You Have NOT Lost Control

Change how you look at food: you are procuring fuel for your body. Fuel for your family. Fuel for your community. Try to remove the emotion and take a deep breath. You have not lost control of things. You control what YOU DO about things.

I decided it didn't bother me at all when I was called 'dramatic' and 'overreacting' in November when I started thoughtfully preparing a pantry. Maybe you started then, too? If not, remember YOU control what YOU DO. Some of those things can still be done, even though the cost to do so will be higher.

These three steps work for me. Decide what works for you, your family, your neighbors, and the wider community.

1. Evaluate.
2. Plan.
3. Take Action.

Evaluate

1. Buy only what you will eat. No food is a deal or on sale if it can't be eaten. Make exceptions ONLY if you are willing to shop for others and have a short list of the things they need.
2. Decide how much you are willing to pay. Increasing prices marked 50% off will be tempting. Are you willing to pay for roasts or can you eat chicken or beans? It's up to you. Just keep in mind that you will likely need to revisit and either revise that threshold price OR decide this is something that you won't buy for now. Be calm and evaluate. YOU are in charge of what YOU DO.
3. Vegetables, Fruit, coffee, meat, fish, poultry.

• If it can't be grown or raised in the US it will have a tariff and those will only get higher. Buy in bulk and freeze/can/dry when it hits the purchase price you pre-determined.
• If these things CAN be grown or raised in the US, keep in mind the disruptions of ICE-terror on farms and processing plants. Fewer workers will drive the costs for domestic products higher and higher.

• Lack of inspections due to lapsed regulations and/or Health Dept standards can cause shortages of meat, poultry, fish, and produce that will impact prices and availability.

Again: buy more when it drops to (or better- below!) your purchasing price.

Plan

1. Storage. You must have a plan for keeping the FUEL you purchase in peak shape to fuel the body.

• Do you have freezer bags, a food vacuum sealer AND the bags/rolls to use with it?
• Do you have access to a pressure canner and/or water bath canner, canning jars, SEALS and RINGS? Do you know how to can things safely?
• Will you dehydrate? How will you store it once it is dry?
• Can you access a freeze dryer? Where will you store it afterwards?
• Do you have mice? Bugs? Then make sure you have airtight totes to store your vacuum packed foods. If they are in airtight bags, and I suggest you portion things into meal-sized amounts when putting it by, the totes will safeguard your dry goods from mice, bugs, and damp. Yes: I do vacuum seal pasta and dry beans, boxes of baking soda, sweeteners, flours.
• You have more nooks and crannies in your home than you realize. Under the bed. Behind the sofa. Back of the door for those handy shoe storage pocket things. Basement, garage, attic, storage shed in the yard, bookcase, that shelf above the refrigerator. At your mom's, sister's, neighbor's house. Just remember where you put what!

2. Part of Plan is WHEN you shop, not just WHERE.

The early bird pays less for the worm. I shop when the chain groceries open, follow a regular route through the store, and look for the clearance FOOD. (NOT expired, but sometimes on or close to expiration date). Sometimes the store is just making room for something else. Other times, especially now, I suspect that they are reducing the number of name brands due to escalating costs.

Examples: This morning I bought sliced deli ham and turkey at 75% off. It was fresh-sliced yesterday, and the store regularly red-stickers them the next day so all such sliced meats are fresh each day. I don't care that it was sliced yesterday: If I bought it yesterday it would still be in my fridge today; I see no difference. Some will go towards work lunches, some for the freezer. It cost $4.57 for enough turkey and ham for 16 lunches, and that will be a nice change of pace once a week.

This week I also bought two half gallons of milk for 77 cents each. (Yes- there was more, and YES I thought I should have bought more. But we don't use milk very often, and I bought shelf-stable boxed milk (also on sale or at the dollar store) so two seemed correct. They're in the freezer.

I don't buy lunchmeat unless it's 65% off, and only buy milk when marked down. If I don't have it? I use something else and move on.

Take Action

Learn how to cook. Know the basics. Keep it simple if it's new to you.

1. Ask others to cook with you. Bulk cooking and especially CANNING goes faster with more hands.
2. Beans aren't hard. Make black beans and garbanzo for hummus in an 'instant pot-type cooker' quickly and easily. Hummus can be frozen, too. (Pro tip: Pork ribs [bought at $1.49 a lb. last week] in that appliance take 45 minutes, then sauce 'em and finish in the broiler/oven/toaster oven/air fryer or grill.)
3. Grilling also keeps your home cool. Yes- you can grill and then freeze for quick meals later.
4. Use the library (free resource!) for books and eBooks/audio on growing, preserving, cooking, freezing foods.
5. Ask neighbors and family for recipes. Teach your littles how to cook, now, too.

Share food.

1. Celebrate successes. Do you have neighbors that can't put this effort into food prep? Many 'meals on wheels' and 'food insecurity help' programs have lost funds. Look for ways to thoughtfully share FUEL and HELP those in your community.
2. Food banks are struggling, and some are closing. Some people that do receive food disbursements may be unhoused, so please invest in can openers (dollar stores carry them and they usually works very well!) if you donate canned goods. If YOU need food assistance then use local food banks! It is simply one way YOU control what YOU DO to provide fuel for your body.) This link is a directory of US food banks.
3. Keep your homegrown lettuce under control, clip often, clean and share with your neighbors.
4. That zucchini? Those cucumbers? Eat what you can, store if possible, and share the rest.
5. Not everything is a transaction: sharing is healing for your spirit and soul.

Final thoughts:

This isn't meant to be a complete tutorial. (Please leave a note if you are interested in more articles on food, preservation, pantries, and shopping.)

If you haven't considered the creeping costs of everything, not just food, I urge you to walk through a store or market this week. Our other essentials will also increase in price: basic materials will continue to be tariffed. Even things assembled here use material from other countries.

Insurance costs will increase as companies cover weather-related disasters, even if they aren't in your state. Healthcare & medical insurance will increase as federal and state programs lose funds.

I haven't touched on fishing or hunting, but do suggest you see if that is feasible within your community. Same with community gardening or local farm-sharing produce seasonally.

Stay focused on food as fuel.

• How much fuel do you NEED?
• How much do you USE?
• Could you use LESS?
• Could you cook more yourself?
• Could you grow it?
• Could you waste less?
• Share more?

Peace and grace to us all during these times and those to come.