How long can I *really* go without groceries...?

[FirstLight]

I look at my fridge, pantry and am glad we still have much.

But then what?

How long will it take before I am drinking the keto-protien shake I bought a minth ago just to stay alive?

till we eat the last of the pasta and canned goods
til it is no longer about what do we have for dinner...like a full meal idea
...but what can we spare today?


I guess in that case we have more than I thought

Once when I was in my 20s I was staying with a BF and his friend who had kids...they got Meningitis.
And after the rest of the immediate family went to the hospital, me and BF were quarintined and had to take some weird meds for a while
I remember being stuck there one night with nothing more than a bag of macaroni noodles, a packet of mustard and questionable tuna.

I shudder to think of that

[Xipe Totec]

1. Dried beans, dried rice, flour, shortening and salt

Will keep you fed for a very long time.

Cook the rice and the beans separately, and use the flour & shortening to make flour tortillas.

[htuttle]

5. Learned how to make that survival food a long time ago

It's one of those things where if you have a little meat on hand, you can easily add it. If you have some onion or pepper, you can add a bit of that, too.

Homemade tortillas are one of the best things on earth, especially if they were just made. Easiest breadstuff there is.

[kimbutgar]

9. Good luck finding dried beans

Even before this pandemic I had trouble finding dried beans.

[Xipe Totec]

11. We'll see when we get back home.

I live in south Texas, so dried beans are abundant in 1,2,5,10,20,50 & 100 lb sacks.

[customerserviceguy]

22. Managed to find mine

at Dollar Tree. But then, I laid in my supply of them about ten days ago.

The biggest supermarkets in town will run out of things the fastest. Convenience stores don't have the best prices, but they might keep somebody fed at this crucial time.

[Aquaria]

26. Huh

We had plenty of them here in South Texas.

But our predominant ethnic culture is into making beans from scratch.

I have all kinds of dried beans in my pantry, because HEB kept offering sales that I couldn't resist. So I'm set for a while with those. Plus, it's hard to find low-sodium or no-salt canned beans that don't cost a fortune. Easier and cheaper (and yummier!) to make our own.

[brewens]

2. The people in charge of the food supply have to eat too. They aren't shutting down.

The hoarders will be all hoard out soon. I've heard it's already easing up.

[FirstLight]

3. the weird part is I experienced the gap when it was just one family

now multiply that exponentially... no bueno

[marble falls]

4. At the very worst it only shows you have the fortitude to "make it work". We'll get through this ...

you have the life experience, the toughness to get through this. You don't have to be strong, you are strong. This is where we elder DUer's have it over millenials: they just don't know about hunkering down and making the best of it. You do. You'll be a village elder!

[FirstLight]

7. thank you

I really needed the positivity right now :/

its Mr Toads Wild Ride ...and I thought so many other things were the big Lebowski

[marble falls]

12. Life is good and we're lucky to be here. If we get the vote out even the worst of it will ...

get better. Look at how quickly things got better ecologically when we all started staying home, the water in the canals in Venice were swimming pool clear! If nature can spring back from abuse, so can we.

[intrepidity]

6. That's when the creativity kicks in nt

[Roland99]

8. We're doing some to-go/pickup orders from nearby local restaurants

Not every meal of course but like every other day.

Helps support them and helps stretch supplies here

I forage into Publix once in a while to refill certain things (snacks, milk, bread, eggs)

[uponit7771]

13. +1

[Blue_true]

21. I passed by a local restaurant yesterday evening, their

pickup window was busy.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

10. I remember my ex and I eating stale tortilla chips

I found in the back of a cabinet ,we dipped them in the Oriental flavor dip sauce from mc Donald's. It was two days before my SSI check came in. Right now my fridge is pretty bare. Food stamps come in pretty soon. They barely cover a week,since I am diabetic and can't buy the cheap carb shit that stretches austere budget that really does not look at the real costs of how much food you need to live on.

[FirstLight]

14. I am right ther with you...

all the times we were supposed to "prep" but never had the means... x 10000...how many of us are 3 weeks away from desperate? or less?

[marble falls]

15. I was in Austin right at the dot com crash. I was a single dad of two daughter and was down ...

to my last $.38. Not even enough to catch the bus from a refresher drafting course I was taking for the bus home, so I walked.

A homeless guy asked me for spare change. I took the thirty-eight cents out of my pocket and said: It's all I have and its not enough to help me, maybe it'd help him.

I also said that I was probably going to be under the bridge with him in a week of two.

He said: "Don't worry, buddy, I have your back!"


About a week later (two weeks before Christmas) an envelope shows up and its a $1,200 check from a company I had done consulting work with discovered they had missed my last check.

Compared to how close I was to being homeless with two kids under 14 and how that felt, this stuff is a piece of cake.

[FirstLight]

16. I hope we all have a moment like that

*cross fingers*

[marble falls]

19. There's a reason we're here. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean its not there ...

life's pretty good. The girls both graduated Summa Cum Laude and are doing well with their own families. No matter how bad it gets it, gets better.

[customerserviceguy]

23. Stale chips and crackers

can be given new life with a few minutes in a hot oven. Just watch them carefully, and when they start to brown a bit, take them out. After cooling, put them in a ziplock bag to retain crispness.

[BamaRefugee]

17. It took me 3 days to find any meat in Los Angeles. The butchers were bagging groceries

Because they had nothing to do. There was also no rice or beans. I finally got some stuff yesterday by being in a line at the store 40 minutes before it opened at 8am.

And nothing’s even close to “desperate” here.

Yet.

[MagickMuffin]

18. Navajo Flatbread: Recipe

I saw this on fb


Navajo Flatbread:
Makes 6

2 cups flour
1 - 1 1/4cup of lukewarm water
1 table spoon baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 table spoon oil/butter/shortening

Mix dry ingredients together and add most water, mix and add water until it has the consistency of tacky pizza dough.
Knead for a few minutes.
Let rest in greased bowl for 30- 60 minutes.
Divide into 6 pieces and roll out on floured surface thin. (Tortilla thickness)
Hear griddle to 350F.
Cook until golden brown spots and flip, cooking until done.
They can be made ahead and kept under a flour towel or frozen for later use.

Hope this helps.

[FirstLight]

20. heck yeah!

thank you

[littlemissmartypants]

25. This would be a great cross posting for the Cooking and Baking group!

Thanks for sharing it, MagickMuffin. ❤ nt

[DangerousRhythm]

35. Thank you for posting this!

I may wind up making some in the very near future. This really helps because I couldn’t find enough yeast but I do have 2 bags of flour, baking soda, coconut oil, ghee, butter and other oils. I will make do with what I have, I guess! 😊

[Raine]

24. I don't have much around here in the way of real food

I went to the market a night ago and they were closed. On the way home I saw a Walgreen's drug store that was open so I stopped and got a big bag of potato chips, a bag of Funyums, a bag of Cheetos and some cookies, they didn't have much else left. It was pricey but at least I'm good for a few days along with some stale crackers and freezer burned frozen food that I save for emergencies. 🤪

[Aquaria]

27. I always tell people that it sucked

Back in the 70s to be a girl and expected to learn all those idiotic domestic arts like cooking, baking, canning, sewing, knitting, and so on.

Now, though, I'm beyond grateful that I learned it all. Told my mom the other day--I can't imagine how these people are going to make it if they're the type who depend on opening a box, jar or can to get a meal in five minutes, then it's one and done. Meanwhile, here we are using up less pantry/refrigeration space, with plenty of things to make that only need a bit more time to get done, but will go farther and cost a lot less. I even thanked her for teaching me how to can pickles and jellies and other preserves, something I complained about like crazy back when I was a teenager. Now, though? I can make my own and not be so dependent on the store. My husband never knew what homemade pickles or strawberry preserves were like, and couldn't believe the difference in flavor. And I'm not a super-complicated canner type. My preserves consist of sugar, lemon juice and strawberries, let 'em macerate then boil 'em up and put 'em in the jars.

Now if I can only find a way to overcome my black thumb so I can grow my own stuff...

I swear, I can kill an air fern.

[Hortensis]

33. :) We seem to be seeing the trauma of people who don't cook

faced with the dread specter of perhaps having to do at least some. And getting acquainted with grocery stores. I read this morning that a Costco is limiting purchase of a multi-package of instant soup to one per customer. Oh, the humanity!

Seriously, I see no reason why people can't go on opening boxes, cans and jars. By far most food comes that way. The peak of the stocking-up wave is probably already past, though presumably it'll continue a while as slow learners come to realize that dropping by the store for something every two days isn't a good idea.

Logistics management will get at least somewhat of a better handle on the various disruptions to the supply chain, which will continue. But COVID isn't killing food or the food supply. Inconvenience and irritation are not starvation.

I was all set to can a bunch of figs from a friend's trees decades ago, my how-to list written up, supplies purchased, figs washed, when my MIL called and said she was taking me to a resort with her and would pick me up shortly. My husband was the one who canned those figs, and it hasn't happened since. It'd be really nice to have the know-how to casually put up some preserves the way you do, especially the occasional couple jars, no big production. The closest I come is salt-fermenting a jar of veggies now and then. Not exactly the same thing.

[Aquaria]

37. The first time I made strawberry preserves for my husband

Was because his store gave us two pounds of strawberries for free, and it's only the two of us. I mean, we like strawberries, but two pounds was probably going to go bad before we could eat them all. But they were free...

So I decided to can them rather than missing out on that deal, or having them go to waste. I didn't even use the usual tools of a candy thermometer or pressure cooker. I let it macerate in the sugar for a while, added the lemon juice, put it on the stove and cooked it until it passed ye olde spoon test: Dip the spoon in, then run a finger through it. If the jelled part doesn't run, it's done!

That's how I've done it ever since, and you'd be surprised how little time it takes to get from hulled strawberries to canned ones.

Two pounds makes about 4 of those 12-16 ounce Mason jars' worth of preserves. Six pounds will make enough to see us through to the next strawberry season. Ten pounds, and I can give away jars to my mom, son and a friend of ours.

Whichever amount I'm making for the season, I usually make them in the little two pound batches, because it feels less labor intensive that way.

[Hortensis]

41. Aquaria, I missed this before. two pounds

of berries producing about 4 jars of preserves sounds fantastic, and just about the size of project I'd like to take on. Your description makes it sound as easy as it is to those who know how. Not a joke, that's very inviting.

I've promised my husband we'll hole up without any outings for the next two weeks, but then, if, I'll go see what's being harvested at the produce market we like to drop by. All the talk of rhubarb right now has had visions of rhubarb and strawberries dancing in my head, though I won't be expecting to find rhubarb here in FL.

[duforsure]

28. What we are going to do now,

I'm old , overweight , and have many health issues, so I'm in a bad situation with this virus, but we are going to support our local restaurant businesses as much as possible, and that we know they do practice good cleaning and sanitation in their businesses first, maybe today we may order BBQ to save our stockpile of food.I feel so bad for one just opened up and had everything all brand new kitchen equipment, and everything. They are also going to delver which we may do to. Other family members have their younger kid (one) does the runs for them and no one else, and are keeping tabs on older neighbors if they need food or help. We're going to do that here around us too. We need to network around this , and help and be considerate of others. We're in good shape , but I feel so bad for those that aren't doing so good now.

[gibraltar72]

29. Make cooking great again.

[Chainfire]

30. I thought I was well prepared

I have had experience for personal planning for natural disasters. I have lived in a hurricane zone all my life, and I know that, every Summer and Fall that I have to prepare for up to a month of disrupted supply and power chains. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when that I will experience the effects of a storm. A month ago I started filling the pantry and freezer. Hurricane preparation is planning for two weeks, so I tripled my normal supplies. I was all cocky that I had six weeks of food laid back. Now I realize that it may not be enough. Proper planning requires accurate information to work with and that information has been intentionally withheld for political reasons.

The government failed us in many ways, but it is absolutely unforgivable that they lied to us about the seriousness of this crisis in the days that should have been dedicated to making and executing smart plans. It is criminal that they are still lying to us.

[a la izquierda]

31. You could, you know, go to the grocery store and get more supplies.

It's not like a meteor hit the planet and we're in the end times. This isn't even like 1348 when the Plague hit. If you're really that concerned, go get stuff now, learn how to cook it and/or start freezing things.
If you can't go to the store because you're immune-compromised and/or elderly, there are organizations that can help.

[Aquaria]

38. The problem is

The supply chains in some areas aren't stabilizing yet because people have crashed them so hard.

There are some things you simply cannot get unless you're at the store at the right time, and not because people are overbuying. There are limits now on most high-demand items at our local market, but the stores simply aren't getting as much of those products as they used to. Again, because the supply chain has been hit so hard.

Every day at my husband's store, they run out of rice, beans, pasta, frozen veggies and so on within an hour or two of opening. Fresh meat is not lasting long. Replacements may come with runs later in the day, but they don't know when they'll get them. They'll only know when the receiving guys see it come off the truck. Some things, you will not find, no matter when you shop, or how long you wait. They still don't have hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, bleach or a long list of other items.

Now this may not be true everywhere, but it is true here in San Antonio.

A couple of days ago, I wanted to go shopping at his store, because I needed to get out of the house, even for 15 minutes of seeing something besides my house and backyard, and I planned to be safe about it. My husband told me not to do it, because it would only upset me to see how sparse their shelves are now. Before this nonsense happened, his store was a jewel of a grocer's, with an awesome selection of ingredients, a bakery, a premium butcher's and fish market, a top-notch deli, a cheese market, a health-food section that was simply gorgeous, and one of the finest produce sections of any store in his company. He's one of the people doing the inventory control (among other tasks) that used to keep it well-stocked with all the abundance we Americans take for granted.

You know how he describes his store now? 1970s Soviet Union. That's how bad it is. And his store isn't doing as badly as some others.

It's slowly getting better. But emphasis on "slowly."

So I'll be staying away, until things return to normal. If they do anytime soon.

[a la izquierda]

40. Fair enough

Things are pretty normal here (northern WV) minus paper products. I’ve stocked up and order take away once a week to help local cafes.
I’m also a historian, so I have a different view on this than most I guess.

[panader0]

32. Bobby Sands lasted 66 days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands

[a la izquierda]

39. He was a hero in my family growing up. Nt

[cwydro]

34. Are the stores closed in your area?

All of our stores are open, and restaurants are serving pickup and delivery.

[Marrah_Goodman]

36. Those preppers storing years worth of food don't seem so crazy now. n/t