9 Ways to Get Ready for Food Shortages

Pick up an extra item

When you're at the grocery store, and you're buying your peanut butter, grab two jars, put one of them in your pantry and use one now. You'll have a few extra things and build up a stash of food in case of food shortages.

Get ready to adapt

This is more of a mindset, but if you are ready to mentally adjust to whatever comes your way, you will have much more success. Perhaps we will have a meat shortage. What can you substitute for meat? Think of ways to stretch the meat you buy into multiple recipes.

Perhaps there is a run on laundry soap. Did you know that you can make laundry soap? Find a good recipe and buy those ingredients now.

9 items most affected by a food shortage

I did quite a bit of research and made a list of nine things most likely to be affected if food shortages exist.

1. Wheat

Wheat is in the carb category. Figure out how you could substitute for a different kind of carb. Could you use potatoes instead? What could you eat instead of things that have wheat in them?

2. Sugar

Could you use honey or maple syrup instead? What other sweeteners could we use? Or think about how you could cut back On sugar altogether.

3. Avocados

We don't eat avocados, but for those that do, what can you have as a substitute for avocados?

4. Paper

This might affect you the most regarding toilet paper. Is there another option so you wouldn't have to be dependent on buying toilet paper? There are plenty of homemade toilet paper alternatives you can have on hand.

5. Canned goods

Many sources believe there will be an aluminum shortage. This could be a big deal for canned goods, which can be inexpensive. Fortunately, you can learn to can your fruit and vegetables quickly. If you have a farmer's market or even your garden, home canning could be a lifesaver for you if there is a food shortage,

6. Meat and eggs

We already talked about stretching our meat or finding other sources of protein. If you have room for them, you could get some chickens. That could be a way for you to have a reliable source of eggs.

7. Pet food

This one could be tricky for a lot of people. How could you make your pet food? What are some pet food alternatives that are safe to look into? There are plenty of tested, safe recipes on the internet for making your pet food.

8. Baby formula

This shortage has already happened and has affected so many people. You could ask on your community's Facebook or Nextdoor page if anyone has any donor breast milk they could give you.

9. Liquor

Suppose there's a shortage of liquor; few, if any, will be building an illegal still. It's best to be able to go without it if there's a shortage.

Sourcing local food

Now that you know what may be affected during a food shortage, you'll need to start preparing to source more of your food locally.

How could you be less dependent on the things you buy at a supermarket and more on the people around you? Start thinking about this.

Join a co-op

You may want to consider a co-op, buy a whole cow and stock your freezer while sharing the cost with others. It is a way to stock up on meat that's able to be stored for a long time.

Share raising chickens

Which one of your friends has a yard and could raise some chickens? Maybe if they already have chickens, you could offer to buy them more or pay for the feed so that you could get eggs for free.

Grow a garden

Many communities have community gardens, so you can get a community garden plot. You could ask a friend if you could work on their garden in exchange for some of the produce out of their garden, which could help supplement your diet.

Buy in bulk

Buy in bulk and buy whole grains for long-term storage. You want to make sure these things store well without spoiling.

Grains are an example of something that would keep. Grains can keep for a long time, and you would be ready if you also had something to grind the grains to make flour and bread.

Be financially ready

It often means that you might have to buy a more expensive version

of something. If you have to buy your meat locally and that's the only place you can get it, that will be more expensive than at your supermarket.

Get your financial life in order. Pay that debt, so you are ready financially for extra expenses when things change.

Don't waste food

If we planned to consume everything we bought before it went bad, we'd have a lot more wiggle room with our food and when we would need to buy more food.

Find like-minded people

Lastly, find a community of like-minded people. Use your community resources so that in an emergency, you can rely on each other and teach each other the skills needed to survive. Knowing people you can trade or barter with when things get tight is helpful.

How to get ready for food shortages

In this economy, getting ready for food shortages is not a bad idea. You'll learn to be more self-sufficient and avoid panic when shelves are empty. By preparing a little at a time and building a network of local sources for food and people you can count on for help, you can easily get through a food shortage.