We have not gone on a big grocery shopping trip in a very long time. We’ve been trying to work through the stockpile that’s accumulated.

As the cabinets were getting way lower I started noticing a lot of new foods I hadn’t seen. As I was thinking of what I could cook with things like coconut oil, sesame seeds and some unopened corn meal, I noticed some odd dates. 2009, 2012, 2016.

That pretty much sent me down a rabbit hole checking dates on everything. Looks like I am now out of cupboard food. Those dates were pushing my comfort limits.

Guess we’re going shopping.

In March of 2020 we decided to extend our standard 6 month supply out to 18 months. Then, as prices skyrocketed, I purchased less and less at the store. Now the USPS won't deliver to my home (because they aren't allowed to back their delivery trucks anymore), so no more amazon subscribe and save. IN fact...no more amazon packages to our house at all. Amazon will only ship USPS to Alaska (95% of the time).

So...we've been eating through the supply faster than we've been replenishing it. I went to the store the other day, which is rare for me...and the shelves are looking pretty bare. Not only that things like cheddar cheese and meat are literally 3 times the price I paid last time I shopped for them.

Starting to second think my decision to work the office instead of moose hunting this year.

No subscribe and save deliveries is a big blow. That was a lot of my food prepping sources.

Most people have far more food stockpiled in their house than they imagine. We are currently eating our way through the freezers and pantry.
Canned goods will last years and I like to keep the pantry well stocked with canned goods, dry beans etc. as a reserve for that just in case. Pantry items when used get restocked pretty quickly.

Depending on the product the code date doesn't always mean much. Most things you can eat well past their use by dates.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Depending on the product the code date doesn't always mean much. Most things you can eat well past their use by dates.

I'm living proof of this. Obviously, use caution when eating any item with an expired date. I've seen one can of expired tomatoes that did indeed go bad.. but the majority of canned and bottled food I've eaten was fine, even years past their listed expiration date.

There was a forum thread about eating food past it's listed expiration date a few years ago.

To add onto the OP's warning about expiration dates, here are 2 recent experiences for me:

Check out the expiration dates on OTC meds in your suitcase/briefcase. I used to travel quite a bit for work and as a result I have my suit case equipped so other than clothes I don't need to put anything from my regular home into it. I used my suitcase for the first time in 22 months and all of the OTC meds (e.g. Tylenol, Benadryl, Immodium, etc) were expired.

Check out your condiments and salad dressings in your fridge. I hardly ever buy a head of lettuce, and instead by a couple bags of salad mixes a week (i.e. they come with packet of salad dressing). A week or so ago, I went through my fridge and I had salad dressing in my fridge that had expired in 2017.

quote:

No subscribe and save deliveries is a big blow. That was a lot of my food prepping sources.

no place you can take delivery?. No deliveries anywhere in AK now?

Better let Bruce know

Those dates are arbitrary. Just ignore them. It's a conspiracy to get you to regularly buy more stuff. This is especially true with milk. Go ahead and sail past those dates! Chunky milk is delicious!!

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I used my suitcase for the first time in 22 months and all of the OTC meds (e.g. Tylenol, Benadryl, Immodium, etc) were expired.

Those meds will retain the vast majority of their efficacy pretty much indefinitely.

Salad dressing on the other hand...once it gets fuzzy all bets are off.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I used my suitcase for the first time in 22 months and all of the OTC meds (e.g. Tylenol, Benadryl, Immodium, etc) were expired.

Those meds will retain the vast majority of their efficacy pretty much indefinitely.

Salad dressing on the other hand...once it gets fuzzy all bets are off.

I think there was only 1 commonly used medicine that actually goes bad... Tetracycline? Pretty much every other common drugis like "only 95% effective" or something like that. I've taken advil that was past expiration by something like 15-18 years, and it sure cured my headache.

Visit your local Bishops Storehouse to purchase shelf stable foods with a 20+ year viability.

quote:

Originally posted by msfzoe:
Visit your local Bishops Storehouse to purchase shelf stable foods with a 20+ year viability.

We use the local one frequently.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
USPS won't deliver to my home (because they aren't allowed to back their delivery trucks anymore),

What???
USPS delivery vehicles back up every time they come in my drivewasy.