What Is In My Pantry & LTFS

 

I enjoy home canning for many reasons.  I am able to put away shelf stable foods so I am not completely dependent on my deep freezer, I know what is in that food and it is preservative free, and the process of canning is a lot of fun for me.  Last winter I began canning and just finished up last month.  I now have a lot of freshly canned foods to add to my long term food storage (LTFS) that will eventually be rotated into my working kitchen pantry.

 

I feel it is important that all of my spaces be clean, neat, well organized and aesthetically pleasing and that includes inside my pantry as well as my LTFS area.  It is the best way for me to know what I have on hand and to maintain those items so I limit any potential for spoilage.  It also makes the task of food management much more enjoyable.  Labeling is vital.  I need to know what is inside of those jars and containers and the date it was placed there.  Rotating my stock so I consume, give away or donate the older items first helps me control my food waste.

 

In my pantry and LTFS I have items organized by categories.  Whether they are home canned or store bought items I group them together by type – baking, grains & cereals, canned fruits & vegetables, proteins – meats, beans, peanut butter, etc., condiments & salad dressing, jams, jellies & syrups.  I have a space in my LTFS dedicated for super long term items such as freeze dried foods as well as items I have dehydrated and placed in canning jars with oxygen absorbers.

 

Most of what I am stocking are the components or ingredients to make things with.  I keep readymade options fairly minimal, however I do keep some rice and pasta mixes as well as prepared soups on hand because there are times when I need to be able to prepare a simple meal quickly.  I can take one of those mixes and add a jar of home canned meat and some canned vegetables and it becomes a simple meal I can quickly pull together.

 

My current goal is to maintain a two year food supply which is a combination of my working kitchen pantry and my LTFS (including what is in my deep freezer) for one, occasionally two, people.  In 2017, we had incredible snowfall where help was limited, snowplows couldn’t keep up and roads were a mess, many of them impassable.  In 2020 I realized how tenuous our supply chain could be and how the pandemic has subsequently impacted our economy.  In 2022 I had to retire early due to my health and that has had a major impact on my finances.

 

While I have very little control over these types of situations, what I can do is take care of myself to the best of my ability.  Should I find myself in another lockdown situation or in blizzard conditions I know I can ride it out without needing to go to the stores where the shelves most likely will be bare again as people are panic shopping or stores aren’t getting their regular shipments.  Also, if inflation continues to rise I can protect myself from prices that are beyond what I can easily afford while I look for other options.  If the weather dips below freezing for a long time and my heat bill is exceedingly high I can skip grocery shopping altogether that month to pay the bill.

 

By stocking up with another person in mind I am also able to help someone in need or donate to a food pantry and have the luxury of entertaining guests.  I also have the luxury of enjoying a lot of variety in my meals so boredom won’t set in.  By planning ahead, working hard and staying organized I have a good system in place for good, healthy meals to feed myself and others.