Supply Shortage Management

Preparation Steps

• Build a rotating 90-day pantry using the FIFO method (First In, First Out) — consume the oldest items and restock with new purchases on regular shopping trips.
• Maintain a 3-month supply of all prescription medications by requesting 90-day fills from your pharmacy when possible.
• Avoid panic buying — purchase modestly more than your usual amounts on each regular shopping trip spread over weeks; this is effective and does not deplete community resources.
• Store supplies in a cool, dry, dark location to maximize shelf life.
• Keep a written inventory of your supplies with purchase and expiry dates so you can track what needs to be rotated.

Immediate Actions

• Ration non-perishable food to maintain adequate caloric intake: a minimum of 1800–2200 calories per day for adults.
• Prioritize protein and calorie-dense foods in your consumption plan — beans, canned fish, nuts, peanut butter.
• Identify local mutual aid networks, food banks, and community resource centers before you need them.
• Consider bartering non-essential household items for necessities if supply chains are significantly disrupted.
• Grow herbs, sprouts, or leafy greens indoors on a windowsill to supplement nutrition during extended disruptions.

What to Avoid

• Do not hoard beyond a 90-day personal supply — excessive hoarding depletes community stocks and harms vulnerable populations.
• Avoid relying on a single supply chain, store, or brand for critical items — diversify sources.
• Do not consume only refined carbohydrates during a shortage without supplementing with vitamins and minerals — nutritional deficiencies develop over weeks.
• Do not automatically discard medications past their labeled expiry date without consulting a pharmacist — many remain effective beyond the printed date, but some do not.

Supplies Needed

• Dry staples with long shelf life: white rice, dried beans, rolled oats, lentils, pasta.
• Canned proteins: tuna, sardines, salmon, chickpeas, kidney beans.
• Cooking oil, salt, sugar, iodized salt, honey.
• Multivitamins and specific supplements (Vitamin C, D, B12) for nutritional insurance during monotonous diets.
• Manual grain mill if planning for long-term disruptions involving bulk grain storage.

Recovery Steps

• Restock your pantry gradually as supply chains normalize — avoid depleting stores again with a single large restocking purchase.
• Maintain a permanent 30-day pantry baseline at all times as a minimum standard of household preparedness.
• Document what you actually consumed during the shortage and adjust quantities in future preparedness planning accordingly.
• Review medication stocks and request refills promptly after supply chains are restored.
• Assess what worked and what was missing in your supply plan and update your inventory list.