Around here, October is the month of stocking up before the holidays and winter season! It's time to focus on growing your food stores so you can continue Shelf Cooking™️ like a champ. Use our best tips and learn how to stock up on food and stay within your budget!

Woohoo! We crushed it during Shelftember! 🥳 Hopefully, by now, you’ve cleared out your pantry and freezer of those forgotten ingredients. If you missed Shelftember this year, no worries—there’s always next year!

Now that we’ve cleaned our kitchen, it’s time to build it back up with Stocktober! (Yep, we’re clever like that 😉.) This month is all about stocking up smart and prepping for the holiday season—without blowing the budget!

THE STOCKTOBER CHALLENGE

Check out our video on how we stock up on a budget (that's a few years old, FYI!) or click and watch us walk you through building a stockpile below:

HOW STOCKTOBER WORKS

For October, we’re back to our regular grocery budget—BUT with a twist! Each week, half of your budget will go toward stocking up on items you can stash away for later.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Stick to $100 per person per month for groceries (minimum $300/month).
  • Split it in half: 50% for weekly needs, 50% for stock-up items.

Seems easy, right? Not so fast! Stocking up on a budget takes strategy, but lucky for you, we’ve been doing this for a looong time, and we’ve got all the best tips to make it a breeze! 🙌

*Note: During times of inflation (*cough* right now! *cough*) you may need to adjust your budgets up slightly. If you need to plan for ~$125/week you definitely aren't alone!

This Stocktober challenge is going to be amazing! 🤩 By the end of the month, you'll have a gorgeous stockpile of food and consumables to swing you in the future when it's either:

  1. Not in your budget,
  2. You don't have time to run to the store, or
  3. It's not on sale and you don't want to waste money paying full price for something.

Plus, it will help protect and supply your family with necessities when a natural disaster or hard life circumstance hits!

STOCK UP ON FOOD AFFORDABLY

Now that half of your budget is dedicated to stockpiling, what should you focus on? Start with:

  • foods your family actually eats
  • items that store well
  • items you can freeze
  • pantry staples and long-lasting items

HOW TO STOCK UP ON FOOD: MEAT & PROTEIN

We used to buy bulk meat from a supplier, but their business closed so now we’re all about snagging discounted meat at the store! Anytime we see those yellow stickers at Walmart, we fit it into our budget and stock up. You can also split a cow or hog with someone, but be sure you’ve got enough freezer space—it can fill up fast!

Speaking of freezer space, we have a whole post on how to stock up on and freeze meat that goes into great detail for you.

STOCK UP ON FOOD: PANTRY ITEMS

Jordan stacking canned goods from Stocktober, from ShelfCooking.com

Sometimes you want to stock up your pantry, but you don't necessarily want to buy bulk. We get it, not everybody wants to eat on a 6-pound can of green beans for weeks on end! This is where case lot sales and stockpiling foods come in handy.

If your local store offers a case lot sale on foods that your family will eat, it's always a good idea to buy a case and save a few dollars while you're at it! This allows you to stock your pantry at a discount and it'll keep you from having to buy that item for a while.

If you're new to stockpiling those kitchen staples and pantry staples, then be sure to check out our Stockpiling Food 101 post! It has all the best tips you'll need to become a pro at building an affordable stockpile.

STOCK UP ON FOOD: SHOPPING IN BULK

Costco fans, this one's for you! You know we LOVE a good bulk buy. So much so that we have a whole page dedicated to everything you need to know about Costco, including:

But even if you don’t have a membership, you can still find deals at your local grocery store Walmart or favorite store.—just make sure you’re comparing the price per unit! Bigger doesn’t always mean cheaper, so check before you load up. Shop smart and you'll easily be able to stock up on a budget.

EMBRACE THE STOCKTOBER CHALLENGE!

You’ve got this, mama! 💪 By the end of October, you’ll have a stockpile ready for any curveball—whether it’s an empty fridge, a busy week, or a surprise sale.

Let us know what you’re stocking up on in the comments below.

Jordan Page leaning on her kitchen counter with canned goods sitting on top of the counter for Stocktober with text: "join the Stocktober challenge to restock afforably www.shelfcooking.com"

Get ready to rock Stocktober, and let’s crush this challenge together! 🤘

Jordan Page signature, from ShelfCooking.com