Stockpiling is a great way to save money on your grocery bills, but there are some items that are more difficult to stockpile then others – like meat and produce.

It’s very rare that you will come across a coupon for fresh meat or produce, so stockpiling those items seems like an expensive task – but rest assured, it is possible to stockpile meat these items without paying an arm and a leg..

Below I have outlined the best ways to stockpile meat & produce.

Invest in a chest freezer.

Just like you probably don’t have enough room to store your grocery stockpile in your kitchen cabinets, you likely will not be able to store your meat & produce stockpile in the little freezer above or below your refrigerator. That’s why a chest freezer is essential.

I admit, when someone suggested the freezer idea to me 2 years ago, I thought they were crazy. Surely I didn’t need that much space for frozen food. What a waste of money, space and electricity that extra freezer would be!

Well, I was wrong. One day I picked up 6 almost free frozen pizzas from the grocery store and stuffed my freezer full. The next week, chicken breast was on sale and we were almost out – but we were almost out of space in the freezer as well. It was then that I realized the extra freezer was actually a good idea.

I missed out on the chicken deal that week, but I also learned my lesson. After a bit of research, I picked up a freezer for our basement and it now houses lots of extra chicken, frozen pizzas and more!

My point is – if you want to save money by stockpiling meat and produce, you really need to consider getting an extra freezer. They are definitely worth it.

Only buy sale items.

Only purchase sale items when you are stocking up, never full price. The front (and sometimes back) pages of most store flyers will have the best deals – look there first. Only add the cheapest items to your shopping list.

As for how much you should stockpile – this really depends on your family and how fast you can consume certain items. For us, we eat chicken at least 3 times per week. That’s 12 chicken breasts per month. If we would like the chicken to last us 6 months, we would need to have a stockpile of 72 chicken breasts.

Don’t stock up on items that your family will not consume before they go bad – no matter how cheap they are.

Find out your store’s mark-down schedule.

The next time you are at your local grocery store, ask the staff when they mark down produce and meat. It’s best to ask the staff that works in the back of the store, as cashiers usually don’t know this information.

Try to find out which day of the week and what time(s) they mark down those items so you can try to swing by the store at the perfect moment to snatch up cheap meat & produce.

Remember that items that are marked down are usually cheap because they are going to expire very soon. Be sure to get those items into your freezer as soon as possible to prevent spoiling.

Have a stock-up budget.

It’s a good idea to set aside a certain amount of money every week (or month) for stocking up. Even if it’s only $5 per week; knowing that you have that limit will prevent you from overspending. The point of stockpiling is to save money, so don’t go over your budget.

When you come across meat or produce (or other grocery items) that hit your stock-up price, pick them up and add them to your stockpile.

Purchase directly from a local farmer.

I know a few people that save quite a bit of money by purchasing 1/4, 1/2 or even a full cow directly from a farmer in their area.

You can often purchase pigs and other animals as well, but each farmer is different, so check with yours to find out what they offer.

If you can’t afford 1/4 cow on your own, consider splitting the cost with another family and then dividing up the meat.

Check out the clearance racks.

Many grocery stores have a clearance rack with marked down fruits & vegetables.

They are often only bruised or have other small imperfections – they are still edible.

Remember that freezing food is not as simple as just tossing something into the freezer. The way that you prepare it for freezing is the only way to gauge how long it will last in it’s frozen state.

1. Use freezer bags or storage containers. Get the products that are made specifically for freezer use.

I don’t recommend freezing meat in the packages they come in at the store, unless you plan on thawing and consuming all of that meat in one meal. Instead, take the amount of meat you need for one meal and put it in it’s own container or bag.

Information on freezing fruit & vegetables: How To Freeze Fruit and How To Freeze Vegetables.

2. Label everything. Mark everything that you put into the freezer with the current date and a note on what’s inside.

Not long ago, I posted a list of things you can and can not freeze, and how long you can freeze them for. I strongly recommend checking that page out before storing items in your freezer.

Although it’s near-impossible to find coupons for fresh meat and produce, you can still save money on these items and you can certainly stockpile them.

The key is to buy low and freeze properly to guarantee yourself a healthy supply in your stockpile.

How do you stockpile meat & produce?

Have you been thinking about starting a grocery stockpile to save money?

It’s really not that hard to do – I promise! It does take time to build, but it’s worth it in so many ways.

Benefits of Stockpiling

1. You will never run out of the things you use (well, sometimes you might – but if you stock up long enough, it’s not often that you will run out of something).
2. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck when it comes to your groceries. If you’re short on cash one week, come up with an “eat from the stockpile” menu and only use items that you have at home.
3. You can help out others in need. Think of all the less fortunate people in the world and imagine how happy they would be to receive some items from your stockpile. It feels so good to give back!

Are you ready to get starting on building a grocery stockpile? Here are some tips:

Get Organized

Before you start building your stockpile you need to determine some very important things.
1. Where are you going to store everything?
2. What types of items do you want to stockpile?
3. How long would you like your stockpile to last? 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?
4. How many of each particular item do you need to stockpile to last you the amount of time you want?

How Much Should I Stockpile For My Family?
It’s important to become familiar with what items your family uses on a daily basis. Many families go through lots of cereal, soup, pasta, tomato sauce, shampoo, toothpaste, bathroom tissue, etc.

When you open a new item, mark the date on the bottom – when the item is gone, note the date and you will learn how long it took you to go through it.

For example, let’s say you mark a box of cereal on April 12th and on April 19th it’s all gone. That means it took you 1 week to go through that box of cereal. If you want to have a 3 month supply, you will need to stockpile 12 boxes.

Pay Attention To Expiration Dates

Be careful not to overbuy, or items could quickly become expired and thrown into the trash – which is not helping you to save money. Always put new items behind older ones to ensure you are always consuming the older items before the new stuff.

Try to go through your stockpile every 6 months and making note of the expiration dates on items. If there are some items you don’t think you will be able to use before they expire, consider donating them to your local food bank or shelter.

Figure Out What You Can Spend

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting to build your grocery stockpile is to buy too much, too fast. It can be tempting to create a huge stockpile right away, but it is extremely costly to try this approach. It takes time to build a stockpile. It took me well over a year to get my stockpile to a place where I felt comfortable.

You need to figure out how much money you can afford to spend on “stock up” items every week. You don’t need much. Even $10 or $20 per week can be enough to get you a few extras of items on sale.

When you see a great sale on something you use a lot of, buy as many as you can afford (and can use before they expire).

Pay attention to the store sale cycles so you know when to expect certain items on sale. This will be when those items are at their rock bottom prices, and the best time for you to stock up.

Where to Store Your Stockpile

Now that you’ve stocked up on some items, you need somewhere to store it. Consider a basement, garage or even under your bed. Even if you live in a small place, you can still have a stockpile.

Check out my post on stockpile storage ideas to get some ideas on how you can store your items.

Building a grocery stockpile is a great way to save money. By making sure you only buy what you can afford and store, and by paying attention to expiration dates, it’s easy to keep your grocery bills low.

Remember to go slowly. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to grow your stockpile too fast.

Do you have a grocery stockpile? How long did it take you to build it?