3 Month Supply of Food ... 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

When it comes to getting a 3 month food storage together, we have found that a lot of people get so much anxiety over the whole thing that they don’t do it at all. We’re getting ready to help Grandma Lori with her 3 month supply in our Extreme Food Storage Makeover. In doing so we have compiled a list of questions to ask her that will help us formulate a plan. Ask yourself these questions, and as you do so you’ll see a plan start to form – with some resources on our site to help.

1. WHY AM I BUILDING A 3 MONTH SUPPLY OF FOOD?

Are you storing a 3 month supply of food for a potential job loss? For a potential natural disaster? For meal planning purposes? Whatever it is that you are doing this for will influence how you go about planning, so first – decide – Why Am I Doing This? Check out our complete series on “Why Food Storage?”, if you haven’t figured this one out yet.

2. WHAT KINDS OF FOODS DO I WANT TO INCLUDE?

Are you the type that thinks your 3 month plan can only have shelf stable items? Do you think fridge and freezer foods count in your 3 month plan? Do you want to make a plan based on the assumption that you can still buy produce to fill in holes in your recipes? Once you have decided which types of foods you want in your 3 month plan, you’ll be able to filter your recipes to fit that criteria. ***disclaimer*** While it’s always good to have some shelf stable recipes, we think planning strictly shelf stable meals is a hard place to start for beginners-

3. HOW WILL I PLAN WHAT TO BUY FOR MY SUPPLY?

Some people find that buying foods they use often in bulk fit their goals for a 3 month plan.
Some people like to plan their meals on our printable pdf forms with good old fashioned pens and pencils. (found on our BabyStep 3 page)
If you’re really wanting to get detailed, you can use our 3 month supply excel spreadsheet and go to town including all ingredients for all your recipes and then watch it automatically calculate how many of each item you need.(found on our BabyStep 3 page)

4. HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I AFFORD TO BUDGET?

While the end goal is to use foods daily from your pantry, and replace them with your regular grocery shopping, to get your supply kick started you may need to budget a certain amount of money to get your supply going. Figure out what you can spare until you have a supply built up and think of it as an investment.

5. HOW WILL I SHOP FOR MY 3 MONTH SUPPLY?

When you have determined WHAT you need to buy, develop a plan to purchase. You may decide buying one extra each time works for you, or you might get into coupon and sale shopping and buy things only when on sale. Whatever fits your style, having a game plan in place will surely help. For a great site on price matching, and getting the best deals, visit Deals To Meals.

Good luck, and remember there aren’t RIGHT answers to these questions. If we have learned anything in doing this for the last 2 years its that EVERYONE has a different style, and you need to figure out what works for you!