Well, good morning. Good morning. Happy Sunday Snacks with Sam and Ellie. Today, because we’ve been talking about preparedness, we’re here to talk to you about pantries – your home pantry and food storage. One of the things that are near and dear to my stomach is obviously having food on hand, your budget, and being able to make food efficiently. And when I say efficiently, I mean like cost and taste, its taste is very crucial. No savings if nobody eats it.
Let’s Talk Food Storage
No matter the size of your home, there’s room to create a pantry to store food to feed your family in an emergency situation that could include power outages, storms, food shortages at the grocery store, etc.
Ellie lives in an apartment, She uses a couple of shelves on a bookcase, and under her bed storage. Sam has a home where she uses a small closet (actually a bit smaller than the one in the photo) and in her basement.
But there are a number of places where you can find a place to store some food supplies as well as toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, and other items you use frequently around your home. A shelf or two in your laundry room will work. Remember, they can be placed a bit higher because you won’t be reaching for items as frequently. Another spot, under beds. You can take milk crates and stack them to use for storage or place boards on them to give you even more space. A small corner that isn’t useful for anything could have a small shelf for storage. Get creative, look around and see what spot might be perfect for a few items that will add to your sense of preparedness.
To read the transcript while listening to our video, CLICK HERE.
TIPS:
- If you haven’t really started a pantry for emergencies, start small.
- Keep items that you know your family will eat.
- Purchasing an extra condiment, spice, pasta, flour, sugar, non-fat milk, water, and canned goods for the pantry is a great place to begin. Then when you use your backup, replace it in the pantry.
- Sam shares a great point – rehydrating your dried beans in boiling water will have them ready to eat faster.
- Ellie shares her best tip by encouraging you to use Google search for recipes:
type in a couple of items you have on hand – add the words ‘easy recipe’ – and see what you discover - Added later – if power is out, you can use an outdoor grill or Sterno fuel, etc. to heat up water or cook items. Not as convenient, but it will help. Do a search to learn more and be safe.
- Again, start small. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll create a pantry that works for your family.
A small pantry can be of enormous help when you need it!
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