Best 15 Foods to Begin Stockpiling on a Budget -

Learning to begin stockpiling on a budget is easier than you think. It’s handy, resourceful, and makes life a bit less stressful. These are my recommendations on the best 15 foods to begin stockpiling on a budget. Tweaks will happen depending on your family likes and dislikes but this is a great place to get started. Once you have a good foundation it becomes fun to add new things. You’ll notice I didn’t put water on this list. I feel that having water on hand is a given and this can be more of a list that builds sustenance.

Also, the storage methods I’m suggesting here are more for getting a supply in rotation, not decades of storage techniques. Think buckets, bags, mason jars, etc. that will get you into a system of using and replacing periodically. Adding a couple of extra steps to do decades-long storage isn’t hard. That’ll be a different post, though. It’s always great to start stocking up the long-term storage but for now we’re just going to focus on a healthy amount to start cycling through.

Setting up your foundation

Flour – preferably all-purpose because it can be the most versatile. Put it in your freezer for at least 3 days. This will help to kill any stow-a-ways that might be in there. Sounds gross, I know. After freezing it you can then store it in your food-safe buckets, preferably with a gamma lid for much easier access.

Oatmeal – breakfasts, muffins, cookies, granola, you name it. It can also be ground into a flour. Overnight oats are an easy breakfast to have on hand and there are endless varieties to make.

Yeast – if you’re not working with sourdough, having yeast will allow you to have bread galore. A little goes a long way and it is fairly inexpensive.

Beans – needs no introduction. You can either can them to be ready-to-eat or store them dried. If stored dried and in food-safe buckets, add a bay leaf for extra protection against bugs.

Vinegar – Vinegar is great not only for meals and dressings but it is wonderful to have on hand for pickling and cleaning.

Dry Milk and Powders – Dried milk is for more than just drinking. Having it to use for pancake mix, cream-of-anything mixes, and for use in breads is incredibly handy. Even having powdered versions of cheese will be beneficial. It takes up a lot less space, doesn’t have to be frozen or canned and lasts for quite a while. Really all that’s needed would be water to reconstitute the dried products and you’d be good to go.

Cheese – In the freezer and powdered form. I love to have powdered cheese on hand because its great for a quick macaroni and cheese and takes up such little space. But stocking the freezer is important too if you’re looking to stockpile for general, short-term use. Pizza Friday just wouldn’t be a thing for me if I didn’t have mozzarella tucked away in the freezer.

Meat – I usually do this when it’s buy one get one free. While they don’t ever seem to do a buy one get one free, my favorite is when Costco has an in-store sale. Since it already comes in bulk at a good price any extra sale is great. Freezing and canning are the most beginner-friendly ways of preserving meat.

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Rice – A little rice goes a long way and can be easily stored in food-safe buckets, preferably with gamma lids. I break big bags of rice down into smaller ones to make rotating easy. It also helps should something go wrong, it doesn’t affect everything. And I still add a couple bay leaves for some extra security against bugs.

Sugar – No need to borrow from a neighbor. While it isn’t always used every day, baking just wouldn’t be the same without it.

Pasta – There is something so satisfying about opening a giant bucket of pasta. I know my family could comfortably eat for a while and it’s nice to not have to add this to a shopping list each time. Store it in food-grade buckets and add a bay leaf in for extra protection against bugs. Again, gamma lids will make access so much easier.

Tomato Sauce – I know this doesn’t seem to fit with a lot of the dry ingredients above, but it creates such a versatility in your meal options. Tomato soup, vegetable soup, spaghetti sauces, chilis, pizza sauce, bloody mary mix….. The list goes on.

Salt and Spices – Not just for flavoring but great for preserving food and household cleaning.

Baking Soda – Great for more than just baking which is why it made the list. Baking soda is great for deodorizing and cleaning.

Frozen Veggies – Buy in bulk from places like Costco, Azure Standard, Sam’s, etc. This is a great option if you don’t grow your own food or if it’s out of season. Dehydrating the mixed veggies is a great option to reduce the amount of space they take up but using a freezer/deep freezer is a super easy way to stash the veggies away.

Butter/Oils/Fats – Cooking and baking just got a whole lot easier with these stocked away. Having some to rely on because your kids forgot to tell you it was your turn for the treat is priceless.

The possibilities are endless for keeping your home and kitchen running smoothly. Things will need adjusting depending on your family likes and dislikes but this is a solid foundation. Hopefully you’ll be on your way to finding foods to begin stockpiling based on what works for you.

How should I start storing my food?

Methods of preserving items on this list would be canning, dehydrating, freeze drying, storing in mylar bags and more – all of which I highly recommend doing at some point. This post is meant to talk about getting your foot in the door with bulking up your food storage while not making it complicated. Food items can be made safe for 30+ years with freeze drying or storing in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers etc. but let’s start by getting our feet wet and doing it budget-friendly. My votes for that? Canning, dehydrating, freezing, vacuum-sealing, and storing in buckets. Sounds like a lot but its probably things you have already or could get relatively on the cheap. I talk about canning and freezing in another post so I’ll focus on mainly the dry ingredients here. For that I’d go with vacuum-sealing and buckets.

Buckets

Using buckets to start storing food is a great beginner-friendly method for some of the bigger bulk dry items. Buckets can come in a variety of sizes so it’s great for starting off small while you slowly put away a couple bags of rice, beans, and pastas.

2. Mason Jars

Any size. Your best bet with mason jars is (depending on how long you’re looking to store it) to buy a vacuum sealer. They’re cheap, super-effective, and take no time at all to use. Go for the bigger jars like quarts or gallons. It’s easier to fill up what you have versus continuing to buy a bunch of new pints.

Electric Jar Sealer – $25

Manual Jar Sealer – $17

I have both versions and I like them both. It sounds too good to be true but it’s really not complicated and it’s fast.

Gallon Mason Jars – if you’re going to buy jars for bulk items to vacuum seal then I would highly suggest getting the gallon size.

Where To Get Buckets

Bakery Department at your local grocery stores. I did this at Wal-Mart and got used frosting buckets for free but I did have to clean them.
Bakeries. I have a local bakery that sells theirs for $2 to $3. They come washed so I don’t mind spending under $10 for a couple of buckets and then just periodically adding more if I need.
Convenient way to buy a few or a lot
1. Azure Standard
2. Home Depot
3. Tractor Supply
4. Lowes
5. ULine
6. Amazon
7. Etc.

Get food grade buckets. They’ll usually come with regular snap-on lids but it’s worthwhile to consider using gamma lids. Gamma lids guarantees a tight air-proof seal so your goods are better protected and it’s easier to use because they screw on and off without needing the snap-on lid tool.

6-pack 5 gallon buckets with snap-on lids

6-pack 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids

4-pack gallon gamma lids (no buckets)

3-pack gamma lids red, white, and blue for organization

Where can I buy items in bulk?

The great part of the internet is that we have easy access to buying in bulk. Even in person. Stores like Costco, Amazon, Gordon’s, Webstaurant, Azure Standard, etc. all have lots of bulk items that can be picked up or bought in-store.

If you’re interested in buying ingredients you can trust to start your stockpile Azure Standard is a must have. It’s FREE to sign up and have access to healthy items without artificial preservatives or pesticides. They also sell household and beauty products. Delivery is to thousands of community “drop points” across all 50 U.S. states. No obligation to purchase.

Venture into canning as another way to increase easy food supply in your house. Start with making jams. They’re straight-forward, simple, and taste delicious.