Stocking up on food for winter is about more than simply having a full pantry. It is about being prepared, being practical, and giving yourself a little peace of mind when the world outside becomes less predictable.
For those of us who garden, preserve, and try to live a little more self-reliantly, summer is a natural time to think about what we will need through the coming cold months.
Winter changes the way we get food
In summer, food can feel abundant. The garden is producing, farmers’ markets are overflowing, and fresh produce is readily available. And then there’s winter. In Alberta, that means months of cold, snow – and no local growing. In the past, preparing for winter was critical to having enough food, and keeping your family healthy. In recent generations we’ve become very ‘entitled’, and think we should have everything we want, whenever we want it, but that is not reasonable or sustainable in the long run.
A well-stocked pantry means that when the roads are bad, the weather is miserable, or you simply don’t want to venture out, you already have the makings of good meals at home.
Stocking up also makes good economic sense
Buying and preserving food when it is plentiful can save money.
When your garden produces more tomatoes, beans, carrots, onions, berries or rhubarb than you can eat immediately, you have an opportunity to turn that abundance into food for later.
The garden doesn’t have to stop feeding you just because the ground freezes.
Potatoes, onions and garlic in the cold room, jars of jam, frozen berries, dried apples and fruit leather or zucchini, canned roasted tomatoes, or a jar of sauerkraut in the fridge represents food you already have. You don’t have to go grocery shopping till you feel like it.
A stocked pantry gives you choices
I think there is an important difference between having food and having food you will actually eat.
My philosophy has always been: Store what you eat, and eat what you store.
There isn’t much value in filling shelves with foods nobody in the household enjoys.
A practical winter pantry might contain the ingredients your family regularly uses:
- canned and dried tomatoes and tomato products
- dried or canned beans
- rice, pasta and grains
- flour and baking supplies
- onions, potatoes and other good keepers
- frozen or dehydrated vegetables
- fruit, jams and preserves
- meat and other sources of protein
- soups, broths and meal ingredients
- spices, oils and other cooking essentials
And don’t forget the simple things that can be surprisingly inconvenient to run out of in winter—baking ingredients, pet food, and other household staples like laundry soap and toothpaste.
Preserving your own food adds another layer of security
This is one of the things I love about gardening and preserving.
When I freeze, dry or can something from my own garden, I know where it came from. I watched it grow. I harvested it when it was ready. I preserved it when it was at its best.
There is something deeply satisfying about opening a jar in February and finding summer inside.
It isn’t merely food storage. It is the continuation of the growing season.
And then there is the emergency side of preparedness
We don’t stock food because we expect disaster.
We stock food because life happens.
Power outages happen. Snowstorms happen. Illness happens. Family emergencies happen. Supply problems happen. Sometimes a person simply doesn’t have the time, money, transportation or physical ability to get to the store.
Having food already in the house gives you breathing room.
You don’t need to panic-buy when life throws you a curve ball, because you have been gradually building your supply all along.
Perhaps most importantly, it is a mindset
For me, food storage isn’t about fear. It is about responsibility and self-reliance.
I don’t expect to provide absolutely everything my household might ever need. None of us can.
But I can ask:
What can I reasonably provide for myself?
If I can grow some of my food, preserve some of it, store some of it and keep a reasonable supply of everyday staples on hand, then I have made my household just a little less dependent on circumstances beyond my control.
And I think that is a worthwhile goal.
Winter comes every year. We know that.
So rather than waiting until the shelves are bare or the weather turns nasty, now is the perfect time to look at what we have, decide what we will need, and begin filling the pantry.
Because there is a wonderful feeling that comes from looking at a well-stocked pantry in the middle of winter and thinking:
“We’re okay. We’ve got food.”
I’d love to hear your ideas about what to store, where to store it, and how to use it in the winter.
Warmly,
Cindy Suelzle
