You don't need to be a “prepper” in order to have a well-stocked pantry filled with food that will feed you and your family long-term. There are some basics that I recommend always having on hand, and I'm sharing the items to stock up on that will store well on the shelf for 10+ years.

After talking to you about what I planned to do to increase my food production self-sufficiency I thought it would only be fair to talk to you about the stuff that I can't produce myself but make sure I have on hand at all times.
What I'm sharing are items that we eat regularly and that we like to have a surplus of for long-term food storage.
I realize the way that we live as modern homesteaders and those that live very rurally are different from that of a lot of other people. I grew up in a home where my dad lived through the aftermath of The Great Depression, so these were skills passed down to me from that generation.
The Pioneering Today Podcast attached to this post (episode #253 13 Pantry Items to Always Have on Hand) is an older episode that I've since added to. And you can see a previous video on the 15 pantry items to stock up on from a couple of years ago further down in this blog post.
If that weren't enough, we've recently added a new pantry area to our house and I'm giving you the full tour, plus some tips for how I store food long-term to help them last as long as possible.
Between the two videos, the podcast and the blog post, I'm certain you'll find some helpful information on building up your own food storage supply.

Azure Standard
The video in this post and the blog post are sponsored by Azure Standard. If you've been around here for long, you've probably heard me rave about Azure. I've been shopping through their website for over three years now.
Azure Standard is a family-owned and independent company dedicated to providing carefully chosen, affordable organic, natural and non-GMO groceries, health, household and garden products. In fact, they have over 12,000 options to meet the needs of health-minded households.
Along with regular-size orders, they also offer bulk orders, so that you can save even more on your monthly groceries.
This is what makes them the perfect sponsor for this video and blog post. Not only that, but for first-time Azure Standard customers, you can save 10% on your first order of $50 or more by using coupon code Pioneering10.

Must-Have Pantry Items
Flour, Wheat Berries & Grains
One of the most versatile pantry items is flour. Flour can be used as the base for so many homemade foods. By adding just a few ingredients into a bowl you can have incredible easy no-knead artisan bread.
The type of flour you'll want to stock may vary from what I stock. For some, it might be a gluten-free blend. For others, it's going to be just regular all-purpose. You can check out this post on how and where to buy grains in bulk as I discuss the various grains and their purposes in further detail.
I like to stock both whole grains and wheat berries for fresh milling, as well as all-purpose organic flour.
- Flour: I typically keep at least 50 pounds of flour on hand. I store it in two 5-gallon buckets with gamma-seal lids. Then, I have a smaller canister in my kitchen that I'll refill from these buckets.
- Wheat Berries: I am trying to keep my supply between 50-100 lbs. You can read more about which grains are best for baking and cooking, and how to grind flour here.
- Spelt: I keep a minimum of 25 pounds of spelt grains on hand. Spelt is what I use more as my fresh ground pastry flour.
- Einkorn: I also have about 15 pounds of einkorn, an ancient grain, on hand. I kind of use it as pastry flour but it's its own thing. The way you alter recipes and the way you cook with einkorn is different even from using spelt. I have a dedicated Baking Guide specifically for Einkorn in case you'd like to learn more.
- Hard White Wheat: I'm now keeping 75 pounds of hard white wheat on hand.
I don't buy all of these from the same source. I've shared my favorite places of where to buy grains in bulk here. When you're first starting out it can be hard to know the best places to find these types of things.

Yeast
For a while, many people were finding that yeast was difficult to find in the stores. This is why many people turned to making sourdough during the pandemic.
I already had yeast because I buy it in a large bulk bag from Costco. I store it in the refrigerator (or freezer) so it extends its shelf life.
Yeast will eventually expire and then it just doesn't do its job. So knowing how to make your own yeast by culturing a sourdough starter (with just flour and water) is really the best-case scenario.
If you would like to dive deeper into sourdough, check out my free series, Homemade Sourdough. I'll walk you through every step of creating a sourdough starter, including gluten-free, ancient grains, fresh ground flour, or just regular flour from the store.
Then, once you have a starter, you can enjoy sourdough sandwich bread or this incredible sourdough chocolate bread.

Fat Source
You'll want to have some things that are shelf-stable and don't require refrigeration, but I just can't give up my butter. So I stock up on it and store it in the freezer.
Butter stores wonderfully in the freezer for a pretty long period of time. I'm sure I've had some butter in there for at least six months, if not longer. That's one item that I do use my freezer for because you cannot can butter at home. It's not safe to do so. Don't do it.
Oils like coconut, avocado, and olive are all oils I like to keep on hand as well. In fact, I love buying my coconut oil from Azure Standard because it comes in a half-gallon glass jar that's perfect for food storage once I've used up the coconut oil.
Aside from tallow and lard from when we butcher once a year, fat sources aren't something that is easy to get or grow at home. So I highly recommend having back-ups of everything.
You can learn to render your own lard or tallow here.

Salt
I purchase Redmond Sea Salt (use code “Pioneering” for 15% off at checkout) in a ten-pound bucket. Salt isn't something that I can produce on my homestead and there isn't a source to get it locally.
I use salt daily for seasoning. I also use salt for preserving such as in my ferments, canned or refrigerator pickles, pickled asparagus, as well as preserving fresh basil (and Redmond's is perfectly fine for canning, fermenting, and as our table salt!).

Dried Beans, Peas, Rice
Having dried beans, peas, and rice on hand is a great way to fill in a meal. These may not be the best for long-term storage, as anyone who has tried to cook beans after about the three-year mark knows that it's hard to get them soft, no matter how long you cook them.
Canned beans are a different story as they'll last on the shelf much longer. So if you're buying dry beans in bulk, be sure to pressure can them up before they get too old. Learn how to pressure can here in my free video series.
For long-term food storage, it's best to buy white rice. It will store for many more years than brown rice. When stored correctly, rice can sit for up to 20 years on the pantry shelf.
But from the outset, I didn't have very much. I've since stocked up on my dried beans as well as lentils and split peas. All of them can be turned into soups, for the main dish, a side dish, or use to stretch out some different cuts of meat and vegetables. Because of this versatility, I felt it was important to get restocked on them.
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Pasta is another great way to stretch a meal. A bowl of pasta tossed with some butter alongside a protein can make a complete meal and fill hungry bellies.
Dried pasta will last for a couple of years on the pantry shelf, so keep rotating and continually re-stocking and you'll be good to go.
Pasta is fantastic tossed with sauce, chilled and used in a cold salad, added to soups or casseroles. It's extremely versatile.
Convenience Items
It's really handy to have some pre-packaged convenience meals on hand that are easy to “heat and eat”. But just be sure it's something your family actually enjoys!
Ideally, if you can find freeze-dried pre-packaged meals these will last the longest on your shelf. But if you're buying items your family enjoys, just be sure you're practicing proper rotation of the food where you're eating the oldest food first (or FIFO: First In, First Out).

Condiments
For my most used condiments, I like to be sure I have at least two or three of each item on hand. This includes things like soy sauce (I like organic from Azure Standard), curry paste, mustard, ketchup, etc.
Protein
Though we raise all our own meat for the year, it's still a good idea to have some ready-to-eat protein on the pantry shelf. This is especially important if you're not currently raising your own meat.
Consider canned chicken, canned beef, canned tuna, and even canned salmon to stock your pantry.

Chocolate
We love chocolate so I need to make sure that we have it in a couple of forms.
- Cocoa Powder: I usually buy it in a 10-pound bag from Azure.
- Chocolate Chips: I only buy organic chocolate chips because of the soy that's found in a lot of other chocolate chips. If we're going to consume soy, I want to make sure it's organic and non-GMO certified. I used to get my chocolate chips from Fred Meyer, until I found them through Azure Standard for a better price.

Sweetener
I know, we don't love that we eat sugar. But it is something that I use in my regular baking when I'm not doing Keto. I'll list the supplies I keep on hand for a Keto diet below.
- Sugar: Sugar is easy to store long-term and is good to have for baking and canning. I usually keep about 30 pounds of sugar stocked so I'll have enough to do all my fruit preserving.
- Honey: Honey will store indefinitely on the pantry shelf. It will crystalize and become solid, but all you have to do is gently heat it back up and it will become liquid again. If you have raw honey, be sure not to heat it up too high or you'll destroy the beneficial enzymes (don't use a microwave, simply place it in a pot of warm water on the stove and gently warm it until it liquefies).
- Keto sugar alternatives: For keto-friendly sweeteners, I like to keep a good supply of Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Erythritol.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda
In baking, you need a leavening agent. Not all recipes need it, such as sourdough bread, but other items like pancakes and waffles do. In those I'm either going to be using baking soda or baking powder, sometimes both depending upon the recipe so I want to make sure I'm well stocked on them.

Apple Cider Vinegar
I make sure to stock up on store-bought apple cider vinegar (ACV) even though I make my own apple cider vinegar and other fruit vinegars at home.
The reason is that when canning the vinegar has to be 5% acidity in order to make sure that your canning recipes are safe, especially your pickling recipes. So I keep extra on hand to ensure I can get through the canning season. I buy it in a 5-gallon bucket from Azure.

Herbs
I grow most of our herbs myself. If you don't grow them yourself, you can order in bulk from Azure Standard. The herbs I grow are:
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Mint
- Chive

Aromatics
- Garlic
- Onion
Garlic and onions are aromatics I like to grow a year's worth of in my garden. I'm also working on seed saving to have a closed-loop system for food security.
I probably use garlic and onion on a daily basis in my home, so I consider them essential. If you're worried about the shelf stability of fresh onion and garlic, dehydrated onion and garlic are a great option.
If you're interested in growing both you'll want to choose a good storage variety. Check out this post on growing onions and this post on growing garlic for more information and good storage varieties.

Spices
While you can grow some different varieties of chili peppers to make your own spices, I don't because our weather is not always conducive to growing hot peppers. I may experiment with this in the future. In the meantime, I make sure to have the following on hand:
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Tumeric
- Curry Powder
For the majority of those spices, I like to store a pound. What I do is take a pint-size jar (which holds 2 cups worth) and keep it in my spice cabinet. Then I like to have a backup bag to refill. When the bag gets low, I'll reorder to keep my stock up.
You're noticing a trend here, right? I like to have what I'm using. I like that amount to be full and then I like to have a backup in the back pantry in order to refill my kitchen stock without having to go to the store right away.
Dairy
Dairy is one item that's hard to store long-term. Most of the fresh dairy products will need to be purchased (Azure has a great variety).
I also like to make freeze dried milk powder (or you can buy it from Azure, they offer an A2/A2 variety). This is what we use to make our homemade cocoa mix.
Butter and most cheeses also freeze well.

Fruit
Canned fruit, whether it's home-canned or store-bought, will last on the shelf for a very long time. Learn how to can pears here, I include an easy old farmer's wife trick to peel them.
Freeze-dried fruit will last even longer than those canned items. If you don't have a freeze dryer, you can check out the home freeze-dryer options from Harvest Right here.

Alcohol, Tinctures & Extracts
Though it's not really food, I do like to keep alcohol on hand so I can make my homemade tinctures and extracts.
These will last indefinitely on the pantry shelf, and they are something that will tend to get better with time!
There you have it! Though this isn't a complete list, I hope this gives you some inspiration to start stocking your pantry, even if it's just little by little, so you're well prepared.
If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that preparation is never a bad thing.

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Great info. I was wondering do you keep dry beans, flour, sugar in jars or just the bags they come in when you store that much?
Both, I use jars in my kitchen pantry stock (what I’m currently cooking from). If I have large enough jars for the back up I’ll use that, but usually it’s in the bags. I’ll put my wheat berries inside the bag still in 5 gallon food-storage buckets.
You have shared an important topic. I appreciate your honesty in the gaps in your pantry. We usually have a fairly stocked pantry (everyday cupboard, fridge, freezer and mid- long-term storage). We started taking a look at our pantry in early February as we read about the virus in China and read about its intro to the US. We had gaps as well – especially since we had just completed a Pantry Challenge in January. I am so glad that we started adding the few things that we needed early as now, shelves are often quickly cleared as soon as they are filled in our area. It is sad and scary that too many people never had more than a weeks worth of food in their homes. I hope that they are learning an important lesson from this epidemic – prepping is a life skill.
I own all of your books and simply love your ideas. I have been having trouble finding organic all purpose flour, do you have any suggestions or sources??
Thanks
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda,
I think you’ll find this article with sources helpful https://melissaknorris.com/where-to-buy-grains-in-bulk/ I’ve used both Costco and Azure (see 2nd source listed) for organic flour now.
I’m with you and this has really brought home to me to not let myself get lax and to keep my minimum at the minimum and not get below again 🙂
I have most of these items in my pantry. Not in the amounts you do, but we keep plenty on hand. As well as store bought canned veggies. We haven’t gardened in several years due to age and disabilities. We do have a couple of freezers that we use, and use well. I’m wondering if our old freezer, that doesn’t work, would be a good root cellar. Any ideas on that?
We did just get a small movie theater popcorn popper. And lots of popcorn. We’ve been eating popcorn every day as our mid day snack. It tastes just like it’s from the movie theater. We also got a variety of seasonings to go with it. We used to use microwave popcorn, but this is so much better. I do have to be careful of the sodium. Kidneys.
Hi Melissa! I am a coffee lover too and was wondering if you could share the mocha coffee recipe you mentioned?
Thanks!
I put my wheat berries in buckets with gamma seal lids for a few years now, but I saw that other people were adding oxygen absorbers to the buckets for bug infestation. Do you add these to yours? Thoughts?….Also I would like to know how your wheat berries from Azure are. I bought from there a few years ago and had lots of stones and had to pick through before putting in my mill. I would love to reorder from them but a little bit on the fence about doing so. The wheat I got bake up great, just the stone issue.
Hi Melissa!
I watched your podcast episode about the top pantry items to always have on hand. You had mentioned a certain coffee that works for you and your diet restriction to acid. Just wondering where I can order some! Thank you!!
Your wannabe protege,
Linnea
Hey Linnea,
Nice to meet you, this is the link for the coffee! 1/2 Off Camano Island Coffee (scroll to bottom of page) https://j.mp/34UF5FM
I watched your video on grinding wheat berries the other day. Is there a conversion chart somewhere when using fresh ground wheat instead of store bought flour? If I understand correctly, a cup of store bought is different than fresh ground when baking…hope this makes sense. I’ve been researching fresh ground wheat for years, but since the latest crisis, I’ve ordered the Mockmill grinder and wheat berries and want to understand how to use them better. Thank for all your great videos and instruction!
I don’t have a conversion chart (great idea though) but I do have this blog post on it https://melissaknorris.com/grinding-flour-6-fresh-flour-baking-tips/
Thanks for all the good information. Since you seem to try to avoid GMO’s, like I do, are you aware that sugar needs to be “pure cane”, or there is a good chance it too is genetically engineered?
I only purchase certified organic sugar so I’m good 🙂
Dominoes sugar is NOT gmo . I buy it now.
can you recommend a source for organic tea?
I keep hearing that beans are great for storing long term, but recently I pulled some from my storage to make a 7 bean soup and found that after soaking, then cooking, and cooking, and cooking some of the beans would not soften. I ended up having to throw the whole batch of soup away. They were stored in proper containers for long term. How long can you actually store beans?
It depends on how old they are when you get them, if they’re from that year’s crop, about 2 years max. As you discovered, when they get too old no amount of soaking will soften them.
I saw an article (sorry, don’t remember which or where) that your old beans can be baked on low temperature in the oven to completely dry them, and once they’re cool, you grind and they’re good for soups and thickening and I believe even baking.
You stated in a video that you buy nutritional yeast in bulk. I love Braggs but can’t find it in bulk. What brand do you use?
I buy it from Azure Standard
I freeze my dried beans? It seems to make them last longer (not dry out beyond use). I do this with some rice as well. Do you think that hurts them in any way?
VERY GOOD ARTICLE IT HAS SO MUCH IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT WE CAN USE TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES IN THIS FOOD SHORTAGE TIMES
I am so glad you have salt and fats in your list because that is usually missing in favor of grains and beans. You’ll starve to death on those without fats and salt. I was raised by Depression-era relatives with their knowledge of native edible/medicinal plants as well as a kitchen garden, chickens, a pig or milk cow. I am not a successful gardener but a great forager, so I am working my terrible yard (no topsoil, all rock, many trees) into a forager’s garden. I have laying hens, berries, fruit, and nut trees. We are working on growing domesticated and wild root veg. The goal is to live off of what we have for starches, protein, vitamins and minerals and lay in a supply of fats and salt. Stew of potatoes/roots, greens, and hunted meat or hard-boiled egg suits us just fine. I do also have a decent modern pantry with what you’ve listed (did I say that was a wonderful list because it is). We are not “preppers” per se, although I do subscribe more to the old ways of laying in a good store until the next harvest season like people used to; but beyond the emergency pantry, we want to know how to actually live the second year and beyond. The Great Depression lasted 10 years. My family did well and fed others because they had this knowledge. Even as we talk about food security online, I worry for how much we still rely on government, utilities, and corporations for living. No one expects rationing or war or financial collapse. I’m glad you’re helping people be ready. I hope people use that as a starting point to think about what happens three months in when utilities are rationed and we still need heat and water and cooking or a year later when we can’t replenish store-bought goods.
I saw an article (sorry, don’t remember which or where) that your old beans can be baked on low temperature in the oven to completely dry them, and once they’re cool, you grind and they’re good for soups and thickening and I believe even baking.
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Watch you on You Tube and enjoy it.
I learned a lot today about storing foods from your video!
What home freeze drying machine do you use? Are there any brands that you would avoid? If you have a link for a video or article that would be wonderful. Thank you, really have enjoyed your webpage and videos.
Just read some recent news articles with health warnings on erythritol. It is also an ingredient in the “measure like sugar” versions of stevia and monkfruitsweetener. The organic stevia extract is still a safe sugar substitute…so far.
Love your ideas!