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Posted on Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 9 a.m.

Food pantries: an investment in your future

By Sue Talbert

Where we live in Dexter, we see old farmhouses with old-fashioned root cellars and storm cellars outside. Our son is interminably curious about this feature, and so we’ve explained that people used to store their apples, root vegetables, and other items in the cool dark of the dug-out area in the ground and then have them ready to consume year-round. The cellars also double as safe places to stay when the weather becomes treacherous.

But what if your personal circumstances become treacherous? Have you thought about what your family would do if you or your spouse lost your job? Financial experts say you need to have a 3-to-6 month nest egg stashed away for living expenses in case the worst happens, but could you have less in an account if you’d already prepared a pantry in advance?

The answer to the last question is “Yes,” because grocery-spending is included within the 3-to-6 months of living expenses. Most people know they’re supposed to have an emergency or contingency fund available, but don’t for any number of reasons. A food pantry with food for longer-term storage is a great way to begin and ultimately lowers the amount of cash you need to store away in your contingency fund.

When I first started to think about storing food, I went back to the things my mom stored when I was a kid: canned fruit, jam, and tomatoes. I also thought the only things that had a long shelf life were things we wouldn’t eat - stuff like corned beef hash and canned chili that was chock full of preservatives and additives.

In truth, there are many things in the “back to basics” style of cooking and eating that are

chiotsrunpeppers.jpg

home-canned red peppers

shelf stable, and I’m beginning to stockpile many of them and put them in to rotation in our meal plans. And the food I make has never been healthier - whole grains, real food, and healthy fats are all shelf-stable. Before this conjures up ideas of slaving in a hot kitchen, home-canning all of your food, don't worry. Real food is real, but it doesn't mean you have to can it yourself - you can buy shelf-stable things that also constitute "real food."

I have a pantry that was built some time ago by previous owners of our home and I use it (and stock it), but as I’ve been on a quest to fill my pantry with shelf-stable things that are also nutritious, some of my friends have caused me to realize that my drive to do this is unusual, to say the least.

It was common in the years after the Great Depression to think in terms of “what if…” and to see men and women alike working to put up summer produce, to buy things that would last and potentially see their families through another rough patch. Those sights are less-and-less frequent these days; we seem to be running through life at such a pace that grabbing something off of the closest grocery shelf and dropping it in to the cart is about all we can manage. Gone are the days when people planned a menu based on what was on special at the grocery for the week, supplementing or building a meal from what was in the pantry.

From a budgetary perspective, pantries are great. While it does take a little more expendable cash upfront to get a pantry up and running, the costs saved in the long run are enormous. When you “pantry-shop,” you buy what’s on sale that you will use and supplement with what you have on hand, buying at the lowest cost and saving the items for later use. Your freedom to shop as your budget dictates is much greater this way; if you have a more expendable cash and space in a freezer or cupboard, you can stock up a little bit more. Then, when things are a bit leaner or you’re pressed for time and can’t get to the grocery store, you don’t have to pay exorbitant prices for what you need; you’ve already made your purchases and stashed them away. Additionally, the amount of time and money you’ll spend in the grocery store will decrease dramatically - I’ve already seen our lean grocery budget drop in half since we’ve started practicing food storage habits and the amount of time I spend in the grocery store has also dropped precipitously. For me, it’s a huge time-and-money saver and I love living this way.

But what sort of things do I store? I use wheat berries (which have a 30 year shelf-life, when stored in an oxygen-absent environment) to make flour, but I also have some flour stored in the freezer so as to lengthen its usable life. I have dried beans, oats, sugar, dried fruit, canned vegetables, pasta, and other items. I’m not focused on BPA (bisphenol- A) in can linings, but if you are, there are lines of canned goods (such as Eden Organic) which do not use BPA in the lining of their cans. I’m adding in things like potato flakes for baking, preserved vegetables from the garden, baking chocolate, and molasses. These are things that permit me to make it through a rough patch in our family, should the worst happen.

Even if my husband’s job remains stable, we are prepared for storms that might come our way. Financial experts warn that a time of runaway inflation is looming for our nation; a time when the costs of goods will double every few weeks but our incomes won’t. Whether or not this happens is far beyond my control, but if it does, we have things in the house that we can sustain ourselves with and help our family, as well. And if none of those things happen, I’m in a far better place to be generous with those who might be facing a job loss, a medical crisis, or some other situation in which some groceries or meals is helpful. I can share from my wealth and food storage and know that there’s enough to sustain our family as well.

If you’ve not considered starting a food pantry before now, why not start thinking about it? If you think you don’t have enough space for it, I encourage you to think outside of the box (or pantry), as it were. Consider spaces in closets, under beds, and in other non-traditional places and keep a list of what you’re storing and where so that you can use it as you go. It takes some dedication to set it up and make it work, but the payoff in peace of mind and expansion of healthy eating options is huge. And it’s totally worth the expenditure of time and money in the long run.

Sue is a wife, homeschooling mom, photographer, and freelance writer. She's currently focused on building a long-term food storage and maximizing her pantry space on a budget. You can read her regular writings over at A Mother's Heart and reach her via email.

Photo credit: Chiot's Run, c. 2009