How to Start a Pantry Stockpile on a Budget

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In this post, I’m sharing some simple ways for how to start a pantry stockpile while on a budget. Learn how to stockpile food on a budget for uncertain times.

If you were like me, you might have been caught a little off guard earlier this year, when grocery stores shelves were suddenly empty. I was about 8 months pregnant at the time, and was *just about* to start stocking up on things before our baby came. Bad timing on my part, but of course, we survived.

I recently shared how we found an amazing deal on a ton of meat (you can read about that here if you missed it), and I wanted to share more about stocking up on food and household supplies.

How to Start a Pantry Stockpile on a Budget

We are blessed to have space to grow a garden, so we have a good amount of frozen and canned vegetables and tomatoes. But there are many other things we still use often and wanted to stock up on for those just in case moments.

How do I start a stockpile on a budget?

Here’s a few ways to start a pantry stockpile so you can stock up on food and household supplies, and still stay on a budget:

Set a weekly grocery budget, and one stock up budget each month. Meaning most weeks, you buy your normal amount of groceries, and one week you do a big stock up at a store like Aldi or Walmart for the best prices.
Add $10-$20 to your weekly grocery budget for stock up items. Spend your normal grocery budget on things you need for that week, and take $10-$20 extra to buy items for later (especially when there is a great sale.)
Make a list of items you would like to stock up on, and make room in the budget when you see a great sale. I’ve been keeping a running list of things I would like to stock up on, and when I see a great sale on that item, I’ll buy a few and mark it off the list.
Look for bulk deals. We were so blessed to find the bulk meat deal! Ask around and see if there are any bulk grocery options near you – butcher shop, local farmer, bulk produce box, etc. You can also compare prices at places like Costco and Sam’s Club.
Organize your stock. I tackled this the other day and feel so good about it! We don’t have a pantry, so I had items in a few different cabinets and it felt very disorganized and I couldn’t see how much I had of each item. I grabbed a shelf we weren’t using and turned it into a pantry in our laundry room. I neatly stacked like items together, so I can see how much I have of each item. And everything is organized by date, so the soonest expiring items are at the front, and I will add new items to the back. This was a game changer!
Use your freezer. You can freeze a ton of different groceries, just Google “Can I freeze ___” to see if you should stock up on something and stick it in the freezer.

I hope this helps you find some ways to build up a stock pile of food and household items for your family.

I would start by getting organized and seeing what you have, what you need, and making a list of things to stock up on. Then, when you see a great deal, stock up! You can also add a few dollars to your weekly grocery budget for extra items to slowly build your stock pile pantry up.

Our Pantry Stockpile:

Here’s our little stock up pantry I just put together. It’s nothing fancy, but it works for us!

We also have our meat freezer, our freezer with our garden vegetables, frozen bread, and freezer meals, and our regular everyday items in the kitchen. I also kept a stock pile of pasta, sugar, and items that aren’t in cans in the kitchen in case of unwanted rodents in the garage and laundry room area. Gotta love country living! 😉

What food should I stock up on?

Think about the types of food your family likes to eat, and what food will keep for several months or longer.

You don’t want to buy “emergency food” that no one will ever eat. Make a list of ingredients you use regularly, then you can start stocking up slowly each week when you see good deals.

Here are some stock up food ideas:

Use this stockpile list to make your own list of food to stock up on for your family.

Canned beans
Dried beans
Canned vegetables
Canned soup
Tomato sauce & other canned tomatoes
Pasta sauce
Pasta
Peanut butter
Oats
Broth
Sugar
Cooking oil
Salt
BBQ sauce and other bottle sauces and dressings
Toilet paper
Paper towels
Dish soap
Hand soap
Laundry detergent
Shampoo and soap
Water

Again, think about what foods your family eats, and what foods will keep for several months.

You can also think about stocking up on things like propane tanks for your gas grill, lighters and candles, and firewood in case the electricity went out.

I hope this helps you make a plan for your pantry stockpile. You can start small and just grab a few extra items at the grocery each week, and keep adding a little each week to build your stockpile up over time.