Saturday, January 21, 2012

My Shopping List for a Year's Supply of Food

We have 93 pints less of home-canned food than when this picture was taken about 2 months ago (not all of the 350+ pints of food show up n the picture).  Yikes! At this rate, we'll be about out by the time new food is available in the garden in the late spring!  I guess that works out, but still!  Guess we need to be eating more out of the freezer (or canning the stuff in the freezer), since, even though we won't go hungry either way, frozen food isn't being counted for food storage purposes.
A couple weeks ago, I posted a list of what it would take for my family to have a year's supply of food.  Today, I went through everything (shelf stable) I had on hand to see how I was sitting with regard to hitting that goal.  Boy, was I disappointed!  We could go maybe a month with what I have here if we couldn't use anything from the fridge or freezer!  Ugh!  On the plus side, I do have a lot of stuff frozen as well, so I probably could can up a bunch of that, either as single ingredients or as soups, rather than buying a lot of stuff.  I also probably could collect more nuts and things this summer rather than buying most of those, although I know I will want to buy some too, since a lot of the nuts I enjoy are not ones that can be randomly found in Michigan (pecans and Brazil nuts come to mind: my two favorites).  I also will be keeping this list in mind as I plan the garden for the year,  In other positives, I discovered that I have a good supply of a few things, like yeast, and have nearly as much as I need for a number of other items.  The remaining numbers are huge though!  Here is my current "shopping list" of what I still need to acquire, although, obviously, unless I won the lottery or something (but first I'd have to play!), I won't be getting this all at once!  Quantities listed are minimums, especially those things involving chocolate.


Wheat, grains, grains flour & beans = 1680 lbs            
            ? barley
22 lbs cornmeal
            60 lbs whole wheat flour
            113 lbs rice
            86 lbs pasta
            118 lbs granola & oatmeal
            60 lbs cold cereal
            193 lbs dried beans

Powdered milk, dairy products, & eggs=512 lbs
            257 lb milk, non-instant powdered
            51 lbs butter, dehydrated
            64 lbs minimum
            16 cans evaporated milk
            Yogurt starter
            Cheese cultures

Sweeteners: honey, sugar, and syrup=240 lbs
            180 lbs honey
            33 lbs maple syrup
            1 lb molasses
            21 lbs white sugar

Cooking catalysts: salt, oil, leavening
            11 lbs salt
            10 lbs baking soda
            26 gal vegetable oil
            13 gallons olive oil

Canned/dried fruits, Veggies, & Soups=6479 servings
            2744 servings canned fruits
500 lbs potatoes
-          65 lbs dried potatoes
-          Canned potatoes, white or sweet
-          247 lbs fresh white potatoes
-          60 lbs sweet potatoes
2505 servings canned veggies
-          Green beans
-          Kidney beans
-          Beets
-          Carrots
-          Corn, cut
-          Corn, creamed
-          Spinach
-          Peas
-          Tomato paste
641 servings soup
257 servings conveniences (Spaghetti-Os, box mac & cheese, etc)

Kitchen stables: condiments & seasonings
            Olives
            2-5 jars mayonnaise/salad dressing
            11 lb chocolate chips (minimum)
            3 lbs cocoa powder
            1 lb cornstarch
            10 lbs dry gelatin
            33 jars peanut butter
            50 lbs nuts & seeds
            16 boxes saltines
            2 bottles soy sauce
            1 bottle steak sauce
            1 bottle Worchestershire sauce
            3 gallons apple cider vinegar
            10 gallons white vinegar
            Herbs/spices (1 each):
-          Garlic powder, Dry mustard, Onion powder, Parsley, Black pepper, White pepper, Cayenne pepper, Rosemary, Cumin, Nutmeg, Chili powder, Thyme, Bay leaves, Oregano, Cinnamon, Cloves, Majoram, Ginger, Turmeric, Basil, Allspice, Sage,Paprika
Almond extract
Vanilla beans

Meat & seafood=1788 servings
            Canned venison
            Jerky
            Canned poultry
            Luncheon meats(?)
            Canned seafood

Pleasure foods, etc=5084 servings
            Tasty beverages=1877 servings
-          Juice
-          Herbal tea
-          Soft drinks
-          Hot chocolate
-          Coffee
Snackies=1923 servings
-          Candy
-          Tortilla chips
-          Potato chips
-          Pretzels
-          Snack crackers
-          Pudding, shelf stable

8 comments:

  1. I would heavily suggest you look into storing wheatberries as opposed to ground wheat, then grind it when you use it. First, they last near forever. Second, you could plant them if necessary/desired. Third, they just taste better. Fourth, WAY more nutritious! :) We're looking into this as well. We're ordering 100 lbs of flour next week (well, ordered it this week but getting it next) and by the time we're done that we hope to move into grinding our own. Wheatberries not only store longer, but a small amount makes a lot of flour. I can't remember the ratios but it was enough to make me stop and go Hmmmmm....

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    1. I don't have that in my plans right now because I have no good way to grind it (pretty sure I'd get tired of using a mortar and pestle REAL quick). I figured I'd start off like this, using tools I DO have, then, if I were to acquire a grinder, switch over as I use flour that I have. Good points though. :-)

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    2. A hand-crank coffee grinder worked well for Laura Ingalls Wilder's father in The Long Winter :)

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  2. Very detailed list...it's amazing how much food we need over a year! And love the two cheeky little monkeys peeking out from behind the canned food - lol :)

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  3. Wow! I need to get cracking and do something like this. You are inspiring!

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  4. Oh wow, look at all your canned goods. It's amazing that you detail out what you need for a years worth. Wow.

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  5. Where in the world do you store all this? Amazing!

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  6. I gotta admit, I print out your stuff sometimes and add it to my useful-info binder.

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