Fear of an empty pantry

July 3, 2020 by
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Two days ago I did something I haven’t done in four years: I plugged in the chest freezer in the basement. I inherited this freezer from the previous home’s owner, and to say that it is an eyesore is an understatement. The handle is broken, rust spots speckle the exterior, and duct tape covers a crack in the plastic underside of the lid. However, it keeps things righteously cold without fail. It seemed wasteful to keep using it for just two people, so I unplugged it a few years ago and was considering giving it away.

My stance on this food storage device has shifted dramatically in the last few months. After seeing empty store shelves that lasted for weeks on end and as the pandemic shows no sign of abating here in the US, I have become anxious about potential shortages. So a few days ago I started up the old beast and have started buying extra items to keep on hand. I’m not alone in this anxiety. Kat Kinsman wrote in April about how the economic uncertainties due to COVID-19 are dredging up fears of not having enough, and three months on, the article continues to resonate.

Like Kinsman, I faced a period in my young adulthood when I moved far across the country from the safety net of my family. Everything I owned easily fit into my compact car, and there were times when I had to portion out my food between paychecks to make it last. My circumstances have vastly improved since those days, but when you have faced want, the fear of running out can easily spring forth from the dark places in your mind where it always lurks.

While it is not unreasonable to have a healthy supply of food on hand in times like these, I also do not wish to turn into my grandmother, who saved every plastic ice cream pail, had unopened cans of vegetables and soups with labels that showed that they came from another era, and who had three large freezers and two refrigerators full of unidentifiable blocks of ice and a product that might have been meat at one time. It doesn’t do any good to store things if you never use them and they go bad.

I have been able to maintain a sensible level of food in my pantry (although my husband says I have “too much” chocolate, as if that is even possible), and instead of buying things I know I won’t use, I have been giving money to area food shelves so that they can help those who are in a similar situation to the one I once faced. I have also considered starting a community fridge that would operate like the little free libraries that dot my town, although it may not be feasible. Making these small contributions to help ensure that people will not go hungry helps quell my anxiety almost as much as having a full pantry.

Also, see Fear of an Empty Pantry Baking Edition by Jenny.

Category: Antipasto

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5 Comments

  • hillsboroks  on  July 4, 2020

    Like you we have a large freezer but have used it for years for all the fish and game my husband brings home plus as a great way to preserve veggies and fruits from the garden. But these past few months I find it handy to stock butters, flours, nuts and anything else I think we may need if and when the grocery shortages start again. Actually I think this lockdown has made me a much more aware and efficient shopper. Not only am I trying to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible but I am way more focused on my list and picking up things that will be used up and are essential. No more time spent wandering through the aisles and picking up unusual ingredients just for the fun of it. We have sent checks to the local food bank and I try to add a donation to my grocery tab to the food bank at the checkstand too. I have seen your idea of the little free library but full of dry and canned food instead of books in front of a local church in our town.

  • Jane  on  July 4, 2020

    When the pandemic first started I did a major reorganization, defrost and clear out of the two freezers I had (the bottom half of fridges, one in my kitchen and one in the garage). I was able to do this as I was gifted a chest freezer and stashed all the contents I was keeping in there while I cleared the other ones out. Now I have a system of what is where which makes it much easier to find things. And I have far more in my freezers now than I ever had for the reason that I’m trying to avoid grocery shopping as much as I can. I love knowing I could live off my supplies for months if I needed to!

  • MarciK  on  July 5, 2020

    It’s just me in my household, but still I keep a separate freezer in the basement. It keeps my food frozen much better without freezer burn than the little one above my fridge.

  • MollyBelle  on  July 10, 2020

    At the beginning of the pandemic, there was an empty freezer, still running in our garage. I can’t remember how long it sat empty. I made feeble attempts to sell it but wasn’t successful. I’m so glad now that it’s still in our garage. I’ve slowly been building what my grandmother refers to as a larder. I would purchase 2 packs of chicken thighs instead of one. I would select multiple cans of beans and tomatoes rather than thinking “I can just run to the store if I’m out”. I started purchasing whole chickens instead of parts. What I have discovered is I’m a better cook and shopper. I now have backup to all my favorite staples. When I run out of olive oil, I make a note to pick up another backup to replace my pantry stock. I’ve also discovered I’m spending less and experimenting more. In the month of May, I made many new meals; most now in our dinner rotation. When I look back on this time, I will remember how I learned to love my freezer and all the benefits the lesson brought.

  • Creative.Juices  on  July 16, 2020

    This is a real fear, as our fully disabled child can eat only limited types of foods, and must have that food fully blended. There’s only so much we can buy in advance and store, since proteins, even if cooked, usually don’t taste good past three months. I’m becoming anxious about the coming cold months, when flu season kicks in, too. That’s always been a concern, but adding covid to the mix, along with the chaos of no unified response in America, and I definitely fear for the coming months.

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