How long could you last without going food shopping?

flutterbyuk25

I could probably go for 2 months with my storecupboard ingredients, fresh F&V would run out in about a week along with eggs. I'm veggie so don't have to worry about meat. I only ever use long life milk so always have lot in the cupboard. I live on 4th floor with no lift so can get a bit lazy when I 'need' to do a food shop, and try to stretch out what I have for a few days longer.

I have always wondered about the people who say they only have one tin left in the cupboard (not a criticism). There are probably about 40 tins in my cupboard now (baked bean, beans, sweetcorn, spagetti, soup, tomatoes, fruit etc) and I am due a food shop! My parents alway had stocks of food basics put away so guess I've got it from them. It comes in handy though, when it snowed I couldn't get to a major shop for 7 days, and I was recently ill with vertigo which meant I couldn't drive - both times I had enough food in cupboards to keep me going without the added stress of worrying about food. I do live on my own though, so have no-one to complain when I have an 'odd' combo of food for tea!

x

slowandsteady_2

Having spent a couple of years on the OS thread, ive learnt lol and have a good supply of basic tins/jars/rice/pasta/dried pulses etc and two freezers stocked up with (very reduced) meat/fish/veg/bread etc and i recently went through my freezers, did a list about a month ago and calculated that even being generous with portions i had enough in for at least 90 main meals just out of my freezer.

Meat wise I know i have three whole chickens, one of which i can usually stretch to three mains and a big pan of soup so a chicken would do a week, i have 2 pork shoulder joints-again a week or so would be got out of this, i have a large gammon-another week or so, as well as various packets of reduced chops/stewing meat/mince etc and a drawer full of fish after buying a whole salmon for £6 recently and getting the fishmonger to fillet it for me. Then i have the usual convienience food -pies, fish fingers, etc. And thats before i start on the cupboards! Most days i cook from scratch and avoid processed food, keep it in for hubby mostly as he likes quick and easy if he's hungry

Id run out of frozen veg in a couple of weeks and fresh fruit in a few days as my dd is a fruit monster. We use a lot of milk and get 4-6 pints every other day

Yep im definately in need of a hobby!

But having been in positions in the past before discovering MSE where it was a case of paying for shopping or rent im quite nervous of not having good supplies in and get uncomfortable. I always make groceries my priority even though i don't spend a lot-£30-£40 a week on a normal shop including nappies etc for three of us. I spent £61 in A"da yesterday on a big jars and tins stock up, which i havent done for about 6 months lol and i feel much better now! Won't need to do that gain now until Xmas probably.

So i think we'd last a while!

kittykitten

I'm living with my parents at the moment, and am convinced the three of us could quite comfortably survive on what we have in the house for at least 3-4 months. Could probably stretch it to at least 6 months in a "no food left in the world" scenario!

The two things I'd miss, and still try to find money for, are eggs and milk. We're all tea monsters and non of us can stand UHT milk - you should hear us complain when my mum and I go onto town and go for a drink somewhere where the milk is UHT! And I love eggs.

All of a sudden this thread has got me scared about how much it's going to cost me to set up a basic larder when I move into my own home (hopefully, if all goes well and no gazumping happens, I'll complete on my first house in about 5-6 weeks time!)

alfiesmum

Hi Kitty Kitten,
Perhaps you could start a box of stuff now, add to it over a few weeks. Cleaning stuff, loo roll, kitchen roll etc. And maybe pasta, rice, anything that keeps for an age. That way your first shop won't break the bank. Of course it's the law that you try out the local chippy first night in though. Hope the move goes well. x

recovering_spendaholic

Co-incidentially I have just done a cupboards and freezer inventory and have loads of stuff in but actually not the makings of that many meals. I don't have stocks of milk, butter, bread or eggs but I do have frozen veg. With strict portion control (not what I am usually very good at) the three of us could probably last about 3 weeks but food would be very dull towards the end. I would have to make soda bread and we would be having lots of rice and pasta meals. We would not go hungry but the kids (two teenagers who could make eating an olympic sport and win gold) would moan like crazy.

Money is very tight for me at the moment and I have managed to cut my weekly food budget in half by using Aldi and Lidl and only buying stuff on offer in Sainsburys and Tescos. It's hard though - I would much rather just walk round the supermarket chucking whatever I fancy in my trolley, but that helped to put me where I am now so perhaps not...

uolypool

I reckon apart from, eggs and fresh stuff we could last for about 6-8 weeks before our stocks were empty.I have a huge 6ft chest freezer full , a massive pantry which is filled to the rafters and a well stocked fridge.
It may get a bit boring by the end of it but yep definately think we could manage that long.(Toilet rolls , toothpaste , shampoo etc and washing powder etc we have enough for a year at least:eek:) I knew my shopping obsession would come in handy;)

chalkysoil

it would be a year or more before we went hungry as long as there was a tin opener, but I'd miss the fresh stuff.

[Deleted User]

I could probably last around a month if not more as being brought up with rationing I have always had a good store cupboard.my children used to say that I had cornered the market in sardines and pilchards when they were young,:) but many a time when things have been tough those tinned stuffs were a godsend.I still keep a good stock of tinned bits which my DDs have raided at times of need

WishI'dReadSooner

We could probably last about 3-4months but would need milk and salad stuff.
We were snowed in this winter for 4-5 weeks and got by with no problems - we had stocked up with UHT milk, just in case, as we're 6 miles from nearest shop! We could have got out to shop midway when it thawed, before quickly starting again, but decided against it.

Intend growing salad stuff this year, got the seeds, already make my own bread and am a fan of approved foods and the like. Supermarket shop for whoopsies, which go in the freezer.

We're great fans of Quorn so stock up when there are good offers on - with this you need never go short of protein and it's much less expensive than meat. People also can't tell it's quorn unless you tell them what they've eaten. It's SO versatile. It also doesn't take up too much space in the freezer.

I was brought up to ALWAYS have a good store cupboard. IF my mum saw ours now she'd probably think I'd overdone it a bit! LOL

mymerrywidow

fresh stuff would last a week. tinned maybe 3 weeks.

if all else fails eat the kids,cats,neighbours.!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek: