Re: Give us your pantry challenge!
I have 2 pantries. One in the basement that includes a 14 cu ft. chest freezer for fruits, veggies, ice cream, baked items and juice. The shelves have my own home canned goods (approx. 75 jars) and market canned goods, pasta, 20 to 30 lbs of sugar and flour and 20 to 30lbs of unsalted sweet cream butter. I keep all of my large kettles, roasters, thermos jugs, coolers, paper supplies and commercial size rolls of tin foil and clear wrap stored there also. It's also a good cool, dark place to keep potatoes, onions, beer and soft drinks.
The upstairs pantry is much smaller, only about 5 ft deep and 7ft wide, floor to ceiling. There I keep smaller amouts of whatever is downstairs, my spices, plus a step stool, the large food processor, meat saw and cleaver and hand grinders.
I only shop for fresh dairy products, eggs, and the fresh vegetables that I don't grow myself. In summer that's about once a week. In winter I shop about twice a month and then usually only those items that have a very, very, good sale. For example, 3 lbs of butter for $5. or 10lbs of sugar for $4. Sometimes I can get a 1/4 beef for $1.59 per lb. That goes into the 22 cu ft. laundry room freezer. I also cook large quanties of chili and beef vegetable soup and freeze in 4 quart ice cream buckets. My biggest challenge is keeping pantries and freezers stocked as cheaply as possible. We recently bought a whole house generator, in case we would have a power outage.
My husband and I never know who will show up to eat at mealtime. Sometimes it's just the 2 of us, sometimes there are 4 or 5 more. So, I need to be prepared for hungry 19 yr. old grandsons and sometimes their friends. At my age, 78, it's getting a lot to keep up with.