Prepping for Empty Shelves

Let face it, we are in unprecedented times, an era marked by supply chain disruptions, and rising global tensions. In 2020 we watched as our food system  and supply chains broke in a matter of hours, and now, with the tariff war going on, we are likely going to see empty shelves once again. Let"s break down what to have on stock, skills to have.

Essential Skills for Food Preparedness

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Skills have been ripped right out of our hands, they've handed us convenience and told us knowing basic skills in the kitchen, garden, or at home is "holding us back". And lets face it, "Control the food, control the people"

 Here are some basic skills that would be good

• Baking Sourdough: Mastering sourdough baking gives you the ability to bake  bread without relying on commercial yeast. Learning how to sustain a sourdough starter as well as how to bake sourdough bread or items is important. Our instagram has basic sourdough starter in a highlight, as well as a sourdough tutorial in a reel. 
• Cooking from Scratch: Understanding basic cooking not running to a box to open when its supper, knowing how to make noodles, or cook a meal from scratch is an awesome skillset to have. 
• Food Preservation: Skills like canning, dehydrating, and fermenting extend the shelf life of produce. You don't necessarily need a garden to be able to do this. 
• Gardening: Growing your own vegetables and herbs reduces dependency on external food sources. Starting with a basic salsa garden is a fantastic way to get into gardening. Here are some other blogs on gardening we have done. 
• Building Local Relationships: Get to know your farmer. Find people who work at farmer markets, buy from them, even learn from them! Knowing where your food comes from is so important. 
• Know medicinal plants and how to use them: This is so important not only can you nearly disconnect from big Pharma when you can deal with acute and minor situations on your own but it allows you to know how to forage and what plants can be eaten. 

"Control the food, control the people"

Emergency Food Supply: How Much Is Enough?

Federal guidelines recommend maintaining a minimum of a three-day emergency food supply per person.However, for more comprehensive preparedness, especially in areas prone to natural disasters or supply disruptions, a two week supply (at minimum) is what I would recommend.This equates to approximately 42 meals per person. For instance, a family of four should aim for 168 meals to cover a two-week period.

If you can afford it or have already started your layering, I would recommend aiming for 3-6 months.  

What to have for food.

 I talk extensively about our three layered kitchen system on this blog. But our first layer of our kitchen generally always has about a 1.5-2 weeks worth of food on hand. So this layer would consist of the following.

Fresh Produce, daily meal items, snacks: Onions, potatoes, celery, carrots, bell peppers, bananas, apples, snacks pasta ect. The second layer would be all the items that are in our deep freezer, or our canning that we did from the previous year in the garden. Now its important to note that if the power was to go out our freezer would be the last thing we would want to open, this is why generators are great to have on hand and the skill set of knowing how to preserve meat by canning. When buying for this layer It was a slow process of buying one extra item. This layer often replenishes my layer one when I am low on stock. This layer would consist of the following. 

Canned, dry goods, and freezer. A variety of vegetables, sauces, meats, pasta, rice.Layer three would consist of my emergency food. The items I've stored in mylar bags, and in food grade buckets. Our blog on this system goes more extensively into this subject. You can read it here. This layer I have.

Emergency food: Literal emergency preparedness food from My Patriot Supply or Emergency's Essentials. Both great companies that provide freeze dried meals that last 25 years. In mylar bags I have pasta, rice, four. In food grade buckets with moisture packets I have salt, and sugar. And of course, water. This is crucial, not only do we have water but we have a berry filter that can clean water, as well as emergency straws. This layer doesn't have to be crazy. But its so securing have it on hand. (These links are not affiliate links)

When to bust into layer three: Ah, this question is commonly asked. "when will I know when to go into layer three?" I've used it when I've been out of something I needed and didn't have time to go to the store. When money has gotten tight and I can't get everything on my grocery list that week. This layer is to provide cushioning during job loss, inflation, natural disasters and power outages.  

This layer is to provide cushioning during job loss, inflation, natural disasters and power outages.  

The Stats on Inflation

Between 2020 and 2024, grocery prices in the U.S. increased by 23.6%, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. This rise outpaced the overall inflation rate of 21.2% during the same period. That's insane, folks.The new tariffs could lead to an average increase of approximately 3.3% in annual grocery expenses for American households. This translates to about $185 more per year for a typical family of four, based on common purchases.