Key Points:

  • Make a list of foods you eat on a regular basis, and determine how much you would go through in three months.
  • Gradually purchase these foods in bulk as they go on sale (see TheFoodStorageShopper.NET for some tips).
  • Combine sale prices with coupons for even more savings as you stock up
  • Use and rotate these foods in all your daily cooking.
  • Constantly replenish the stocks of these foods as they go on sale again.
  • Don’t forget to include non-food items in this step as well. Get a 3 month supply of NECESSITIES such as diapers, medications, toilet paper, toiletries, etc. For a great list and tracker, see our 3 month plan spreadsheet.
  • Benefits include: saving money by buying foods on sale and having foods you normally eat in times of economic or any other type of hardship.

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Helpful Tools:

We have developed a 3 Month Food Supply Excel Worksheet that will help you outline meal plans, convert them into the number of items you need to buy automatically, and then track your inventory including current prices for each product. NEW! The spreadsheet also has a list of “Common Foods Sheet” for you to choose from, and a “Non-Food Items Sheet” tracker!

We highly recommend viewing our short BASIC Tutorial Video before you start inputting information into your spreadsheet. If you aren’t familiar with excel this will make it seem so easy!

For more in depth information on the spreadsheets additional features such as the “Common Foods Sheet”, “Non-Food Items Sheet”, working with copy/paste, and adding or deleting lines, see the EXTRA Tutorial Video.

3 Month Food Supply Printable Forms

For those of you who do not have the excel program, we have made a way for you to make your 3 month food supply plan with these printable forms.  There is an Instruction Sheet, a Menu Plan Sheet and an Inventory Sheet. You will need to print the Menu Plan Sheet multiple times depending on how many different meals you want to plan. There is also a video tutorial to go along with these printable forms found here.

Tools From Our Sister Sites at FunWithFoodStorage.NET:

TheFoodStorageShopper.NET: Training Page on Buying Your 3 Month Food Supply
EverydayFoodStorage.NET: Training Page on Your 3 Month Food Supply
EveryDayFoodStorage.NET: The Pantry List Handout

Online Resources:

Provident Living Website – Recommendations by the LDS church
The Obsessive Shopper Blog – Coupon lists for Utah, Nevada, So. California, Idaho, and Eastern Washington plus a SYSTEM for everyone else

  • EricaD
    I was wondering if there is a way to add another column or two to the excel spreadsheet so that you could list the store where you found the lowest price and the dates the sale happened. That way you could combine your price book with your master shopping list making things a lot easier to stock up.
  • I believe the document is locked to prevent people from accidentally messing things up ;) If you know how to unlock it try that, otherwise shoot us an email at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net and Julie our excel guru will help you out!
  • caryw
    Great site. You ladies have really done a great job. What program do you use to put the video/spreadsheet together? I do sales training and this was a great tool. Anyway thanks for your site.
  • We use a program called ScreenFlow for Macintosh computers. I think on PC you can use something called Camtasia. Hope that helps!
  • Lisa
    Ok, I am someone who needs to see things. Do you all have a more detailed version of your filled in 3 month supply on excel? I would love to see one all filled out in all of its glory! The little tiny sample on the download just isn't enough for me. Thank you so much for all of the things you share with everyone on here. It has helped me so much :-)
  • Lisa, We are actually going to be organizing a BIG sharing project around three month supply sheets. We want to have all our readers submit their samples so we can help each other get ideas, etc. We will be posting more about that soon. If you shoot us an email at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net I can email you my sheet all filled out for now if you can't wait ;)
  • Mary
    My son had an awesome suggestion. Since we put our 72-hour kits together at the beginning of the summer he suggested that at the beginning of next summer we take a 3 day camping trip and use our 72-hour kits as our food supply. This way we're using what's in them before they expire and we also get a chance to practice how things may be in an emergency situation.
  • Excellent idea!
  • bmantel
    A method I use in trying to build my three month supply is that I keep a list of items I use during the week. Then when I go to the store, I buy double of what I used to replace it. For example, if I used two cans of green beans, I buy four. Using this method I am buying the foods that I use in recipes that my family eats. It's amazing how quickly the food supply begins to grow.
  • Cambrie
    So I read the comments about how ideally we should only include shelf-stable foods in our 3 month supply but including fridge/freezer foods makes it less intimidating and most likely there wont be a power outage anyway.

    So here is my question: I'm noticing that in many of your recipies you have foods that are not freezable (such as sour cream or cream cheese). So do you just have a 3 month supply of these foods in your fridge? How do you do that?! Also, don't you keep all of your bread mixes in the fridge? You must have a pretty full fridge?
  • Cambrie, I'm not sure which recipes of ours you are seeing that use sour cream and cream cheese. For three month supply we have chosen to only use items which are shelf stable or frozen foods. We also try to include things that could be substituted for frozen foods such as canned meats.

    As for bread mixes in the fridge ... we make our bread from scratch with fresh ground whole wheat and other shelf stable ingredients. So nothing needs to go in the fridge. I will admit though I am considering buying a separate FREEZER because I am finding so many great deals on foods I want to stock up on that need to be refrigerated or frozen.
  • what a great inventory tracker- the video helps a lot too! i've been working on this so great timing too! http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-3...
  • Cindy
    Thank you so much. I try to create my own excell program for organization but I found yours. YOu saved me so much work and it seems easy. You did a great job.
  • Chris
    Just to add to others comments about storing non-food items. I agree that our use of a three month and one year food supply is more likely to come about due to economic crisis than major natural disaster. I have learned by watching several families near me lose jobs recently that food stamps and other programs will amply cover food needs for families, but may not be used for non-food items like toilet paper, cleaners, hygiene products, etc. These are the items that families in our area are needing church assistance for. In a time of crisis, I can tell you that I would love to have the comfort of using my preferred tampon brand, preferred toothbrush, and preferred deodorant. It is definitely something to keep in mind as we build our storage up.
  • Natalie
    Thank YOU!!
  • Natalie
    I just finished inputting all my ingredients onto my spread sheet but was wondering if there is a way to put in alphabetical order so I can find the ingredients easier?? Also, I thought I could put the ingredients in order....fresh fruits, dairy, meats, etc. Any tips??
  • Julie - Food Storage Made Easy
    Natalie
    Select all the rows that your ingredients are in (from the first one to the last one), then click data... then click sort. If it says something about expanding the selection, say YES... that will make sure the amounts you have filled out will go with it :)
  • Dochiny
    Thank you a million times over for creating this spreadsheet! I've had a general idea of the foods I'd need, but try as I may I could never get it together. I am a spreadsheet nerd and I've gotta say I love the way you set it up. I can now say I have my own master list for food I need! I am so stinkin' proud of myself for getting this done! Jodi, Julie, you two are the best. Thanks for sharing your talents and ideas with all of us.
  • heather
    ew-la-la! this is a great 3-month spreadsheet. i had to watch the video to understand how it all worked, but it's awesome that you put it together to share. I've been so baffled at how to realistically figure out my 3-month. I'm going to do this and see how it works for us. Thanks!!!! you gals are super.
  • Mary R
    Ladies,
    Excellent job ! I appreciate all the hard work you both have put into this web site. It makes it easier for everyone else. The new spread sheet is wonderful !! terrific !! I especially like the bold colors . It is much easier for my eyes to track back and forth. Thank you both .
  • Rebecca
    Thats so much for the information on Open Office!!! That was a big help and its FREE!!!!
  • Lainee
    Wow, this is awesome... just what I have been looking for! Thank you.
  • mom27kidz
    For everyone having trouble using the excel version because you don't have excel--I found a solution that is free!! There is free software avaliable on the internet called open office. It allows you to use almost any processing program out there without having to buy it. I just Googled open office. Some sites will want you to pay for it, so look for a site that has it for free. Hope that helps!
  • Addie
    Hey glad to see you got my earlier comment post on open office. Check out openoffice.org this propgram has worked GREAT for me. Everything seems to work just like your tutorial. Thanks again for your hard work!
  • Jodi
    You need to have excel or a program that will open excel files. We've heard that "open office" will open excel files. If you can't get it to work simply use the pdf version and write in your meals by hand. Hope that helps!
  • Rebecca
    3 Month Food Supply Excel Spreadsheet

    I can't seem to download the Excel Spreadsheet, do I have to have the program, Excel in order to download? Thanks
  • Lisa
    Thanks Jodi, that is what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure. I did watch the video and it was very helpful.
  • Jodi
    Lisa, For the size column you can either put 16 (for a 16 oz jar if that is what you normally buy) or 1 (for ONE jar and then make sure to list 16 oz jar of mayonnaise as the ingredient name so you remember the size). I tend to prefer the ounces right in the size column.

    Then when you input the amount for that meal you would do it as a fraction of that 16 oz jar. So half a cup is 4 oz so you would put in 1/4 or 0.25 for that amount. Then the spreadsheet will calculate how many "1/2 cups" you would need in 90 days and give you the number of 16 oz jars you'd need to buy to equal that amount.

    If you haven't watch the tutorial video yet, check it out. It really helps!
  • Lisa
    Question...I am a little confused on how to list some of the sizes for different ingredients. For example if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of mayonnaise how would I list how much I need? Would I list it by cup size? I certainly don't need a whole jar of mayonnaise to make the recipe. What is the best way to list it?
  • Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
  • Angel
    I am not LDS but have been on a few yahoogroups and have LDS friends and what I am hearing is the LDS church itself is updating and expanding its storage ideas.
    They too realize that stating you must store a years worth of beans and wheat etc is a daunting task to most people and as stated, if folks feel overwhelmed alot will do nothing.

    I started with the 2 week plan and long term staples like buckets of wheat, beans, and cases of #10 cans from different places like Emergency Essentials and the LDS site.
    Slowly I added more and more as has been suggested to gain the 3 mo, then 6 mo. up to a year and beyond.

    Once you get your first 'layer' in it all becomes cheaper too because you can replinish on sale as suggested here. You save money.

    There is just nothing like filling your pantry and seeing all those cans and jars and boxes all lined up.

    I store they everyday stuff for months and years too.
    If you use it, most canned things last 2 years. Rotate it and there will be no problem.
    Tuna, corned beef, Spam are all things you can store for short and long term. I have tuna dated 2012.
    Spam I think lasts forever or at least 20 years lol.
    My kids LIKE it so I store it.

    So YES store more everyday foods beyond the 3 months. The key is to fill in your gaps along the way so you dont have a weeks worth of macaroni and cheese and 10 years worth of tuna.
  • Nike
    This program ROCKS and has been an absolute LIFESAVER! I have been working on food storage for the last three years, but knew that I had lots of gaps. Sure I have a room full of food and lots and lots of wheat, but I constantly felt like there was nothing to have for dinner. I had been looking for a way to round out my food storage and make it more "everyday" based instead of just "long term" based.

    Well, I downloaded Julie's amazing excel program at the beginning of November and immediately knew where my gaps were - yeah! I focused that month on making sure that I had a solid three month supply of our typical meals. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID!

    The LAYOFF fairy hit our house the day before Thanksgiving with no severence package. We have been LIVING on our food storage since that time and guess what ... we're fine. Thanks to Julie's program, I knew exactly how to prepare for an emergency I never thought would come, and so soon.

    Being unemployed is no fun, but I can't tell you how much peace there is in preparation. Having a well stocked, well rounded pantry has meant stability and high moral at our house. It has meant that our kids aren't scared about what's going on because our meals snacks are still the same and Mom and Dad aren't worried about buying food vs. paying the mortgage.

    This program is so easy! Julie did all the hard work. All you have to do is drop in your menus, ingredients and BAM! - instant shopping and inventory. I am their number one fan ... someone who has already given this system a real life trial and thinks it's great.
  • Admin
    Tracy,

    We have pondered over and over again this VERY topic. We finally came up with a couple of conclusions.

    While storing ONLY items that are shelf stable, and require no power is probably ideal - it can be so intimidating and overwhelming that people just get stuck thinking they have to do THAT and don't do ANYTHING.

    Another conclusion we have come up with is that an economic crisis (personal or national) is much more likely to occur then some major event that makes you loose power for weeks and months on end. So it would be a really big blessing to have your freezer, fridge and pantry stocked in case of job loss, or injury preventing you from work, or any of the other many things that could happen.

    We're trying to make sure we have our long terms foods- grains, legumes, baking supplies in stock, and rotating them - but for the 3 month-supply we have found that doing the normal foods you normally eat is a MUCH more attainable goal and easier to start. Once you have that done, sure, explore the more shelf stable stuff, or canned meat, but it's better to start somewhere.

    More then anything we have learned that starting with small steps, you figure out what works for you and each next step becomes so much EASIER. We are so grateful for all we have learned.

    Good luck. We know exactly how you feel.
  • Tracy
    Trying to wrap my head around the new 3-month supply concept, and I have a question. In the FAQ section on providentliving.org, it says that this should consist of non-perishable foods with a stable shelf life. Does this mean things that will require nothing from our fridge, or does it include a well-stocked fridge and freezer as well? I like to have a good stock of meals in my freezer that just require heating or reheating.

    Now, I realize the if I were without power, that I'd lose that gold mine of frozen storage, so I shouldn't rely solely on that. But if I stocked up on only shelf stable things - like canned chicken, which I don't like as much as the stuff I cook, dice and freeze - I worry that I'd never use it before it went bad. What are your opinions on that?

    Thanks so much for taking the time to do this for me (and everyone else out there). It is really a blessing to have so many things explained so plainly, so that I, who am easily intimidated by things I've not tried before, can get a grasp on all of this. I hope you see many blessings for all you're sharing and the time you sacrifice.
  • jweiss08
    Personally - if you can manage more then 3 months, I don't see the problem. I think the reason 3 months is good is because it really is an attainable goal for everyone. We've noticed that the recommendation for how much you should store has gone down over the years and I think it's because people (like us) found huge goals too hard to tackle. Good call on buying extras when you get your non-food essential items. It feels much less of a burden if you are constantly buying bit by bit, little at a time.
  • Misty Sutton
    Ladies, I am really curious as to what your opinion is about storing normal food items beyond the 3 month supply. Luckily most of the recipes that I already use at our house a very basic, start from scratch recipes (as I have an almost non-existant grocery budget). I already use a lot of flour, rice, beans, and so forth. But what do you think about storing a year supply of other items, such as canned vegetables, sauce mixes, or soups. I know that it is best to try to grow your own garden and can your own items, but those mason jars get pretty expensive.
    Also, as far as the non-food essential items, I came up with an idea that's a little cheaper and doesn't put a huge burden on my already meager grocery budget. Each time I run out of a commonly used item, i.e. toothpaste, contact solution, bath tissue, I simply buy the double pack and put half of it away. It makes it cheaper per item, and I don't really notice as much that I'm doing it.
  • Wow, this is amazing! Thank you so much for putting this all together. I have been trying to figure out a simple and organized way to do my 3 month supply, and this is absolutely perfect. Exactly what I needed! Thank you!!
  • Sarah
    Please disregard comment about column D. I figured it out. :)

    I also had the same problem as Laura King, but I fooled around with Edit at the top of page. I can't remember what I did, but it worked.
  • Sara
    Column D will not allow me to type anything in. It says it is a protected cell. Any way around it?

    Thanks for a great program!!
  • pam romero
    I read a comment from Laura King and I have that same problem. I am only downloading it into Word. Let me ask a stupid question....do I have to have Excel to download this and use it? If I fill it all in and not download it, then it will disappear, right? So if I don't have Excel then am I out of luck?
  • Jodi
    Debbie, we totally agree with you about the non-food items. No toilet paper ... eek! In the bullet points above we DO address this briefly, but it's not included in the spreadsheet. People seem to really want it included so most likely in version 3.0 of the spreadsheet it will be added. We'll post when we do the upgrade. Thanks for pointing it out!
  • Debbie G
    Hi Ladies,

    This is such a great site. I am now working diligently to purchase my three month supply of normal foods. I want to interject a critical point that I have incorporated as I really felt the need to do this step for myself. I have begun the process of purchasing the basics of personal hygeine in this step (just a three months supply for now). I have three girls, a husband and myself, and I could not imagine being without tampons, wipes, toilet paper or shampoo, laundry supplies, etc. so, I have begun to purchase enough of one thing, each week that will last 3 months. Hope that helps. I have had to live off food storage before as my husband was out of work for several months. I was so glad that we had these items available to us.

    Thanks for the great website! :)
  • Billie
    HOLY SMOKES!! My husband and I stumbled across your site today while looking to find info about grinding wheat. I am seriously impressed! You all have done an AMAZING job! I am definitely inspired, and will most certainly pass your information along. Thanks so much for all of your hard work!
    Billie
  • Tara
    I just taught a class to bunch of the ladies in my church on how to use this spreadsheet, and it was a hit! They all loved it and thought that it was very helpful.

    Thanks for all of your hard work, this site has helped our entire congregation obtain our food storage easier.

    I am sending it to my mother in law, who is going to have a class at her church.
  • That is a fantastic tool. I can't wait to show my wife, as we've been working hard to get our 3 month supply up. I hope lots of people follow you on Twitter and join your facebook page.

    http://Twitter.com/ZoomJer
    http://tinyurl.com/JerryAulenbach

    -Jerry
  • Jodi
    Corby, it is definitely worth it! Julie has made great use of hers already. I am a bit behind because I am having conflicts about what recipes to use. Haha. Hopefully I will get caught up soon.

    Prepare B4 Emergency, I'm glad you found our site and hope that it helps you as you get started. We have found that by working on this site it keeps us motivated and accountable and helps us do a better job at working on our own food storage.
  • Corby
    Thanks for your spreadsheet! The video made a hgue difference in understanding how to use it! To set it up, it will take ALOT of time, but I can see in the end- it wilbe worth it! Thanks again!!
  • Prepare B4 Emergency
    Thanks for the information and the Excel Sheet! I can tell you have allocated a great deal of time to create your site. I just happened across your site and have not yet begun my food storage process. With all this information you have Greatly Simplified what would otherwise be an Overwhelming Experience! Thanks Again!
  • jweiss08
    and it made sense... good explanation :)
  • jweiss08
    Thanks John- I'm getting ready to upload a new one that allows for more ingredients and a couple other little details, I'll include these new formulas when I do it. I wasn't terribly worried about the DIV/O Errors cause they go away once people fill the sheet out, but it would look cleaner without them for sure.
  • John
    Great site with lots of useful information. I wanted to give you an updated formula for your spreadsheet that will reduce the DIV/0 errors in the cells with formula's.

    For the PLAN, use this formula: =IF(B4=0,0,B4/D4)
    For the INVENTORY AND SALE SHEET, use this: =IF(D2=0,0,D2/E2)

    The IF statement says if a cell equals zero, then put zero, otherwise run the calculation. Hope that makes sense.
  • Tara
    Thanks, it worked. This website is great, thanks for putting it together.
  • jweiss08
    When you hit the drop down box, scroll up in the little box. If you don't have that many ingredients, then it seems blank because it's showing you the lower half of the list (and if there aren't a lot of ingredients it's blank) .
  • Tara
    When I try to use the drop down menu it has no options. I put the ingredients in column A, but when I go to C62, it has no options in the drop down box. Is there something that I am forgetting to do?
  • Jodi
    Laura, what version of excel are you using? We've had other people download it just fine so I'm thinking it must be a problem on your end somehow.
  • Laura King
    When I try to download the 3 month plan worksheet, it says that it is read only, and by the time i get it, I had 155 errors. What do I need to do.

    Thank You
    Laura M.King
  • jweiss08
    The water containers were $6.88 each at Walmart. We looked around at a bunch of stores and these seemed very reasonable. I considered doing the pop bottles, or juice bottles idea, but figured I don't normally buy that stuff anyways, so I may as well get these. If you buy juice or pop, they are good bottles to store in also.
  • Can't wait to try some of your methods out. I also use the milk jug for our 72- hour kits. I'm trying your method I want to see how yours compares to price and weight of mine. Also, do you have a price on how much the water containers are from Walmart? Good luck on your adventure and I'm excited to follow your game plan.
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