Let us explore two different types of emergency pantries and how best to stock them on a budget.
Weather-Related Emergency Pantry
To stock up for a weather-related emergency you have to take some things into consideration. First, you may not have electricity so you will want to have items that do not require cooking. In this case, you should keep an eye out for easy foods that can be stockpiled on a budget. Great examples of this include tuna, canned chicken, canned hams, peanut butter, crackers, cheese spreads and even jelly or jam. Some cold cereals will also store for long periods of time. Make sure you carefully look at expiration dates on all products before you purchase them for storage. Do not forget bottled water and dry or canned milk to supplement the foods that you purchase. Bottled juice that is shelf stable is also a good purchase.
One way to ensure the freshness of these items is to put them in a separate area from your "regular" groceries and sort them by expiration date with the ones that have the closest expiration dates in the front. As you replace these items in your "regular" grocery simply replace the older items with new ones. Don't forget about items that are in the back of your shelf or closet so that they are cycled out regularly. Many stores offer substantial savings on these items that allow you to stock up on them, but if you allow them to expire you have saved nothing.
Financial Crisis Pantry
Whether we want to think about it or not, things happen in our lives that bring about financial problems. Generally, this type of a crisis is hopefully short-lived but you want to be able to feed your family without worrying. Many of the items that are appropriate for weather related crisis are also suitable for this emergency food pantry.
Other items that you can stock an emergency pantry on a budget include soups, canned pastas, dry pasta, rice, jar spaghetti sauces, canned vegetables and shelf stable milk products. Items such as coffee, tea and juice mixes can also be purchased well ahead of the dates you may need to use them. The same rule of thumb applies though, do not overlook expiration dates. The further out an expiration date is, the more likely you are to be able to store items for long periods of time and have them available in times of an emergency.
All of us have our own personal reasons for wanting to have an emergency pantry. You can easily stock an emergency pantry on a budget by taking advantage of sales, coupons and even bulk buying and still stay within your budget. Don't find yourself in a weather related or financial related crisis and not have something to fall back on.
Image credit: Beans: KVDP - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
