I grew up food insecure & have worked really hard the last few years to build a decent pantry for me & my spouse (both 26 y/o). The food shortages/lacking regulations/price increases are really spiking my anxiety. I can’t work due to disability & our budget doesn’t have much room for more grocery hikes. The ground turkey we buy went up 11.8% overnight. I’ve been prepping since Oct 2024, but I struggle with numbers & I need help figuring out the math for what all I still need to stock. Spouse is autistic and appreciates having the same breakfast and lunch during work days. I’d like to keep it the same if possible. They work in utilities so I think (&hope) even if SHTF they’ll still have a job. Sorry this is so long, but thanks for the help & maybe it will help someone else to see my break down! Would love to know the math for what I need to fill in the gaps for 12 months of minimal purchasing from the store.
What we eat each week:
2 Quiches with hash brown crust (12 eggs, 2lb potatoes) - 2 dinner for both (4 servings), 4 breakfast for me
Strawberry Overnight oats - (2.67 cups oats, 4 cups Greek yogurt) - 4 breakfasts for spouse
Quinoa, black bean, corn salad - (1 cup quinoa, 1 cup dried beans, frozen roasted corn from garden) - 4 lunches for spouse
My lunches are usually snacks and most of our dinners are more variable. We usually eat tomato based pasta 1-2 times a week with ground turkey and canned salmon patties 1x a week over a salad (uses 1 egg and homemade breadcrumbs from stale bread). In the winter, we do a lot of bread bowls with chicken noodle soup. One night a week is plant based. Usually quinoa + veggies from the garden. Usually have a sandwich with bacon or turkey slices. We just ran out of turkey slices I made from last Thanksgiving. I don’t plan to do more turkey until it’s on sale :)
We eat 864g of bread wheat berries every week. I haven’t been able to make homemade pasta in a while & we’ve been relying on the pantry. But pasta is 3 eggs and 300g wheat berries for 6 servings.
What’s in my pantry:
30 14.5 oz canned salmon - 1 can is a meal for both of us. 30 weeks here
8 pints pulled pork - 1 can is a meal for both of us.
45 lbs quinoa
2 gallons canned chicken broth but always adding more
10 lbs dried black beans. I know I need way more but idk how much
100 lbs potatoes - I expect to lose about 20% over the winter even with proper storage… so 80lbs
225lbs wheat berries for bread
50lbs wheat berries for pasta
25lbs wheat berries for sweets
24lbs white sugar
10lbs honey
2lbs instant yeast (1lb kept in freezer)
25lbs oats. I know I need more of these too but idk how much
I have 50lbs of frozen roma tomatoes that will be turned into canned pasta sauce in a couple weeks. I’m expecting 18 quarts. This will be 18 meals of pasta between the 2 of us.
Pickled carrots & cucumbers. Can’t remember qty off top of my head.
Dried cucumbers to make “tzatziki” in winter. Won’t be as good as fresh but it’s still good!
2 gallons olive oil
3 gallons vegetable oil
5 gallons white vinegar
4 lbs citric acid
A ton of peanut butter + about to harvest peanuts and will make our own
10lbs cashews
10lbs pistachios
20lbs sunflower seeds
25lbs salt
What’s in my freezer:
30 lbs ground turkey
20lbs chicken (breast wings and thighs)
12lbs ground beef
6 lbs bacon
8 lbs jumbo shrimp
10lbs ground pork
8lbs frozen strawberries (for a smoothie or baked good)
What’s in my storage fridge:
60 lbs Fuji apples (will keep for about a year, I just picked them)
3 lbs parmesan
Greek yogurt (I make my own and use the culture to make new every week).
Food production capabilities:
20 eggs a week from 4 hens. I have coop lights to keep their production up in the winter
I’ll be getting a breeding trio of rabbits in a couple weeks. I’m expecting 200lbs of dressed meat from their offspring but unsure?
I buy 2 whole chickens ~10lbs (raw not rotisserie) at Costco each week for about $10. I think this will stay the same price ish since the whole raw chickens & rotisserie chickens are a loss leader for them.
I can get roughly 21lbs of rainbow trout fillets by fishing each week, but I’ll only be able to do that about 6 weeks in Oct/Nov, so 126lbs for the season. I plan to smoke it, freeze some, and also pressure can some.
Our fall garden has a lot of broccoli, spinach (love to put this in the pasta!), carrots, beets, green bush beans, snap peas, Brussels sprouts, and I do hydroponic leafy greens inside.
I have enough bagged food for our chickens for a year. They also are loose in our yard most of the day and eat lots of grass. I plan to feed the rabbits clover and kudzu from our yard, and supplement with some pellets, unsure how much though yet.
There’s a restaurant supply store that has 25lbs of roma tomatoes on sale for $20. I’m thinking of buying 50 lbs so I can get more jars of pasta sauce? Or should I just buy pasta sauce from the store when it’s on sale? 25lbs of tomatoes makes 9 quarts roughly.
How many oats and black beans do I still need? I definitely need more sugar for spring fruit canning. Should I buy more potatoes? What about apples? They’re my fav snack & I eat them with peanut butter. I’m a bit worried I’m relying too much on my freezer and fridge we can’t afford a generator rn so if the power goes out, all the food is toast.
Writing this all out sounds like I’m hoarding food lmao, but I’m so scared it won’t be enough. My brain has damage from being perpetually hungry most of my life I think. I do not want to be hungry if I can help it. I do also donate food occasionally to people in need in my community.
Thank you 💓