Your Pantry

[Claire]

Someone mentioned their kitchen getting fatter since finding this site. I have a question for all of you. How long do you think you could eat out of your household if all the stores shut down tomorrow (and, yes, I have had to do this a couple of times before in my life)?

 

[pdswife]

we could eat for a month... not eat well ...but we wouldn't be hungry.

 

[Adillo303]

We would run out of staples - Milk eggs etc.. Quickly Other than that I'll go with 3 weeks

AC

 

[BreezyCooking]

I'd say between 1-2 months. I keep a LOT of things like beans, rice, canned tomatoes, tuna, & pasta around.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Hmmmm As long as I could hunt and fish, which I could... and not starve?...Several months.

 

[jabbur]

With the deep freeze and pantry I could probably go 4-6 weeks. Like pdswife, not eat well but enough to not be hungry.

 

[pacanis]

I have no idea. The food kept just in the house? Tough call....
Since I have been trying to make more from scratch, or fresh, probably not as long as a few years ago when I had a lot of boxes and cans on hand.

 

[babetoo]

could go for a month and then staples would run low. i always laugh when people say i have no food to cook. of course they do, they just don't want oatmeal instead of burger. lol

 

[blissful]

6 to 8 months with electricity. 3 months without electricity.

 

[luvs]

my cupboards & shelves 'er too burstin-full to add an appple!!!
we'd be fine fer at least 2 er 3 months.

 

[homecook]

I think between my pantry, my chest freezer, the frig in the garage and the one in the house I think I could go about 3 months. Maybe longer. Like others have said they wouldn't be the best meals but it's food and something to eat.

Barb

 

[mcnerd]

Hopefully 8-10 months, longer if power and water continued. Lack of potable water is the biggest problem but my stockpile includes lots of canned goods containing liquids, plus I'm canning lots of stuff for the same reason, including beans. No sense having tons of dried beans if there's no water and limited power to cook them. Rice is cooked and then dehydrated (true 'instant') so it only takes soaking in hot water to reconstitute.
I'm including a freezer full, which may disappear quickly if the power fails, which is why I continue weekly to add to the stockpile contingency, mostly taking advantage of market sales....like a large pork loin roast for $4 which was canned for future use.

 

[jpmcgrew]

I'm guessing two to three months some what comfortably. Thats if we still have power for freezer and fridge. After that maybe another two months with the canned goods and dried beans, noodles, rice, flour, yeast, baking powder, baking soda, white vinegar etc.Meat would not be a problem as we have plenty of wild life. I have also stocked up on coffee, green tea, salt,pepper, dried onions,dried garlic, powdered milk and some canned goods that are good til 2010- 2011. I have in no way enough to last a long time but just enough in case.

 

[suziquzie]

I had a pretty good stock at one point, but it was a BAD year for us so stretching my grocery bill meant using my pantry shelves.
I suppose thats what it was there for right? Some weeks I got away with milk bread juice a few fruits and veggies...... about 30-40 bucks.... for 5 people not bad!

Hopefully we're on the mend and I can go back to stocking up for who knows what....
I'm guessing maybe 6 months worth of stuff in the pantry and freezer.

 

[jpmcgrew]

This is to me the ultimate cook stove if you had no power it uses charcoal, wood or propane.
Conquest Volcano Stoves

 

[deelady]

You know, you really got me thinking about if I have enough nessesities in case of an emergency, so I started making a supply list I need to start building up in case of an emergency. Which brought me to these two site that I found very helpful and interesting. thought I'd share.
The first one provides lists and tips for anything you might need in case of any type of emergency. And the second is a quiz to see if you are prepared if there is one. (a huge NO I am NOT!!)

Ready.gov: Food

What's Your RQ?

I have often thought to myself I need to start a emergency supply pantry, i.e food, sufficient water, first aid ect. Thank you for the reminder that it NEEDS to get done!

 

[Michael in FtW]

Normally, with the exception of staples like milk, eggs, cheese, sour cream - I could go for about 3-6 months by making a few adjustments - like reducing animal proteins from a major component in a meal to being used as a seasoning (along the lines of some Asian cooking).

But, I always keep at least 1 month worth of rice, beans and pasta on hand along with enough canned fish and some other canned meats, tomatoes, vegetables, etc. and ramen noodles to not go hungry.

 

[Mama]

Like the others, we'd run out of milk and eggs but we could survive I'm sure for a year.

 

[Bilby]

Weeks and weeks!! Add the freezer into the mix and probably longer still. But I would miss all the fresh veges, fruit, milk, meat, eggs, cheese, etc!!

 

[Bilby]

... but I would run out of cat food after a month based on current mouths!!