Building Non-perishable Food Stores

If you are new to homesteading it’s likely you don’t have a ton of canned goods from previous years. Building food stores take time. If you’re like me, you would still like to keep a well stocked pantry of non-perishable foods.

There are many reasons to keep food on hand:

Emergencies
Less trips to the store
Encourages eating at home
Saves money (stocking up with sales)

Growing Your Homesteading Efforts

We just started expanding our homesteading efforts this past year. We added 6 backyard chickens, then 4 more, and expanded our garden. We might only live on a quarter acre but I work at making the most of it.

Like I mentioned earlier since we are just expanding our efforts, there is a glaring lack of canned goods from the previous years gardens. While I am not an alarmist I have been through a few hurricanes and blizzards now. I personally want to be prepared.

As I grow my own canned food stores I am also working on slowly building an emergency supply of non-perishables to keep us in good stock should an emergency occur. I thought it might be helpful to share this list with you! Here is a list of non-pershable items I plan on stocking up on as I either find them on sale weekly or have a little wiggle room in the budget.

Non-Perishable Food List

Here are some ideas on things to stock up on that generally last for quite some time and don’t require refridgeration or freezing. Just make sure you store these items away from sunlight and temperatue fluctuations.

Granola
Granola bars
Rolled Oats
Steel Cut Oats
Oatmeal Packets
Canned Pears
Canned Oranges
Canned Peaches
Canned Pineapples
Canned Mixed Berries
Canned Organic Corn (to avoid GMOs)
Canned Carrots
Canned Tomatoes in several forms (Whole, Crushed, Diced)
Canned Asparagus
Canned Articoke Hearts
Canned Spinach
Jarred Peppers
Jarred Tomatoes
Jarred Sauces (Tomato, Alfredo, Pesto)
Jarred Gravys
Canned Soups
Canned Tuna
Canned Chicken
Canned Roast Beef
Shelf Stable Milks
Bouillon Cubes.
Canned Broth
Baking Supplies
White Rice
Dried Beans
Canned Beans, since they are pressure canned, are the healthy option but also more expensive.
Flour (White flour has the longest shelf life)
Salt, Dried Herbs and Seasonings
Beef Jerky
Nut Butters
Nuts
Pastas in several varieties
Dehydrated Potatoes
Jam or Preserves
Maple Syrup
Honey
Coffee
Tea
Hot Chocolate
Stevia
Sauces (Hot Sauce, Salsa)
Condiments like Ketchup and other shelf stable favorites
Powdered Mixes (Taco Seasoning, Onion Soup)
Baking Mixes (Boxed Cake or Cookie mixes)
Shelf Stable Meals (Pre-cooked Lentils, Rice Pouches, Ravioli)