Pantry Primer: Expanding Beyond Groceries

This week,  I’ve expanded beyond groceries – the week to week purchases that are made with meals in mind – and made some bulk purchases that have substantially added to my food supply.  Because the last week’s shopping left some food for this week’s eating, I was able to focus more on storage food and basics than on items for immediate consumption. 65 pounds of fruit purchased from a local orchard have provided a great bounty for canning and some sale meat purchases have filled my freezer.

When I received an unexpected $50 this week, I was delighted to put it right into building my food pantry.  This little windfall allowed me to make some purchases that would not have been in the budget otherwise. I was also able to supplement my grocery budget by attending a garden swap and exchanging some home canned goods for lovely excess produce grown by local vegetable gardeners.

This week’s purchases:

• 50 pounds of local pears $13
• 15 pounds of local peaches $8
• zucchini, jalapenos, tomatoes and cucumbers (barter)
• 20 pounds of sugar $11.98
• baking soda $0.54 (2 boxes)
• Annie’s Organic canned ravioli $1 (5 cans)
• White vinegar $2.59
• Soy sauce $1.97
• Balsamic vinegar $1.99
• 10 pounds of potatoes $1.99
• Organic animal crackers $1.99 (2 bags)
• Bananas $1.99
• 9 pounds of pinto beans $3.27
• 4 gallons of spring water $3.56
• Whole wheat pasta $0.99 (3 bags)
• Cabbage $1.29
• 4 pounds of cheddar cheese $8.98
• Pasta $0.69 (2 bags)
• 1 lb bags of brown rice $0.69  (3 bags)
• 2 lb of split peas $0.79 (2 bags)
• 3 lb bag of frozen organic mixed veggies $3.48
• 3 lbs of hormone free medium ground beef $7.99
• Bell pepper $0.99
• 3 heads of garlic $0.99
• 6 pounds of bone-in chicken breasts (natural fed) $14.47
• Baking powder $0.99
• Assorted spices $7
• 10 lbs of yellow onions $1.99
• 1 gallon of organic milk $7.99

This week’s total: $127.57

Shopping notes:

*The ability to barter and attend the garden swap greatly enhanced my shopping this week.  I swapped 4 jars of home canned goodies and $11 and got tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, jalapenos, squash, and eggplant.

*Because I got a little extra money, I was able to take advantage of canning specials at the local orchard, netting me 75 pounds of fruit for less than $20.

*I did a great deal of canning this week, which netted me numerous meals in jars, loads of jam, and some lovely condiments – I now have 43 jars of food put up.

*I now have plenty of carbohydrate bases that stretch meals: potatoes, rice, couscous, and pasta.

Stockpile Summary

At the end of our second week, we now have just over a 1 month food supply, including (approximately)

• 20 pounds of meat in the freezer or jars
• 8 packages of pasta
• 10 pounds of brown rice
• 30 pounds of dried beans (some have been canned already)
• 20 pounds of sugar
• 11 pints of homemade jam
• 10 pounds of flour
• 50 pounds of fruit

GRAND TOTAL:  $263.55