Being Prepared for 2011
Thinking how best to comply with Husband’s request, I decided to do a bit of internet research. Being concerned with some reports he had read, Husband wanted me to use some emergency funds to provide a hedge of protection for our food budget. He’s far from a “doomsday prophet,” and I take his concerns seriously.
I am the planner in the family and Husband the problem solver. As the planner, I often take the position that there need be no problems if there is planning, (but that is another story.) So even with the myriad of wedding details taking up every nook and cranny of my mind, I decided to tackle this issue in a timely fashion. Let me make clear, my “research” was not thorough or complete, however, I did get the sense that food prices would be escalating as the year progressed and experience was already telling me that this process had begun.
Recently, on a shopping trip, I overheard a store employee telling a customer that the cost of soda was going to double in a few months. After my research, I could now understand why. Corn was being projected to increase in costs by about 43%! This would definitely increase the price of corn syrup which I believe is used in soda production. The increased cost of soda in itself would not be a hardship for my family. More for health than financial reasons, soda is only an occasional treat. Corn syrup is not in my pantry either, although I am sure we do consume products from time to time which include this questionable item.
Because of some other research I had done some time back, I was actually trying to only buy organic corn products these days due to the way corn is being grown. That means buying organic popcorn in bulk for a snack or to be milled for cornbread and purchasing frozen organic corn at Costco. Our big “corn addiction” would be tortilla chips. Where I live, these are a staple. It seems every home and restaurant serve them. Now, I was seeking to also purchase some of these in organic form.
My quick research seemed to imply these items would be increasing in cost:
- Wheat
- Meat
- Cereal
- Dairy
- Coffee
Now my dilemma is how to wisely be prepared and make some purchases that will be a benefit as costs increase. I already have wheat berries on hand, but think I will continue to purchase some more. I always buy butter on sale and keep a stash in the freezer. Up to this point, I had been waiting for the price to go down, but now I am thinking I should stock up before the price goes even higher.
One of the things I must take into consideration is that where I live the heat makes storing grains challenging. I do have some plastic buckets, but not as many as I would need. Glass jars work well, but my pantry can only hold so many. Our freezer often has oats on the bottom shelf, but right now it is filled with food for the future wedding.
And then there is the idea of using some emergency funds. I think it is a great idea to be prepared with extra food on hand, but I want to be careful not to “eat” up my emergency account. I think I would need to buy back my purchased food with my monthly food budget in order to guard against fuller stomachs and a smaller bank account.
If I sound confusing I have a great excuse! One more month and Daughter walks down the aisle and there is so much to be done. However, I do want to be mindful that life still goes on and I want to be wise about this busy year ahead.
Anyone also thinking this issue through? What are your plans? What foods do you think would be wise to purchase now?
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21 Responses to “Being Prepared for 2011”
January 27th, 2011 at 7:21 am
The price of cotton is also going to go up, also.
January 27th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Have you thought about vacuum sealing the grains? You can purchase a roll of the bags that you can customize the size for not an awful lot of money and that may solve storage problems (then you might not need an airtight container if the food is in a vacuum sealed bag. If you don’t have a foodsaver style vacuum/sealer, I am guessing someone you know does. What to keep, I don’t know. I think grains, cereals, (and for us, pasta…we buy the SmartTaste and it is pretty pricy on a routine basis so I stock up when I can get it for .75 or less–it is normally $2 here and I suspect it will go higher). I am planning a slightly bigger garden and looking at planting a couple of fruit trees to start us on the way to what I think will be a period of steep rising food prices.
Good luck!
January 27th, 2011 at 11:21 am
This is not good news for us. The cost of groceries more than doubled when we moved here and if they go even higher it is going to be awful. I guess I should get a few more of the basics stockpiled to help ease into the even higher costs.
January 27th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I honestly don’t buy raw wheat ,I guess you’d say, but wheat flour and other flour,sugar, cereal products… and I haven’t devised or researched a plan to store these items in bulk. I can’t really comment on it– I guess I should do some research myself, as we are trying to come along in learning these things and like you I’m thinking preparedness is key!
My question is; Can some of these items be stored in the freezer? and if so, I’m going to run my freezer for meats and fruits and veggies– would it be more to run it being fuller with these other things… I guess, what would be the cost to store vs. just buying it on an as needed basis?
Honey and I will be growing veggies this year- the first time in years that we’ve done this. (well, we’re attempting to grow them anyway) LOL
I’ll be watching this thread, cause I’m curious!
Pat
corninmycoffee-pot.blogspot.com
January 27th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Where do you purchase your wheatberries? I have been wanting to make this my next step in trying for better and cheaper foods for my family.
What did you mean about buying back purchase food with your monthly budget?
January 27th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
I’m doing some serious gardening this year, using mostly heirloom seeds and I will be collecting seeds this year as well. I’m going to be doing “square foot gardening” with a bit of lasana gardening mixed in.
My mother-in-law got us a dehydrator a few christmases ago and I now love the thing. I use old jam jars to store the dehydrated food (which takes up WAY less space, think 20 tomatoes in 1 large jar). Plus we are a HUGE fan of fruit leathers (fruit roll-ups)
BTW.. Have you looked up a corn flour tortilla recipie? Just cut the finished ones in wedges and then fry them!
January 27th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
I, too, have decided to buy some extra foods now. With the cost of food increasing, it kind of scares me. I am a single mom and money gets really tight. I decided to go to Sams club and stock up on pasta since we eat it frequently in our home. My kids love oatmeal so I stocked up on that as well. I plan on stocking up on more items. Where we live, though, it isn’t easy to store foods with the heat. So I would like some thoughts on storing.
Check out dealstomeals.blogspot.com and you can find many tips for bulk buying and incorporating items into your current menu.
January 27th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Just bought bulk beef (1/2 cow) for the first time without knowing this news. I also happen to have a fresh from the farm source for dairy so I pray that that cost doesn’t rise – it is beyond fair right now – my farmer is Amish, and grows all the grass/hay to feed the dairy herd himself.
January 27th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
If you have jars, use them They tuck everywhere in your house. Vacuum sealing in wonderful. You can store flatter bags almost everywhere also. If you are desparate for buckets. There are many options. But, Lowes Hardware sell’s a #2 grade bucket near painting supplies for around $3. #2 is a food grad worthy bucket. I would rather sit on my wheat then be forced to eat my couch…..just saying.
Melissa
January 27th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
My husband designs packaging for a chicken processing company. You know what chicken eat? Corn. If corn prices go sky high, the chicken industry will get hit hard. We are building up our savings as fast as we can. I hadn’t thought about storing up extra food. Such a good idea.
January 27th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Sassy, you can store food in closets and under beds too. Just be sure they are sealed. Buckets with lids and rubbermaid containers can help here too. Dry goods in sealed containers should be fine, as long as they are kept in the dark as much as possible. Light and air are the enemies in food storage.
January 28th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Christy:
Do you know if the increase in cotton is weather-related? If so, I would hope prices would go down again in the future.
Andrea:
The vacuum sealer looks interesting. I will need to research this after the wedding.
Pat:
I do freeze some of my grains. I keep ziploc bags of oatmeal on my bottom shelf (or at least I did before the wedding food took over.) I also believe that if you put brown rice in the freezer, it will eliminate those nasty pantry moths that can be lurking in the bags. However, I do not have enough freezer space for all my grains, meat, etc.
Shannon:
I purchase my wheat berries from a co-op, but I believe you can have them delivered if you buy a large enough bulk order. Google wheat berries and I am sure you would find some sources.
What I meant buy buying back food is that I would want to try to replace some of the money in my emergency fund each month when I might need those items previously purchased.
Krysta:
Some day I hope to get a dehydrator!
Sassy:
Thanks for the blogsite to check out. One of our favorite frugal fun meals is pasta with
garlic and some olive oil. We also like to sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top if available.
Melissa:
I too use jars a great deal, but hadn’t thought of them for this storage issue. Do you think vacuum sealing the grains would keep the nasty bugs away even if the bags were kept in a hot place?
Leah:
I never thought of the impact of rising corn prices on chicken. Chicken is one of our main food groups!
January 28th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Storing food is one of my favorite topics! I’m glad you did a post on this! I buy wheat, oats, flour, and sugar in bulk, and store them in 5 pound buckets with gamma lids. I vacuum seal quite a few other items in jars. I buy everything on sale in large quantities. I budget for this by having a revolving “preparedness” fund. If I don’t spend it one month, I’ll have even more the next.
January 28th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Jessica:
How do you vacuum seal in jars? Do you purchase your 5 pound buckets?
January 29th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
You can vacuum seal foods in jars if you (or someone you know) has a food saver vacuum sealer (like Andrea mentions above) with a porthole attachment. There is an attachment that you can connect to this machine that will suck out the air from a mason jar. So you can store nuts, brown rice, beans, etc. for 2-3 times the normal shelf life. The machine is kind of expensive (over $100), but you can sometimes get them used (make sure it as a porthole on the top for attachments).
I meant to say 5 gallon buckets. Yes, I purchase these when I can find them on sale. I know some people who are able to purchase them for $1-2 each from bakeries.
January 29th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
I did notice that in the last 3 months the sales and coupons have been not as good, and prices are starting to inch their way up. I also stockpile shop and am sad to say I have used up quite a bit of my stockpile and will now be forced to pay full price for a few things, mostly because they just have not been down to my purchase price.
January 29th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
SOMETIMES you can ask the bakery people at Sam’s Club for their empty frosting buckets and lids. I have gotten several this way. Sometimes they don’t have any, but it’s worth asking. You could also try other stores.
January 29th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
I went to the store Fiesta to buy my favorite Country French bread,and notice that just a 3 week ago bread was $3.49,and now it $3.69.So, not a good news.
February 1st, 2011 at 9:53 am
PS…I read somewhere that when you are storing anything from grains to beans to pasta, freeze it for 7 to 10 days before putting it into storage to kill off anything that might be already inside the bag/grain (ick!). Also, if you store the vacuum bags somewhere, store them in another container (like a bin)if you think any kind of rodents might get to it (mice will eat through anything!).
Good luck!
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I store grains is bucket, mylar bags and I even decorate with my food storage. I have bookshelves with random jars of jelly and wheat whatever. I have a one gallon jar with white wheat berries in in and it is really pretty. But, I could open it and use it. They look nice. And they fit my farmhouse style.
Grains like wheat and rice have an indefinite storage period. If you seal it in a glass canning jar and suck out the air it will stay fresh. You can add oxygen absorbers and remove all air. Heat is an issue with a ton of food. However grains will do better if it is the only choice. Mylar bags are said to be impenetrable by varmint and water, Also they are dark so they protect against light. Light, moisture and temperature are your main issue to worry about. But, again grains can take a little heat. I would rather have it than not. Learn to use it. Be creative in you storage spaces. Behind couches, under the house if you have a crawl space, in an attic if can protect against the moisture, light and animals. In an out building on your property, at a family members house who might have more space than you. The ideas go on and on. Find what works for you.
Melissa
Good luck,
Melissa
February 12th, 2011 at 4:32 am
Excellent post! It’s nice to see such awareness that food storage is vitally important and that this idea is catching on.
I’ve been a “prepper” for a little over a year now and with the ever increasing costs of food and other essentials it’s in our best interest to adquately prepare ourselves for whatever may occur.
We have insurances for our cars, our health and our life. It makes sense to have food insurance as well, if only as a hedge against inflation or shortages.
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