The first hour
- Check what you already have before shopping.
- Buy normal amounts. Panic buying makes shortages worse for everyone.
- Look for swaps: a different brand, frozen instead of fresh, dried beans instead of canned.
The first day
- Plan meals around your pantry.
- Shop smaller local stores or check store apps for restocks.
- Help neighbors who can't get out.
The first week and beyond
- Keep rotating your pantry (first in, first out).
- After things recover, add a few extra of each staple you use.
Get ready now: checklist
Your checks save on this phone.
Common mistakes
- Panic buying.
- Buying foods you won't eat.
- Hoarding medicines others need.
Keeping kids calm
- Let kids help 'shop the pantry.'
Gear that helps
- Pantry shelving
- Bulk storage buckets: my pick, Wallaby 1-gal Mylar bags + absorbers
- Mylar bags: my pick, Wallaby 1-gal Mylar bags + absorbers
- Label maker
- Inventory notebook
- Seed starter kit: my pick, Burpee Heirloom Vegetable Seeds Variety Pack, 35 Varieties
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Sources
Keep going
Prepper tricks for this
Food Storage and Saving Money (9)
Freeze flour, rice and grains to kill bugs
Cost: Free.
Why it works: University tests show 0°F for at least a day kills all stages of pantry pests, including eggs. The extra days give big bags time to freeze all the way through.
How to do it
- When you bring home flour, rice, oats or cornmeal, put the sealed bag in the freezer.
- Leave it at least 3 days (72 hours), or a full week for big 25-pound bags so the center gets cold enough.
- Take it out and let it come to room temperature before opening, so moisture doesn't form inside.
- Then move it into airtight containers.
Safety: Freezing doesn't stop new bugs from getting in; airtight containers do that.
Source: University of Kentucky Entomology: Controlling Stored Product Pests Using Low Temperature
MYTH: Bay leaves keep bugs out of your flour
Cost: Bay leaves are cheap, but they're not protection.
The truth: Pantry moths and weevils often come home inside the package. Only cold, heat or airtight sealing deals with that.
What to do instead
- The truth: there's no good evidence bay leaves kill pantry pests or reliably keep them away.
- They can't kill eggs already inside a bag.
- Instead, freeze new grains, store them in airtight containers, and check stored food every couple of months.
Safety: Toss heavily infested food; don't just sift it.
Source: Kansas State Research & Extension: Controlling Stored Food Insects (MF2270)
Buy store brands
Cost: Often 20-30% cheaper than name brands.
Why it works: Consumer Reports taste tests found many store brands taste as good as name brands. Many are made in the same factories.
How to do it
- Try the store brand of the things you buy most: rice, beans, canned veggies, flour, oats, peanut butter.
- If your family likes it, switch for good.
Safety: Check labels if you have allergies; recipes can differ.
Source: Consumer Reports: Taste tests find some store brands at least as good as national brands
Buy in bulk and repackage
Cost: Bulk rice and beans often run well under $1 per pound, versus $1.50-2+ in small bags.
Why it works: White rice, dry beans, oats, sugar and salt can last for years (decades in sealed, oxygen-free packaging) when kept cool and dry.
How to do it
- Buy 25- or 50-pound bags of white rice, dry beans, oats or sugar at a warehouse store.
- Freeze or treat as above, then repackage into food-grade buckets with tight lids, or Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.
- Label each one with the contents and date.
Safety: Brown rice, whole wheat flour and nuts have oils that go rancid in months. Buy those in smaller amounts.
Source: Utah State University Extension: Get the most out of your food storage
Dented can rules
Cost: Discount and 'dented' bins can save a lot if you check every can.
Why it works: Seam dents can break the seal and let bacteria in, including the one that causes botulism.
How to do it
- Small, shallow dents on the side are usually fine.
- Throw out cans with deep dents you can lay your finger into, sharp dents, or ANY dent on the top, bottom or side seams.
- Also throw out cans that bulge, leak, spurt when opened, smell bad, or have rust that won't wipe off.
Safety: Never taste food from a suspicious can. When in doubt, throw it out.
Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Is this food still safe to eat? (dented cans)
First in, first out with a Sharpie
Cost: About $2 for a marker.
Why it works: You eat older food first, so nothing goes to waste.
How to do it
- Write the month and year in big numbers on the top of every can and box when you bring it home.
- Put new items at the back of the shelf and pull from the front.
- Store food in a cool, dark, dry place, not a hot garage.
Safety: Heat shortens shelf life a lot. Avoid storing food above about 75°F.
Source: Utah State University Extension: Get the most out of your food storage
Oxygen absorbers in mason jars
Cost: About $10-15 for 100 absorbers.
Why it works: Removing oxygen stops bugs from living and slows food going stale.
How to do it
- Only use this for DRY foods: white rice, dry beans, pasta, oats, dehydrated vegetables.
- Fill clean, dry jars, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top.
- Drop in one oxygen absorber (about 100cc is plenty for a quart jar) and close the lid right away.
- Work fast. Reseal the unused absorbers in a small jar or their bag immediately.
- Within a few hours the lid should pull down tight. Label and date it.
Safety: Never use oxygen absorbers with moist foods (more than about 10% moisture). Low-oxygen plus moisture can grow botulism. Sugar and salt don't need them (they turn into bricks). Store jars in the dark.
Source: Utah State University Extension: Get the most out of your food storage
'Copycanning': buy two, use one
Cost: As little as $5-10 extra a week.
Why it works: You build a pantry from foods you already eat, so nothing goes to waste and it fits your budget.
How to do it
- Every time you open a can or box of something your family eats, buy two to replace it.
- Put the extra at the back of the shelf.
- In a couple of months, you'll have a few weeks of food you actually like, built slowly.
Safety: Keep rotating so the oldest gets eaten first.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
MYTH: Food past its 'best by' date is unsafe
Cost: Saves food you'd otherwise throw away.
The truth: USDA says product dates are not federal safety dates except on infant formula.
What to do instead
- The truth: 'best by' and 'use by' dates are mostly about quality, not safety (baby formula is the exception).
- Shelf-stable canned food in good cans is safe long past the date, though texture and taste fade.
- Use your senses and the can rules above instead of tossing food just for the date.
Safety: Throw out anything that bulges, leaks, smells bad or looks off.
Source: USDA FSIS: Food Product Dating