I have to admit I have a ‘stockpile’ of food downstairs. I planted my garden this year as a canning garden, and I also do a weekly visit to a couple of my farmers markets where they limit the vendors to actual producers, so I have a full years worth of veggies, salsa’s, marinara sauce and crushed tomatoes, as well as a couple of whole brisket’s that I bought when they were 2.99/lb.
At the beginning of the year when I was deciding what plants to start, I set goals for each of my canning projects by estimating how many of each per week I would use, and I have as many as I think we will use up by next year. I branched out into pressure canning which allowed me to do up a lot more types of food, not just high acid/water bath stuff.
I still have another batch of tomatoes and peppers to turn into enchilada sauce, and a ham bone to turn into split pea with ham soup, but my total output for this year is just shy of 600 jars of food, the most I have ever managed to put up ever ��
I guess this makes me a ‘prepper’ in the most traditional sense - putting away summer produce so that I can eat it all winter, and it’s all good stuff that I either grew myself or bought it right from the farmer that grew it. There is something so nice about looking the producer of my food in the face when I buy it.
That set of shelves was made for me by my husband out of the shipping container from my huge floor loom. It now is completely full, with the top shelf also filled up with marinara sauce and crushed tomatoes.