How long could you last without going food shopping?

TheSaint_2

At least 6 months - maybe 12 at a push )
My church encourages us to keep a food storage for disasters / emergencies

Tibbie's_mum

Bit off topic but.......

My nephew is currently out in Libya, he's 27 and lives on his own. Ofcourse he didn't have anything in the storecupboard when all the troubles kicked off, luckily his father has chickens so he has a supply of eggs! He must of had an omelette everyday for the last 2 months, poor love.

Flat_Eric

I don't think I could go a whole month without visiting the supermarket. Well I could but it would mean no milk and no lunch box stuff. once the fruit and the bread in freezer was gone, that would be that and my fridge would end up empty.:o (not a bad thing!) but it would be a strange experience and more than likely a very valuable one. For example, having canceled my Mr T Order earlier, I went to the freezer in my garage hoping to find onion bhajis. No such luck. Then it was a hunt through my cupboard to find some chutney and yay !:D I found three pots of the stuff :j and hey I found a chocolate custard tinned pudd with a best before of 2009 :T and lets not mention all the jam.....

I have fended for myself for the last five and a bit years now since leaving the comfortable abode of the house of mum and dad and I still don't have this running a house malarkey cracked.

I waste too much money on food and have done so I fear for too long. I have become lazy. order what I need from Mr T plus all the other bits that sneak into my basket (offers/things I haven't thought of etc) rather than make the effort to visit the local shop and just buy what I need.

I try to do the Grocery Challenge but typically fail miserably and either lose track/stop counting or go way over budget....

I have become complacent and I don't know why? I seem to have firm favorites that I buy again and again and use regularly but then there are the obscure things I buy (because its a good idea at the time) these then hide away in the freezer/cupboards forever more? I think I have grapefruits in my fridge from early july?! of course stuff thats in the fridge has a shorter shelf life and I don't like to mention the yogurts I threw away this week.

I don't have easy access to a large supermarket - our local store is a metro style shop. So I typically I have at least one home delivery shop a month except I was having this - spending near on £200 then topping up with little shops i.e. going in for a punnett of strawberries and ending up spending £30 odd quid at least once a week if not more.

I thus decided I would have a home delivery shop each week and avoid visiting the shops like the plague but whenever I visit the on-line store I always seem to spend quids ? so I can't justify this either. Also, If I'm being honest, a home delivery shop every week seems excessive so no more big shop this month and I will try to stay out of the shops the rest of the time i.e. use up what i have first.

so sorry to have waffled for so long. I know I can't stay out of the shops for a month but I'm going to try hard to use up what I can find in my cupboards and freezers. will report how i get on.

atarisrocks

wouldnt last a week on what i have atm as i would need bread as i dont like it after it been frozen unless im toasting it and me and my bf go through min of 12 rolls a week due to taking them to work for lunch

Downsizing_2

I searched for Store Cupboard Challenge today after reading it ages ago. We have an au pair arriving next month and I want to make space in the cupboard and freezer, not only for her things but also for easy things like fish fingers she can make for the kids.

I was doing fairly well - until my neighbours who were moving a long way away came over for dinner - I'd cooked tea for us all so they could empty the kitchen. They gave me 3 large jute bags full of freezer stuff, so it's all jammed in somehow! Mainly lots of vegetables, so I'm trying to use them up with dinner every night instead of buying fresh. I may try to make some carrot soup with the frozen carrots as I can't stand them as veg!

We haven't been to T*sco since Friday (and that was to get stuff for a party that night) except to send OH to get bread and milk. He is perfect for that - if that is on the list, that's what he buys, unlike me who always seems to see a "must-have" bargain!

Just a thought - has anyone here ever kept a register of when things are on offer? For example, tuna, pasta etc are fairly regularly on offer, as are toilet roll, kitchen roll. I know you can see offers on MySupermarket, but I really mean something like a variation of a price book, but in calendar form.

I may start writing on my family calendar when things come up, because I'm reasonably sure things come round a couple of times a year if not more. Any thoughts appreciated!

erdd2

In the 80s I lasted over months on porridge and rotting veg as a student, from 2000 to 2010 I "lasted" (should that be fasted on bread and cheese from the "near sell by date" for months at a time, since being assaulted in my own home and bedridden I was amazed at what was in my cupboards ......is this a poor me? hell no.....I could show JC a thing ot two with loaves and fishes

I wish I had kept to my porridge and cabbage days!

no_choice_now

Around 3 weeks if I stretched it. But with the Plenty kitchen roll offer I've been doing I have enough of that to last me for a year lol

emmad5689

I would need fresh stuff but if I had to I would say a month however I know my SIL is on benefits and she literally shops every couple of days for what she needs and never has any extra in - personally I couldn't live like that.

chuckley

a week at a push as I eat lots of fruit and salad.

Kitty_Ears

When we first moved out I would have said a couple of days, with milk, fruit, veg etc. Now that I've adopted the idea of "we're only eating from freezer and cupboard", we have only been shopping once this week and spent £13... only on milk & other freezer bits for myself.