Newb Food Storage

The standard prepper answer is rice, corn wheat and beans, but those take some know how to deal with, as someone without the funds to buy bulk (theres really no option near me outside of animal feed) i grab extra jars of peanut butter, canned and frozen veggies, boxes of rice, flour and pasta, mexican rice and beans etc... I make sure every time i go shopping i add an extra can/box whatever that isnt in the meal plan.

Build out your pantry. Get to a point where you're pulling from the pantry instead of going to the store to make dinner. Replace the pantry and start beefing up the pantry to a point where you wouldn't go to the store for dinner for a week, a month, etc. Round it all out with dried rice, beans, corn, flour and wheat berries.

Chic-fil-A gave me free 5 gal pickle buckets. They need a scrub with Oxy-Clean. It's time-intensive, but a cheap way to get buckets. Then you get your 5 gal mylar bags, a vacuum hose, and a hair straightener to seal off your bulk dry foods.

The one thing I'm seriously lacking in my pantry is MEAT. It'd be depressing to go vegetarian after a week of canned tuna at my place.

Also, remember how much water you really need for your house. 3ish gal/person/day. Buy extra cases everytime you grocery shop.

Start with your short-term storage first (3 months)... you can do that a little at a time without a huge impact on your budget. Start buying a few extra canned goods, pasta, etc. each time you go to the store. Stuff that is shelf-stable (good for at least a year). Put new stuff in the back and push the old stuff to the front (FIFO) so you're always using the oldest stuff first. As for what specifically to buy... buy what you eat! It won't do you any good to stock up on beans if you hate them (yeah, eating them is better than starving to death but you will be hating life). If you like corn and green beans, buy em. SPAM is a meat option.... canned tuna and chicken. Chili, baked beans, diced tomatoes, soup... If it comes in a can and you like to eat it (or use it as an ingredient to make something), it's probably a good option. Rice, beans, wheat, and corn stored in mylar bags / buckets is a long-term storage solution, but requires some cash. I just spent like $115 on 50 mylar bags and 100 oxygen absorbers (2000cc). But worry about this after you build up your pantry. You could also get into canning your own stuff... but that's a longer term project.

^^^^ Also YES. If you can eat a can of baked beans as a meal, take note of this. If you go through 3 packs of mac-n-cheese, write this down. Build a pantry and draw from this instead of the grocery store. Restock and expand your pantry from your grocery store.

All these suggestions are good and yes - rice/salt are a great start! Remember, tho, he current Covid situation points up the need to be sure you're starting with a small supply of what you can really eat and need to operate your life for a day, a weekend, 2 weeks, or a little longer. FOOD: A 20 year supply of rice in buckets is fine for later but no good if you're needing green beans or Spaghetti-o's to get your tribe through next week's meals. Make a list of your favorite or most frequent meals; be sure you have those ingredients on hand times say 2 or 3. True multi-peril prepping doesn't normally depend on using a power source for storage (don't want your whole food supply to spoil while the power is off), but early on be sure even just your kitchen fridge freezer is well stocked with multiple meals you/your tribe like to eat (not just snacks and ice cream). If power does goes out, you can prepare and eat these first; if you have power, the frozen things add variety. Make sure a few of the meals are no-cook options such as canned spaghetti or stew, SPAM, canned fruit, and the like. NON-FOOD: for Pete's sake get some TP ahead 😂 as well as pet food/litter, personal grooming supplies for each person, OTC medicines you use even seasonally (flu meds, cough syrup etc). BOTTOM LINE: Don't be fearful that prepping has to be a huge scary expensive project. Rather just peck at it adding say 1 little meal at a time for storage every shopping trip or as you're able. You will indeed need a plan beyond this first stage, but right now don't let that slow you down. Let's see.....Canned chicken, dry noodles (or rice you already have 🎖️), chicken soup, green beans and canned peaches. There you go - first meal down!