Top Foods To Stockpile

Food stockpiles are continuing to grow in popularity. However, the cost of food prevents many from stockpiling. What foods should you watch for sales on to build your stockpile? What are the best foods to stockpile when on sale?

Read all about what I recommend stocking up on so that you never have to worry about not having food. Prepping and saving money go together like peas and carrots! 

I will say this though. In the last few years we have seen a surge on the following: 

• Housing Prices
• Gas
• Utilities
• Veterinarian and Pet Care Prices
• Clothing
• Lending and Interest Rates
• Food. Food prices are up in every category. I will save my breath on all the bird flu conspiracies, beef cattle conspiracies, and conspiracies in general. The point is that every food category has significantly increased in price: eggs, peanut butter, crackers, flour, butter and margarine, salad dressing, baby food, sugar, frozen vegetables, bakery products including bread, soups and all canned goods, steaks, chicken, and all other meats, pet food and pet snacks, bread, coffee, milk. Seriously, it’s ridiculous.

Did you know that grocery prices have skyrocketed over 21% in the last few years?

So what are we do to? How can the ones of us who couponed in days gone by build a nice little stash of food storage and get ahead with these prices? What do we focus on? How do we stock up? Well, I have a few tips I would like to share with you to focus on right now and help get you started that work along with couponing.

Food to Stock Up on 

Building a stockpile can be a bit intimidating. This is particularly true if you find that you have a hard time finding the extra money to build your stockpile. Especially right now when many are faced with the decision to either buy food or pay certain bills.

These essential items are the best to watch for sales. When finding a good sale, I tend to purchase as much as I can so I never have to worry about rising prices, running low on supplies in a storm, or having what I need on hand should the proverbial poo-poo hit the fan. There are still sales, believe it or not. Now it may be that the sale price is what the regular price was a few years back, but still, it will help you to try here and there to put away foods for storage. 

Dairy

As prices skyrocket, you will notice that prices of items, such as dairy, tend to increase first. You should stock up on dairy whenever you find a good sale.

This can range from a simple sale in the weekly ads to stocking clearance items that are approaching their expiration date and filling the freezer or otherwise preserving them for later use.

My rule is that every time you enter a grocery store, you should swing by and check the dairy section for sales and clearance items you may have missed in the ads. This includes canned and powdered dairy options. I always keep those on hand in the event of an emergency and I have them if I need them. 

Keeping days or even weeks of stockpiled food that your family loves, from milk to cheese and even yogurt, in the freezer can help save you money later when you do not have to pay full price.

This is, of course, the entire point of a stockpile. Most dairy will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Milk containers are great because the “button” on the side of the jug is designed to allow for expansion.

Eggs

As dairy prices rise, so do eggs. Eggs will last for months in your refrigerator past the sell-by date, and there are several ways to preserve them.

Stocking up on these when you can find a good deal is a great way to provide your family with a good protein source on a budget.

From baking to breakfast, you should stock up for feeding your family when you see a sale on eggs.

For us, we do NOT buy eggs because we have laying hens. We also sell our extra eggs to the community for a very fair price and this extra money can also be used for helping with your stockpile. Personally, our egg money goes to our boys’ ventures in scouting, but you can use yours however your family needs it. 

Having laying hens is a great way to offset your costs and you can also store extra eggs you get by waterglassing them. 

Meat

Meat is one of the most expensive items at the grocery store. Stocking up on sales and clearance deals on meat is a great way to save money and feed your family for less.

If you do not live where you can buy meat in bulk from a local farm, this can be the difference between feeding your family the foods they love and having to change your family’s eating habits.

Getting a deep freezer and keeping a vacuum sealer on hand is one of the best ways to take advantage of these sales, allowing the deals you find to last years.

We personally only raise our own meat or buy from friends of ours who raise animals we do not. This gets us a great deal in bulk and between what we grow ourselves and what we barter out, it keeps our freezers full. 

Baking supplies

Baking supplies often go on sale around the holidays making them perfect for stocking up. This can save you money on your holiday baking but can also allow you to make treats, homemade bread, and other essentials that help to keep your oven running to help heat your home in the winter. This past fall there was a huge sell on corn meal and other baking supplies I stocked up on!  You can get food grade storage containers that will keep supplies fresh for a long time.

Oils

Unfortunately, cooking oils are not exempt from the rising prices of food items. If you do not use a lot of oil in your cooking, you can easily be shocked when you need to grab some for a recipe.

Watch for sales that help to bring prices down, then stock up on as much as you will need for several months to be sure that you always have it on hand and never have to pay full price. 

Fruits and vegetables

Over the summer, you will find that fruit and vegetable prices drop drastically. Even if you do not have a garden, you can use the summer to stock your home with food for the winter and help fight the rising costs at the store.

Look for sales on fresh corn, tomatoes, and berries all summer to help build up your stockpile. 

Recently one of our stores had a sale on potatoes and although I grow potatoes here, I am Scottish and we believe in never running out. I bought a bunch up and canned them. YES, you can preserve potatoes! 

Even in the winter, you will find that prices on some produce decrease. This is because these foods are in season in other areas of the country or world, helping to drive down prices.

This is most commonly seen with strawberries in January and February when they are in season down in Florida.

When this happens, stock up to enjoy these fruits while you wait for your garden to produce for the year. This is the perfect time to learn how to make jam and learn to can while you wait for the summer weather to arrive. 

Canned soups and sauces

Stocking up on canned soups, tomato sauce, and other things that help to make your life simpler and to create meals when you need something in a hurry.

You can stock up on these simple pantry staples when they go on sale, so you never have to pay full price. 

These are cheap, nonperishable foods that you can easily keep on hand. These are also great food to have for an emergency kit, too. 

Another way that I keep my pantry stocked is when I make soup, I always make extra, and most soups can be preserved and canned. So even if it is just a jar or two extra here and there I put away. My husband will often take cans of soup I have preserved to have for lunch at work. 

I hope these tips are helpful. Even if you only have $5 – $10 extra a week, grabbing a can of this, a jar of that, a small bag of rice or beans, it will eventually add up. I know we have been there on VERY tight budgets and still added to stock with just an item here or there. 

More Homestead Tips and Posts 

• Prepping Your Homestead For Winter
• 9 Canning Myths New Canners Need to Know Before Canning
• Tricks To Make Canning Easier