how to stock a pantry for a year pantry stock list

How to Stock a Pantry for a YEAR! Frugal Tips for Prepper and Homestead Pantries

Normal people go grocery shopping between 1 and 3 times per week.

They’ll pick up pantry essentials along with their fresh foods (such as produce, meats, and bakery items), generally in smaller amounts. For example: the shopper might pick up 4 lb bags of sugar, 5 lb bags of flour, and 1 lb bags of rice.

Instead of prepping your pantry for a week or two’s worth of food, why not fully stock your pantry with enough food staples to get your family through a tough time?

Not only would your pantry be prepared to support your family through job loss, pay cuts, or injuries, but your bank account will thank you for following through with this post and taking action immediately!

You would not believe how much more you’re currently paying, just to buy in smaller, convenient packaging.

Pull out that mason jar stash, and prepare to portion out some of these behemoth, bulk packages of food! Your family eats more in one year than you might think; the savings will be insane!



prepper and homesteader long term food storage pantry ideas



Pantry Stock List: Items You Should Consider Buying in Bulk


Below, I am including a list of foods that you should consider buying in bulk. Nearly every meal that you craft in your kitchen will contain at least one of these ingredients. If you buy these items in bulk and outfit your pantry for an entire year, you will find that your average grocery shopping bill will plummet! Of course, meats and out of season produce will contribute a hefty amount to your grocery bill- unless you buy them during the best sales of the year and preserve them (or raise them yourself, like we do). However, if you’re attempting to be as frugal as possible in the coming year, this is an excellent list to start stocking your pantry with.

  • Canned Broth/Bouillon Cubes
  • Honey
  • Syrup
  • Vinegar
  • Cooking Oils
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Corn Meal
  • Rice
  • Quinoa
  • Rolled, Quick Cooking, or Steel Cut Oats
  • Spaghetti, Macaroni, Noodles
  • Peas
  • Beans
  • Potato Flakes
  • Bulk Spices
  • Salt
  • Peanut Butter
  • Tomato Paste
  • Ketchup, Condiments
  • Minced Garlic



How to Stock a Pantry On a Budget


Before I continue on with comparing the stocking rates and cost savings, I’d like to point out a few great, frugal tricks to stocking up. While bulk purchases are the easiest, fastest, and simplest way to purchase these pantry staples cheaply, sometimes they’re not the absolute cheapest option. For example, a 50 lb bag of sugar will cost you just under $25. Around Thanksgiving, a nation-wide grocery store chain had 4 lb bags of sugar on sale for $0.99 per bag. At this cost, you could get 50 lb of sugar for just $12.50. Now, like I said: this was a sale price. A once-a-year type of sale price. Far better than even the bulk price, but this savings was only achievable over a three day period. If you cannot commit to watching sales ads or making it to the grocery store during the good sales, it is better to purchase the standard bulk packages for the best savings for you. Here are some of my tips to getting the BEST budget friendly deals, getting you the best bang for your frugal buck!





Buying Items When They’re “In Season”


Certain foods are in season during different times of the year. Even if there isn’t an obvious season (such as raspberries in fall, strawberries in spring, or turkeys during the late fall), every type of food has a harvest season. By pinpointing this, you will have a better idea as to when these items will have the best sale prices.

  • Wheat is harvested in both late spring (winter wheat) and in the fall (spring wheat), and both are combined to make flours, pastas, and other higher gluten products. Therefore, fall is an excellent time to watch for sales as older stock is rotated out and newer stock is crowding warehouses across the country.

 

  • Potatoes are commonly harvested in the late spring or very early summer, depending on the variety. The starchy potatoes that are used to make potato flakes would likely be harvested during the late summer and early fall, as most will come from producers in Idaho. Production and harvest depends on an area’s climate, as potatoes cannot tolerate freezes and they don’t like the heat; there’s a good reason Idaho is a commercial producer for potatoes. Sometime shortly after harvest season kicks off, fresh potatoes will begin going on sale– a few weeks later, you’re likely to see potato products on sale. Recently, Kroger was offering name-brand scalloped and au gratin potatoes for $0.49 a box– considering that the store brand is twice this price normally, it’s roughly a savings of 66%! Potato flakes have excellent sales between October and December, generally.

 

  • Sugar canes are also harvested in the late summer or early fall, leading to sales prices shortly thereafter- much like the sugar I mentioned earlier. This tends to coincide with the holiday baking season, which is popular for desserts and treat oriented gifts. Just think about all of those apple and pumpkin pies that need to be made after the fall apple and pumpkin harvests!

It’s truly safe to say that the late summer and fall seasons are the BEST time to stock up on a majority of your baking supplies: Flour, sugar, corn meal, potato flakes, oats, and wheat products such as pastas.





Taking Part in Couponing: Digital and Paper Coupons


I’m going to be honest: everyone has a quick 10 to 15 minutes to browse for coupons weekly. This could be during your morning coffee, bathroom breaks, doctor’s office visits, or while waiting in traffic to pick up children from school. Sundays or Mondays are the best days to check in on available coupons. If your time is limited, just stick to your local paper and your favorite grocer’s digital coupons. You can also see your region’s coupons online; with a quick search (try searching “MM/DD/YY coupons preview” or try visiting this site for what’s available right now), you will find organized, clean, easy to read lists of the coupons, what they’re for, their expiration dates, and which inserts they’re included in. It takes 3 minutes to search, read the list, and close your browser- so easy! Clipping will take a bit longer, but it is well worth the time.

For digital coupons, browse your grocer’s website or mobile app; many times, grocer’s will add tags to shelves advertising available coupon savings. If you shop at Kroger, you can jump over to their site from your laptop right now to see what’s available. Apps make life easy, because you can just search for the coupon and quickly tap “clip”; it will be instantly available on your account!

If you stay ahead of the game and find out which coupons will be in your paper the day before, you can buy multiple copies to save even more.





How to Start Stocking Your Pantry for an ENTIRE YEAR, with Frugal Tips in Tow!


Now that you’ve got an idea of what to buy when (and how to save while doing it!), let’s figure out HOW to stock your pantry so that it can feed your family for a whole year!

  • First, you’re going to want to keep in mind that this will not include items that are perishable. We also won’t include canned meat, cheese, bottled water, or items such as chips. Instead, these will be the pantry staples that most families require in order to cook homemade meals at home.
  • Secondly, ensure your ENTIRE pantry is cleaned out and rotated. Trust me- you’re not going to want to struggle with expired food or rotation when the bulk food arrives.
  • Try to rotate your bulk purchases to maximize pantry space. In other words, buy them in different months. That way, when you must purchase MORE bulk flour, perhaps your sugar stores are reaching 50% or less; this way, you’re not storing 100% of your flour and sugar simultaneously. This is a game changer for the smaller house or pantry!

Continuing on…

Now, let’s calculate the amount of food you’ll need to store per family member! We’re going to assume that an item is used 4x per week (4 servings, per family member, per week). The “serving size” may be altered in our chart, as with our flour. You will need to adjust this based on your family’s consumption. For example- some people may use ketchup multiple times daily, while others may use it very sparingly (in favor of other condiments). To do this, use this formula:

(servings per week for family member 1 + family member 2 + [additional members]) x 52 = Annual Consumption 

Now, let’s check out our handy little chart I crafted- hopefully, these values are helpful for your stocking rates. I will continue to say: please, please, please take into consideration your family’s eating, cooking, and dietary habits. No two families eat the same things, in the same way!

 

Annual Average Consumption

in Pounds (lb) or Ounces (Oz)

Pantry Item 1 Person… 2 People… 3 People… 4 People… 5 People… Expected
Shelf Life
Flour (assuming
2 lb/week)This is
a good one to
stock for 6 mo
instead of 12 mo!
104 lb 208 lb 312 lb 416 lb 520 lb 1 Year
Sugar (assuming
1 lb per week,
to include
baking)
52 lb 104 lb 156 lb 208 lb 260 lb 2 Years, after
opening. Also
a “Forever
Food”
Corn Meal (assuming
1/2lb per week)
26 lb 52 lb 78 lb 104 lb 130 lb 1 Year
Rice (1/2 cup
uncooked servings)
52 lb 104 lb 156 lb 208 lb 260 lb 4+ Years, also
“Forever Food”
*if* stored
correctly
Quinoa (1/4 cup,
uncooked
serving size)
26 lb 52 lb 78 lb 104 lb 130 lb 3-4 Years,
Unopened
12+ mo,
Opened
Oats (1/2 cup,
dry)
21 lb 42 lb 63 lb 84 lb 105 lb 18 to 24 mo
Pasta/Noodles
(2 oz, dry)
26 lb 52 lb 78 lb 104 lb 130 lb 2+ years
Potato Flakes
(1/3 cup,dry)
10 lb 20 lb 30 lb 40 lb 50 lb 6 to 12 mo
Opened
Split Peas
(1/2 cup, dry)
52 lb 104 lb 156 lb 208 lb 260 lb 1 Year
Beans (1/4 cup,
dry)
26 lb 52 lb 78 lb 104 lb 130 lb 1 Year
(best By)
3 Years
(requires
extra soaking
/cooking)
Cooking Oil
(1 Tsp serving
size, OR 1/2
cup/week
for frying/baking)
35 Oz
Or
208 Oz
70 Oz
Or
416 Oz
105 Oz
Or
624 Oz
140 Oz
Or
832 Oz
175 Oz
Or
1,040 Oz
1 Year,
Opened
Honey (1 Tbsp
serving
size)
104 Oz 208 Oz 312 Oz 416 Oz 520 Oz “Forever” Food
Tomato Paste
(2 Tbsp
serving size)
13 lb 26 lb 39 lb 52 lb 65 lb 2+ Years
Condiments
(based on 1
Tbsp serving),
for SINGLE
condiment.
104 Oz 208 Oz 312 Oz 416 Oz 520 Oz 9-12 mo
Opened



Purchase Bulk Items from Wholesale Suppliers


If you can get your hands on a local wholesale food supplier, you’re in luck! It’ll likely be nearly impossible to find organic or brand name items through wholesale, so this isn’t the best option for everyone. These suppliers tend to deliver food to places like schools, prisons, hospitals, and more; they offer deeply discounted prices because the products are in bulk, generally are not band name, are conventionally grown, and the suppliers don’t maintain storefronts for the most part. All of this results in savings that’s passed on to the end consumer.

The beauty of these suppliers is that you can buy bulk items at insanely low prices- unfortunately, you’re going to have to preserve the rest of the contents of the container when you open it. This is easier with dry products (mason jars and silica packets!), but can be a hassle with #10 cans of tomatoes or peanut butter. These suppliers truly can’t be beat when it comes to bulk pricing for food! This is the best option for those who cannot coupon, shop local sales, or buy items seasonally.



bulk food for long term storage



How to Stock a Pantry for the First Time


So, you want to stock up your pantry but you don’t know where to start? We’ll get you through the basics!

If you’re starting from scratch, it’s a good idea to only stock your pantry with the absolute basics. Otherwise, you might go a bit crazy and stock your kitchen with an entire grocery store, only to find that most of it goes out of date and goes to waste! Not exactly what you’re looking to accomplish, is it? Instead, follow a few of these tips:

  • Stock the pantry with basic cooking ingredients; no frills, no bells, no whistles. None.

 

  • Over the next 6 to 18 months, take note of what ingredients you buy and how often you buy them.

 

  • In addition, take note of anything that EXPIRES, and how much of it you use in an average month. This will help you to adjust future shopping trips and the container sizes that you purchase.

 

  • If you think you’ll rarely use a certain ingredient (such as cornmeal, if you don’t fix cornbread or tortillas often), buy a small package of it and observe how frequently it is used. Some things are somewhat seasonal; cornbread, again, applies here. It is commonly prepared with soups, stews, and beans, which are most frequently prepared during the winter and fall.




Basic Pantry Ingredients: Things You Should Stock First!


Finally, we come to our second table: the basic pantry ingredients that you’re going to need! If you are a new home owner, a college student trying to survive on your own (I see you, standing in the back!), or simply someone who is just diving in and learning how to cook, this list will be a great starting point for you! From here, you can begin baking breads, biscuits, and cookies. Perhaps you’ll tackle a delicious stew or chicken and dumplings from scratch. Maybe you’ll just toss some beans in the crock pot, and serve them up with some fresh cornbread. No matter which path your culinary adventures take you down, you’ll likely need a lot of these ingredients!

Baking Ingredients~~ Basic Spices (To Personal Taste)~~ Wet Ingredients~~ Canned Items~~ Dry Goods
Flour Salt Pepper Cooking
Oils
Vegetables Beans
Corn Meal Basil Cumin Vinegar Beans Peas
Sugar
Brown/Powdered
/granulated
Garlic
Powder
Cinnamon Honey Mushrooms Rice
Corn Starch Onion
Powder
Curry
Powder
Broths/
Stocks
Tomato
Paste/
Sauce
Lentils
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Cayenne
Pepper
Chili
Powder
Condiments
Ketchup/
Mustard
/BBQ
Seasoning
Packets/
Sauces*
Quinoa
Bread Crumbs Parsley Rosemary Dressings Gravies* Oats
Vanilla
Extract
Bay
Leaves
Sage Bottled
Water
Cooking Fat

(Crisco)

Pasta
Nuts/
Chocolate
Chips
Oregano Thyme Soy Sauce/
Cooking
Wines/
Vinegars
Potato
Flakes

how to stock a pantry for a year pantry stock list

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