Purchase items that are a part of your regular weekly menus, doubling up on some regular items with each purchase until you have a 2-week pantry supply. These may include canned items like vegetables, fruits, soups, meat, bottled juices, etc. One viable alternative to purchasing canned items is to home can with extra produce that is discounted or on sale. Aside from canning, drying is another way for building a two week pantry storage of regular food items. We have dried apples, and made apple fruit leathers several times with apples that NO ONE would eat as they had lost their fresh crunch and were on the bruised side. We love to "pick-your-own" berries at farms, so plan to dry a lot of these this summer also.
- Make a list of your Cupboard Inventory
- Add necessary items of interest for your family to the list.
(Plan weekend specials, and treats!)
- Set goal amounts for each item, keeping track of what is needed,
used and replaced. Keep the list handy...either with your Home
Organizer, or hanging inside the pantry where the items are stored.
- Include your kitchen cupboard food storage in your weekly
meal planning; when use it, replace it.
Online Forms for printing:
Forms for downloading:
To increase storage safety measures for a lengthier storage, we recommend dessicant packages to absorb moisture, and oxygen paks to absorb oxygen. These items will create an evironment where bugs and midew cannot survive! Please also know that great storage containers which can be resealed after opening are Mylar bags. These are large foil like bags that may be ironed shut to seal. When cut open to retrieve food contents, they may be resealed over and over again by cutting them down to size and ironing shut against a flat surface. These Mylar bags may be placed iside larger containers (such as buckets) serving as a food liner. Resealing the Mylar bag enables the oxygen absorber and dessicant pak to remain active longer. Food storage does not
have to be expensive. Study first, and then DO it!
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