Food Storage Basics: Step 2 – Building a Three-Month Supply

by Tactical Intelligence on August 10th, 2009

Now that you have at least 2 weeks worth of water stored away, you are ready to move on to the next step…building a three-month supply of food.

When people first find the need for food storage, immediately they get overwhelmed. They hear advice of getting a years’ supply and don’t know where to start. It need not be so difficult. As with most things, start off small and build from there. That’s where the three-month supply comes into play.


Put together a list of foods that you use regularly and figure out how much you need for three months Begin by purchasing a few extra items to add to your storage each week Gradually build it to a one-week supply, then expand it to a one-month supply, then a three-month supply Rotate regularly, replacing what’s been used on a weekly basis

The three-month food supply primarily consists of non-perishable items that are part of your normal daily consumption such as pasta, canned goods, jarred sauces, frozen meats, juices and so on. Included in this list are other non-food essentials such as medicine, hygiene products (don’t forget the toilet paper), diapers and other kid-related needs, cleaning supplies, etc. Unfortunately fruits and vegetables (except dehydrated) are not included in this list (that’s where the garden comes in to play which is covered in a future article).

What’s great about the three-month supply is that you don’t have to change your daily or weekly routine in order to build it up. The best way to begin is to buy just a little-bit extra each time you go shopping. Start with building a week’s supply, then work towards a months supply and then finally three months.

Once you reach an amount sufficient for a three-months supply it’s important that you then rotate it — replacing/purchasing those items that you use as you need them. Since our food storage is in our basement, I find it easiest to just keep a little white board with a marker down where our three-months supply is to quickly jot down whatever we take up to use. At the end of the week, this list then gets copied to my wife’s iphone where she goes out and purchases whatever is on the list. What your left with is a rotating supply of food that will never get older than three months…and let’s not forget the added bonus of peace of mind.