I Bought These Food Storage Pantry Items Today.

     It seems that accumulating the fruits and vegetables necessary for my food storage pantry is more challenging than I expected it to be.

     Not by choice, I ended up studying best-by date movement or lack thereof on store shelves for at least a couple of years.  I ended up doing this to see what products would actually be beneficial to have in my everyday food pantry that also serves as my food storage.  I was determined to not just amass foods that all had the same best-by dates.  People really need to pay attention to the best-by dates when buying their foods.  Some of Wal-Mart's canned fruits seem to be canned in almost yearly intervals, which is fine, but you just have to space out your purchase so it doesn't become an issue for you to have to deal with.  Somehow, the stores can have three or four different best-by dates on a shelf that has just been fully stocked. 

     I firmly believe in not buying a case of a food where all the cans have the same best-by date.  Unless the best-by date is years away where I know our daily use would exhaust that product before the date came, I don't buy large lots of canned foods.  I also do not buy Manager's Specials when they are selling cases of a particular canned product.  Usually, when they do that, the  best-by dates are getting ready to be met.  People usually end up giving foods like that away or decide to use it until they can't bear to see another can of it in order to not exceed the best-by date.

     I always take my Inventory 3-Ring Binder with me to check the dates on every product I purchase.  Initially I didn’t do that.  I found out that by not taking it and using it for a guide, I ended up buying some foods that had earlier best-by dates than ones I had purchased six or more months ago.

     I share this with you here to hopefully help you avoid that same issue.  Today I went to Wal-Mart and purchased some canned and jarred fruits and vegetables.  I want to share the items and best by dates with you.  Now maybe you don’t use some of these foods.  You still need to watch the best by dates on whatever foods you do buy for your family.

     Here are those products and their best by dates:

 

Green Giant Sliced Mushrooms   -   March 2018
Bruce's Candied Yams   -   December 2017
Polar Sliced Pears   -   April 2017
Luck's Fried Apples   -   May 2015
GV Sliced Pears in Extra Light Syrup   -   March 2017
Dole Tropical Fruit   -   February 2016    

     This information shows that you don't need to stock up on only MRE's or freeze-dried or dehydrated foods.  I have some of those foods as well, but my primary foods are normal everyday grocery store foods.  Simply tracking the best-by dates allows me to successfully accomplish this.

     I hope this information is helpful to those folks that realize the importance of being prepared for enduring any interruption in their daily lives, whether it be from a power outage, a snowstorm, hurricane, truckers strike or whatever else may come along. 

     Stock up on some foods for your family’s protection so you won’t be caught like most of the population will be.  They think the doors to the store will always be open, and if they aren’t, it’s the government’s responsibility to take care of their families. 

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!
Bob Hotaling