormon church. I visited Sams Club and bought 25 pound bags of salt and sugar, 50 pounds of beans, and 100 pounds of rice. I used calculators to decipher how much food my family would eat over the course of a year and set out storing those supplies.

Let me tell you, that was a BAD idea. For most modern families, starting a storage system that way will leave you with massive amounts of ingredients and no real idea on how you’re going to actually eat them. Most of it ends up going to waste because it isn’t properly stored, and you’ve wasted hundreds of dollars and pounds of food on a silly idea.

So, what is a modern family’s guide to building a food storage pantry? This video guide from Wendy DeWitt changed my entire outlook. Instead of stocking up on massive amounts of seemingly random foods, plan for what your family will actually eat. Sit down and make a meal plan for one week that includes:

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  • 7 breakfasts – oatmeal & (rehydrated dried) fruit, omelettes, peanut butter toast, biscuits and jam, pancakes, etc.
  • 7 lunches – pasta with tomato sauce, lentil soup with bread, veggie burgers, tuna sandwiches, etc.
  • 7 snacks – protein bars, trail mix, peanut butter apple rings, veggie crisps, wasabi peas, etc.
  • 7 dinners – stir fry over rice, chili, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, curry, squash casserole, skillet lasagna, etc.
  • Special Diet Needs for Babies/Toddlers: Formula, PediaSure, supplemental drinks, vitamins, etc.

The key here is to identify what your family actually eats on a regular basis, and wouldn’t mind eating once a week for an entire year. You also have to figure out what actually stores well. Nuts go rancid in about six months, while flour can last upwards of 25 years. Dairy products obviously need refrigeration, but you can buy dehydrated milk or use nutritional yeast in place of cheese in stove top pasta dishes or soups. I did a lot of research looking up different university and ag extension office articles on how long different foods can store. If anyone is interested in this information I’d be happy to work up a pdf or post some links.

Once you’ve settled on what you will be eating, you then calculate every ingredient and amount that goes into that dish. If you’re planning toast, for example, you’ll need to figure out just how much goes into baking the weekly loaf of bread and how many slices each family member will eat, as well as how many spoonfuls of peanut butter. Once you have that meal’s entire list of requirements, multiply it by 52, and that’s how much you’ll need to store. The logistics can seem a bit overwhelming, but with only a few hours worth of work you’ve set your family down a path of food security.

Why Do I Need It?

This is the million dollar question. You’re probably thinking, “That’s great Octo, how nice that you have food storage built up for that hypothetical zombie apocalypse.” In all actuality, I’ve already “broken into” my own food storage. Why? Spousal separation. Suddenly, without much warning, my financial assets were limited to 1/3 of my accustomed income. I still had the same bills and expenses, but much less to work with. It’s the end of the growing season and my garden wasn’t putting out very much. I have a freezer stuffed full of chickens I raised and processed over the summer, as well as some residual venison from last season. So, with my closet and my freezer, I was able to keep us fed without having to go to the grocery store for several weeks. That, my friends, is an invaluable asset. So, let’s talk about several other very practical, actually feasible reasons you would need to access a large supply of food at home:

  • Divorce/Separation – we just covered this but it bears mentioning again
  • Hospitalization or disability – being suddenly out of work is a reality for many people, and medical bills can really add up fast, decimating your food budget
  • Unemployment – getting laid off or fired can wreak havoc on any family, and many don’t see it coming
  • Natural Disasters – wouldn’t you love not having to race to the grocery store before every hurricane or blizzard? You could rest easy knowing you could eat for months, healthily, should supplies run low or the roads be unsafe for travel. My area was severely flooded twice this year and both bridges were damaged, leaving the town isolated and at risk.
  • Illness or Caring for a sick relative – You may have a parent who becomes an invalid, or perhaps it’s someone within your household. Many people leave jobs for several months or years to become caregivers, and it’s helpful to have food to fall back on

Of course there’s all those “weird” reasons too. Things like pandemics, economic collapse, EMPs, terrorism, etc. I value the reasons listed above as to why I chose to build up my personal food storage. And now that one of them has happened to me, I am even more committed to the cause. Even with a somewhat steady supply of eggs and veggies, it’s good to know I have something to fall back on should everything else fall apart.

How Do I Build It?

There are many different ways to build up your storage, as varied as your own personal shopping tastes. I am a zero waste, organic, crunchy granola hippie. So my preference is to grow as much of my own produce as I can and dehydrate it at home. For the things that are unfeasible for me to grow, such as rice and grains, I buy in bulk from the Wheatsville CoOp in Austin. I can get half gallon sized mason jars of olive oil, balsamic and apple cider vinegar, and many more liquids. I can stock up on five pound sacks of chocolate chips and divvy them up into pantry sized jars at home. It’s a plastic free dream.

Most people aren’t committed to package free shopping, so you can easily buy supplies in bulk sizes at warehouse stores like Costco and Sams. Co-ops are great because you can order even larger sizes, like 300 pounds of locally grown wheat flour. Or a 50 pound sack of potatoes and onions.

One great tip I learned in the beginning is to not feel like you have to go straight out and buy all your supplies in one fell swoop. It’s intimidating and extremely cost prohibitive. If you keep in mind that it’s literally a year’s worth of grocery bills (and in fact much lower, because you’ll be saving by buying in bulk), it’s easier to swallow. Instead, try to add on a few storage items to each grocery trip. Buy one 25 pound sack of salt. Or five 10 pound bags of pinto beans for chili. Start slow and build up a one month supply, then a 3 month, then 6, then 9 and finally 12. Cycle through your supplies so you feel you’re getting your money’s worth. Most of the things you store will last for 5 years or more, which means once you establish your supply, the upkeep is minimal. You can cycle through a 3 month supply of food every year, replacing it as you go.

As far as storage, I decided to devote an entire closet to it, but apartment dwellers don’t need to fret! There are so many creative storage options out there. You can use under the bed totes, put them in bins in the basement (which is best because the cooler air preserves the food longer), stuff them in your bathroom cabinets, or add them in the tops of closets. Just be sure you remember where everything is, and portion out meals individually so you’re not digging into a gigantic bag of flour later. It’s common to grab 5 gallon food grade buckets (you can call around to restaurants or bakeries to try and score them for cheap or even free, or try Craigslist) and portion gallon ziplock sizes of food into the buckets. I use cotton or burlap sacks, because I try to avoid plastic.

I hope that clears up the great mystery that is food storage! I think proper, useful storage is a huge asset to your family. You don’t have to run out and open a new credit card for pre-made meals from an online doomsday store. Here are my favorite supplies and resources for beginning food storage: