How to Prep for Food Shortages: 10 Things You Need to Buy

Ana's Food & Lifestyle
by Ana's Food & Lifestyle

We are talking about prepping and stockpiling our food and how to prep for food shortages. In learning how to prep for food shortages, you'll need to choose the right items in the right size and price. I wanted to bring to your attention certain things that I found, and I've bought that seem to be a far better value.

1. Toilet paper

I'm going to start with the most common thing, which is toilet paper. I do not buy and have not been buying regular toilet paper for years.


We've migrated to commercial toilet rolls, although, with all this stuff, you have to invest money in the beginning for the holders and storage. I cannot possibly stress enough how much cheaper commercial toilet paper is, even after investing in the holders for the large rolls.


2. Mashed potatoes

There are plenty of things on the market for mashed potatoes, and if you are prepping for the short term, like for your six months or three months in the cupboard, the little ones are absolutely fine, but they do not last a long time. They are still quite expensive, but if you add it up and see how many meals you can get, you need to have quite a few.


For longer-term storage, I found a $32 bag on Amazon, which weighs almost 9 pounds. That will make a lot of mashed potatoes. Every 2 pounds will make you 21 cups of potatoes. It works out quite cheaply. I know there's an expiration date on there for about a year. However, I will split that and put this in the vacuum sealer bags and Mylar bags.

Soups

3. Soup

The little ones are 25 portions, initially about $8. They've increased in price as high as $16. Twenty-five portions is not a lot, but it's enough for you to try it. I buy the size that gives you 200 portions. They've gone up from $22 to $35. I bought a couple at the on-sale on Prime Day, and I got them for about $25.


But guys, 200 portions, if you think about it, yes, they're not the huge, massive portions there. However, that gives you quite a thick soup, so you can always dilute it with a little more water to stretch it further. If you're trying to stock up even 50 cans of soup, you can see the space-saving you have by just being able to buy soup in bulk containers.


4. Ghee

My favorite - is ghee. I know people say you can make your ghee. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy stuff than to make stuff. It already comes manufacturer sealed in a metal tin. So it's far better for storage than glass.


You cannot make 2¼ pounds of ghee for under $12.50. I found ghee on Amazon for $12,50 for 2½ pounds of ghee. It's an excellent value.

A spoonful of yeast

5. Flour and yeast

The next most popular thing during the lockdown was flour. Yes, you can buy bulk flour in big bags. However, buying smaller bags of flour is still cheaper, especially if you buy the supermarket brand. So flour is not on my list.


However, the yeast, it's cheaper to buy in bulk. It's 1¼ pounds and vacuum sealed, so it lasts. I picked it up for, I think, under $6 on Amazon. So if you know how much the yeast is and add it up, that is far cheaper than buying the little packets or the little jars.


6. Pinto beans

I don't know where to get a massive bag of beans like you can with rice. I found 5½ pounds on Amazon for under $8, which is good because if you look elsewhere, they are $8 for 2 pounds of beans. I bought us 11 pounds which worked out to be around $13.


7. Salt

There's no point in having a huge amount of salt. You should have enough to do what you want for a year. However, because salt doesn't expire, you don't get any bags in. It can last for ages. I just got two, and you don't need to vacuum seal.


8. Cocoa powder and dried milk

Cocoa powder and dried milk is like cappuccino topping, but dried milk. You can buy coffee mates in Lidl, and I think it's like $3 for a little 7 ounces. So you can pick this up, but you must wait for the deal.

Herbs and spices

9. Herbs and spices

Herbs and spices are very high priced in the supermarket just because they put them in the tiny glass jar with little sprinkling holes. If you're prepping, do not ever buy those small little jars. Just do not buy a big bag on Amazon. There are plenty of organic food places or non-organic food places that do stuff.


Black pepper is 2¼ pounds; you can pick them up for about $8. As long as you store it properly, it's absolutely fine for long-term storage. The same thing with garlic. Those things are freeze-dried, which is the best way to dry food. It'll last you a long time.


Again, you can pick up 2¼ pounds of garlic granules or garlic flakes for about $10, if not a little bit less.


One of the last items I was talking about is dried onion flakes. They're freeze-dried. As I mentioned, freeze-dried is a far better way of preserving your food rather than dehydrating it.


You can buy over 2 pounds of freeze-dried onion flakes for under $12.50. Because it's dry, you have to hydrate that, but this was still crispy after it's been hydrated.

Protein powder

10. Protein powder

Coming down to the last bit is protein powder. We are talking about calories. So if we are in a position where we haven't got enough food or calories in the food we're eating from whatever we were stockpiled, protein powder is an excellent alternative because you can pretty much live on the protein powder.


One of the things to look out for is a high-calorie protein powder. You can mix that with water, you can mix it up with milk, and you can live off that.


How to prep for food shortages

I hope my list helps you get started with stockpiling. What are you starting to stock up on as you learn how to prep for food shortages? Leave a comment below with what you've done to prepare.

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2 of 3 comments
  • S S on May 29, 2023

    This is part reason why we have shortages. Everyone stocks up and manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand. That raises prices. Remember the toilet paper fiasco? Stocking up is fine, but come on…be reasonable.

  • Linda W Linda W on Nov 21, 2023

    I’m not sure what kind of soup you’re mentioning. Canned? Dried? Please clarify.

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