Episode 4 - PP
What is a Prepper Pantry and Why You Should Start One
Welcome to Episode 4 of the Prepping Positively Podcast! I’m Annie and today we are going to talk about starting a survival pantry including what foods to stock, how much of each and why you need to start one in the first place. Here we go.
Hi and welcome back! Today I want to talk about the survival pantry. Before I get too far into that let me first explain exactly what a pantry is when it comes to prepping.
A prepper pantry, or a survival pantry, as it is otherwise called, is a stockpile of food and non-food items that are stored in an area of your home for short-term or long-term emergencies. Its main purpose is to provide what your family may need in a crisis such as a job loss, a natural disaster, or economic situations where food and supplies may not be available.
There are 2 main reasons to start a prepper pantry. The first is for convenience, and the second is for food security. Regardless of whether you use one reason, the other or both, having a prepping pantry could make the difference in survival for your family.
Prepper pantries can be basically three types of pantries - a Working Pantry, a 72-Hour Pantry and a Long-Term Food Storage Pantry.
Let’s break down each of these further.
The working pantry is the easiest and most affordable way to start a prepper pantry. It is also the closest thing to a pantry you may already have in your home. These types of pantry are usually a bit bigger than your average pantry, but a bit smaller than an average prepping pantry.
This working pantry usually holds the items you use daily in your home like canned items you may have bought or canned items you canned yourself. It will also have some boxed items from the local grocery store.
In this pantry, the items are rotated so you use the oldest first and are are replaced as needed.
The second type of pantry is the 72-hour supply pantry. This is the type of pantry created for short-term emergencies like power outages, evacuations from hurricanes and so on.
The items stored in this type of pantry are most commonly foods that are non-perishable and can be rated easily, even without being heated. They are the foods I discussed in Episode 2 Preparing an Emergency Kit.
The last type of pantry is the long-term food storage pantry. This pantry will help your family survive through more major events such as a natural disaster or an economic crisis. These pantries are much larger and the amount of food and supplies are meant to endure from over a year to 25 years or more. These pantries may be often called emergency pantries.
Depending on the type of emergency or crisis you are preparing for will determine which pantry is the right one for you. Eventually you want to work your way up to the long-term pantry as an end result
So where do you put your pantry? The best location for your pantry is somewhere that does not receive direct sunlight, is free of any moisture and stays relatively cool. It should be large enough to house some shelving and maybe a few 5-gallon food-safe buckets.
Other places to store your food and supplies may include:
- Under the stairs
- In a closet
- In a cabinet
- Under a bed
- Over a doorway
- In storage furniture
- Root cellars
- Unused section of your basement
I have included a simple ten-step checklist for creating a prepper pantry on the resource page for this podcast episode. Just go to roadtoreliance.com/podcast and click on Episode 4 to download it.
For now let’s talk about those ten steps.
Step 1 is to have a plan and a goal in mind. Decide what you’re prepping for and make a plan on paper so you know what you need to start stocking up on.
Step 2 Is to know your budget. It is so easy to see that case of something on sale and thing what a great deal it is, but if you won’t use that much it is really pointless. Set an amount of money you can spend each week or month and stick to it. Use coupons but only if they save money, and check the price of other brands too.
Step 3. Know what and how much your family consumes each week. Only buy and store what you will eat. If no one eats tuna, don’t buy it. There are food calculators online to help you determine how much your family consumes. Just go on Google and search “food calculators”.
Step 4: Know where everything is going. Think ahead. Make a place to keep all of your supplies. I gave you some suggestions earlier. Just be creative.,
Step 5: Learn how to meal plan. One of the best time-saving and money-saving things you can do is to meal plan. Write down the foods you plan to eat over a period of time such as the week or the month. You can plan all three meals of just dinners.
I have two free meal planners on my site that are free for the taking. Just go to roadtoreliance.com and search for How to Start A Prepper Pantry.
Step 6: Know the shelf life of what you have. Although most food items are good beyond their stamped dates, it is better to use them prior. Anything you take from its original container and place into a separate container will not have a date so make sure to mark those dates.
Step 7: Shop the Sales Aisles. Pay attention to prices. Compare brands. Look at the amounts in one package and compare to others. Simply divide the price by the number of ounces for example and compare two brands to see which actually has the better deal.
And please don’t shop an extra store for one item unless the savings is substantial. At the time I am recording this episode our gas in 4.60 per gallon. I will not drive out of the way to save a dollar with gas so high. It is cheaper for me to pay a bit higher and shop at one store.
Step 8 Learn how to rotate your food. Always keep the oldest food to the front and the newest to the back. It keeps your food from becoming out of date and reduces the chance of ingesting bad or spoiled food.
Step 9: Don’t panic and hoard! It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to build a well-stocked pantry. Start slow, buy what you afford, and as it is available. Stay calm, take your time and don’t worry. Your pantry will build slowly but at least you know you will use everything you bought.
And the last step…
Step 10: Prep at your pace. We have been prepping for awhile now. I have a friend that has been prepping just as long as I have. She has tons more put away than I do. That’s ok. Her budget is different than mine. We also stock different things. Do you. Stay at your own pace.
Learning how to start a prepper pantry is not hard. Start small and think about everything you are going to do, what you will buy and how often.
Set a budget, make a plan, and above all do not panic.
If you need more detailed information on getting started beyond the free checklist I have offered on the Resource page, you can go to https://roadtoreliance.com/how-to-start-a-prepper-pantry and you can print off the post and download a ton of stuff while you’re there.
Well, that’s all I have for you this week. I hope you found this information helpful. If you did make sure you follow me so you don’t miss a single episode. And feel free to leave me a rating so others can find me too!
As always, stay happy, stay healthy, and start prepping! You can do it! I believe in you!