We’d never been faced with a situation like this before: COVID was raging, winter storms were dumping so much snow it blocked the highway, trucks that normally ran up from Toronto full of food were stranded. Not many groceries were getting through and store shelves started emptying out. At that time, masks were required and long lines formed as the government ordered limits on the number of shoppers in the stores at one time.
Going food shopping became a struggle. Once it was our turn to get in the store we would be lucky to find the nutritious foods we were used to eating available to purchase. We wanted to feel healthy and energetic and eating a nutrient rich diet is a must for us.
We were often not able to access the wholesome fresh food we’d become so accustomed to eating and our own pantry shelves stared emptying, with no guarantee of when we could purchase again. Going without is not fun! This experience made us realize we had to figure out how to stockpile enough food to carry us through challenging times. Once COVID passed and times became normal again we started working on a way to stock up a pantry, but still adhere to our budget by filling those shelves with nutrient rich healthy foods.
Keep reading! I’d like to share with you how we managed to do it. Our weekly food budget is $62 for two active adults. We allocated half the budget or $31 per week and started working on getting our pantry shelves full.
The plan was to purchase enough of the foods we enjoyed t.