Ready to prepare for winter food shortages? Preparing for a winter shortage is important for weather emergencies, food supply issues, family emergencies, and even high grocery prices due to inflation, tariffs, or job loss. Whether you’re wondering how to prepare for winter storm or power outage, or planning for food shortages winter 2025 into 2026, this will help! It’s time to prepare yourself because winter is coming!
2025 Prepare for Winter Food Shortages (Coming Food Shortages This Year)
What food shortages are coming? While it’s difficult to pinpoint exact shortages (we won’t know until the natural disasters like fires, droughts, floods and hurricanes calm down and see the effects on farmlands), here are projected upcoming food shortages, foods that will be in short supply, and some hard-to-find foods that you might not find in the grocery store.
- UPDATED MARCH 2025
What should I stock up for winter 2025?
What should I stock up on to prepare for food shortage?
- Avocados
- Coffee
- Tea
- Canned soft drinks
- Maple syrup
- Raw sugar
- Rice
- Eggs
- Wheat & Flour
- Chicken
- Beef / red meat
- Corn*
- Bread*
- Wheat*
- Flour*
- Baby formula (I’m still seeing moms in the local groups talking about having a hard time finding certain formula brands)
- Vegetable oils* (canola oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil): Due to continuing droughts around the world)
- Olive Oil*
- Canned pet food (there’s still an aluminum can shortage, which you may have noticed on the sparse grocery shelves)
- All canned goods (due to tariffs)
*Made worse by the war on Ukraine (which is a large exporter of these items) and current economic unrest
KEEP SCROLLING! We’ll cover what to prepare for winter weather and family emergencies and also how to prepare for the winter food shortages coming. Don’t miss our FREE winter emergency printable list for family at the end of the post! Join us as we discuss will there be a food shortage in 2025 and 2026 and more!
- NOTE: READ MORE ABOUT OVERALL 2025 FOOD SHORTAGE CAUSED BY TARIFFS AND OTHER CURRENT ECONOMIC ISSUES.
Why is there a shortage on rice?
Rainfall and severe flooding in both China and Pakistan, two of the largest rice producing regions, as well as the war in Ukraine, are all contributing to the shortage of rice supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has said that the impact of the flooding on rice production in those areas is “even worse than initially expected.”
SEE WHAT YOU CAN USE INSTEAD OF RICE IN RECIPES AND MEALS
Before we get to our winter prep tips, let’s cover some some other questions that you may be wondering…
Why are grocery shelves still empty?
There are still occasional empty grocery shelves because manufactures are struggling to recover with the influx in demand and stress on the system that happened early in the pandemic and then continuing issues after like bird flu (making egg shortages, especially in January 2025).
I am also keeping an eye on what shortages will come out of the California wildfires of early 2025. California is a large agricultural state including lettuce, grapes, almonds, dairy products / cattle and more. I will update this post when more information is available.
These things can make it harder to get products to the grocery stores in quantities that we are used to seeing on store shelves.
Is there a shortage of canned goods?
Yes, there is still shortage of some canned goods, especially wet pet food, canned fruits and vegetables, and some drinks. In most cases the problem is due to supply chain disruptions and costs of production.
- *2025 update: If tariffs continue, the cost of canned goods will skyrocket due to limited availability or tariffs on steel imports.
How do you prepare for a shortage?
Make sure that you have items on hand like you would prepare for any emergency or shortage. That starts with at least one gallon of water per person (and pet) per day, with a minimum of a two week supply. For food, start with items your family loves and eats regularly and then also add in non-perishable food items that store well.
Food to stock up on for winter:
- Rice
- Wheat berry (can be cooked or you can grind it into flour)
- Quinoa
- Pasta/noodles (and sauce)
- Beans
- Canned meat, tuna or chicken
- Jerky or dried meat sticks
- Canned fruits
- Canned vegetables
- Dried fruit
- Any foods with an increased shelf life / are good for long term storage in the event of an emergency
See the full food shortage preparation list below. KEEP SCROLLING for how to prepare for food shortage 2023 and now — including how to prep for the holiday season if you’re budget is stretched!
Ways to Prepare for Upcoming Food Shortages Tip: I like to also keep Sterno on hand for emergency power outages so you can still heat up cans of soup and things like that.
Here are the winter shortage predictions and potentially beyond with 2025 – 2026 shortages in food production issues…
NOTE: This shortages of food list isn’t mean to stress you out. It’s just to give you an overview of the food supplies right now so you can plan accordingly for your family, if needed. Some of the US food shortage is effected by current events in the world that you may not even consider affecting your food supply.
Possible Food Shortage Coming Soon 2025 – 2026
- Rice
- Beef Shortage may continue: 2025 droughts, wildfires, and other weather issues may affect the supply of beef 2025 – 2026 and tariffs may increase that shortage because more than half of the U.S. supply of red meat comes from Canada
- Chicken: a bird flu is still an issue this year, which means increased prices and shortages
- Butter: dairy farms are experiencing lower production (prices have increased by almost 25% already)
- Eggs: cost of eggs is up almost 40% (!!) over last year due to a bird flu, inflation, and supply chain issues and is expected to continue with shortages and/or an increase in egg prices for the foreseeable future
- Flour, pasta, bread, pretzels: increased prices and possible shortages due to the ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine (this area produces 20-30% of the world’s wheat)
- Chickpeas: Ukraine and Russia are both huge producers of chickpeas and there is a current shortage, which will only continue
- Sugar: supply chain issues and rise in the cost of energy prices are both affecting production of sugar. Exporting countries like India, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and China are facing low supplies of sugar, which will impact availability / sugar prices.
- Baby formula mix: after the contamination in summer 2022, manufacturers are still having issues keeping up with production demands – even into 2025+!
- Corn (and related by-products like cereal and corn syrup): Local farmers in South Dakota, Ohio, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana are reporting lower yields than the previous year due to climate change weather issues and more. Additionally, Ukraine is a large corn producing country and the war with Russia is impacting this.
- Popcorn: due to supply chain issues and climate issues (low rain, infestations, etc)
- Chocolate Candy: cocoa and milk supply chain issues / energy costs have greatly increased cost of candy and impacted production. Some are reporting that it’s getting worse in 2025. (Did you know you can store food like chocolate in the freezer?)
- Olive oil: supply chain issues and droughts in Spain and Italy affected production and availability of olive oil. (Both countries are reporting a 30% drop in production.) If you haven’t seen price increases yet, higher prices are coming soon.
- Pet food: supply chain issues, labor shortages, and can issues are making wet cat food and wet dog food hard to find
If any of these products are on your radar, now is the time to prepare for the coming months before food prices increase or supply chains are disrupted completely. There is a likelihood of further food shortages on some spectrum in the upcoming winter and/or a sharp increase in food prices. It’s a good idea to plan now!
MORE EMERGENCY PREP POSTS:
Preparing An Emergency Go Bag for Kids
A GUIDE TO EMERGENCY SITUATIONS WITH KIDS
Easy Homemade Cleaner Recipes to Disinfect Your House
Helping Kids Cope During Emergencies and Disasters and FREE Coping Skills Worksheet
Social Distancing: 10 Tips Parents Need To Know
Fun Things To Do When Stuck At Home with Kids
48 Weather for Kids Activities
Here are tips for preparing for inflation, long-term food storage tips, and best way to prep for food shortages this year into next year…
Possible Shortages This Winter: How To Prepare For Food Shortage and Build Your Stockpile of Supplies
1. Stock up on extra groceries.
You may be wondering, Will there be food shortages winter? or Do I need to stock up on food 2025?
The good news is that many suppliers and grocery stores have said they’ve been stockpiling for months (instead of weeks) and storing extra items (like paper products and food staples) in anticipation higher demand and to prepare for winter and shortages due to tariffs.
Hopefully, we won’t experience the same level of empty shelves as before, like during the pandemic.
- However, some manufacturers are still having trouble catching up and keeping up, especially with cleaning supplies, canned vegetables, and other items, making it hard for stores to keep in stock.
On top of that, there are new food crisis issues because of war, tariffs, job loss, worker shortages, energy supplies issues, weather disasters, and resource demands.
It’s unclear how all of these together will impact the global food supply chain, but it’s probably safe to expect some delays and higher prices, so stock now while you can.
This is what happened over the previous years…
According to the Wall Street Journal:
General Mills said it hasn’t caught up with demand for Progresso soup, Betty Crocker cake mixes and Pillsbury refrigerated dough. It is increasing its production capacity and has hired 30 new outsourcing partners since March. The company said the entire industry is still struggling to rebuild inventory on similar items.
Campbell Soup Co. overall inventory is only about halfway recovered, and the team is pushing hard to fully catch up by January, according to CEO Mark Clouse. It is racing to get its Chunky and condensed soups and Swanson broths back in stock and adding production capacity for snacks such as Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers and Cape Cod potato chips.
There were previous shortages on items like canned drinks that aren’t as popular (like Fresca and Caffeine-Free Diet Coke), canned soups, baking mixes, cleaning supplies and more. It’s hard to tell if these will continue, but doesn’t hurt to keep a couple of extras of your favorites on hand.
So, what food shortages to expect for winter this year?
What food should I buy for shortage 2025?
Any 2025 winter shortages preparation will look much like your other food preparation for any type of emergency.
However, with uncertainty in global happenings in different regions, I would definitely add wheat berries (and a grinder like this — hand crank, not electric!).
You can grind wheat berries as flour and eat wheat berries cooked a variety of ways (hot breakfast cereals, in salads, healthy bowls, and more) and use them as a substitute for the rice shortage! We use them frequently at our house!
How To Prepare For Food Shortage List 2025
- Water
- Shelf stable fruits
- Shelf stable vegetables
- Wheat berries* and whole grains
- Peanut butter
- Shelf stable milk
- Canned fruit
- Meats in a can (or shelf stable meats like jerky, canned meats, potted meat, or dehydrated meat)
- Oats
- Rice (projected shortage from 2025 may raise prices even more or make supplies hard to find)
- Nuts
- Beans
- Lentils
- Pasta and pasta mixes
- Flour (or grains to grind during flour shortages)
- Sugar
- Salt
- Fats
- Honey
- Oils
- Freeze-dried food
*Make sure you store your wheat berries properly so they don’t go rancid or are affected by pathogens. We portion ours out and seal them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and greatly increase their expiration date to YEARS instead of months! Wheatberries are a great option for a versatile product to store for an extended period of time.
Do we need to stock up on food 2025 and 2026?
The biggest problems for 2025 (especially the 2025 winter and into 2026) will be rising prices with the uncertain economy coupled with the continuing shortages and impending tariffs, especially with cans and other products.
If you see sales on canned foods or you have ways to freeze meats and cheeses that are on sale, now is a good time to prepare for when money gets tighter.
DON’T FORGET TO PLAN FOR POWER OUTAGES! We use this device charger with these portable solar panels!
How much food should I store for emergencies?
How much food you store depends on your goals. Are you storing for a short-term emergency, like a few days without electricity or are you long-term food prepping?
At a minimum, store 72-hours worth of non-perishable food that your family enjoys. However, you may want to plan for 2-4 weeks of food supply in case you can’t get to the grocery store during emergencies.
A quick way to stock up pantry for winter is to buy packages like this so you’re prepared for any emergency and then add in the shelf-stable foods we’ve mentioned on the pantry list.
Going beyond food & water in preparing for a disaster or emergency this year…
2. Keep shopping for cleaning supplies
There may be upcoming cleaning supply shortages, especially on things like paper towels and trash bags.
(Remember when you couldn’t get paper towels, hand sanitizers, Lysol, bleach, cleaning supplies, and even antibacterial soap as easily as you could before all this happened? ::shudder::)
ALSO: A TOILET PAPER SHORTAGE MAY BE COMING… AGAIN.
The war on Ukraine has affected wood pulp production which, in turn, affects products made with paper… like toilet paper.
Might be time to buy an extra pack or two.
This is what happened over the past years:
According to CNN:
And Clorox, the world’s biggest maker of disinfectant cleaning materials, said consumers will continue to see a shortage of its wipes and other products into 2021 because of overwhelming demand during the pandemic.
CNN also said:
Paper towels are classified as a functional supply chain product, which means that the product is a basic necessity for most households. When demand fluctuates intensely…there is often insufficient inventory and capacity to meet the demand, no matter what inventory management system is used…
With flu season coming up, you’ll want to be sure that you’re stocked enough to scrub down your house if your family gets sick.
But, what if you can’t find the cleaning supplies you need?
MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANING SUPPLIES! (LEARN HOW HERE!)
Deb, one of our readers said this about our DIY cleaning recipes:
I just made the homemade Lysol Spray cleaner. I used lemon essential oil and it smells wonderful. My hubby turned the power off in our RV and forgot to prop open the refrigerator doors. After only four days yucky, stinky mold was growing everywhere. I sprayed everything down with this mixture and let it sit for 10 minutes. All the mold wiped right off with a damp cloth! I’ll be passing this recipe along to everyone!!!!
3. Check your medicine supplies.
With flu season upon us (along with everything else), you may want to stock up on extra medical supplies early before the flu hits hard, especially items like over-the-counter cold and flu medicines, herbal teas, fever reducers and cough medicines.
Also, if you or anyone in your family take prescription medications, ask your doctor if you should be concerned about an upcoming shortage in the drug and, if so, how can you get extras now to get you through the winter.
Some are projecting humidifiers and air purifiers to be in short supply, so if you’ve been eyeing them, grab them now!
IMPORTANT: Tampons and feminine hygiene products easily become in short supply due to the high cost of transportation, supply issues, and supply costs and is affecting the ability to produce tampons, even for big companies like Procter & Gamble Be sure to add some of these to your emergency supplies.
4. Prepare your emergency bag.
Do you have an emergency go bag (also called a 72-hour bag or grab and go bags) for every member of your family?
If not, now is the time to make your emergency bag while things are available!
An emergency bag allows you and your family to grab their bags in case you have to leave or evacuate your house for an emergency (which can be anything — weather related, power outages, chemical spills near your house, etc.).
When you have an emergency bag, you’re sure that everyone in your family will have a change of clothes, snacks, water, busy items and more — no matter if you end up at a friend’s house, in your car, or even in a shelter.
►LEARN ABOUT WHAT YOU AND YOUR KIDS NEED IN A 72-HOUR BAG
5. Consider holiday items NOW.
There may be shortages on the following (and it will only get worse closer to the holidays):
- Butter
- Flour
- Cake mixes
- Icings
- Refrigerated dough
- Canned vegetables
- Canned fruit
- Condensed soups (used for those holiday casseroles)
- Nuts
- Broth
Just to name a few items!
If you see them at the store now, grab a couple of extras here and there so that you have what you need when holiday shopping hits and everyone is shopping for Christmas recipes and holiday parties.
6. Do your toy shopping now!
Don’t wait until the last minute to do your toy shopping this year because we don’t know how much of holiday items are going to be available due to supply chain issues, how restocking is going to be during the holidays, and what the cost will be due to increased costs because of inflation.
REMEMBER: One of the problem’s manufacturer’s are having right now is with catching up and keeping up.
So, it’s time to check the Christmas list and start holiday shopping extra early this year.
(Sorry…)
These will help:
►Holiday Gift Guide For Parents
►CHECK CURRENT HOT TOYS THIS YEAR TO GET STARTED NOW!
►Unique Gamer Christmas Gifts for Kids & Teens When Money Is Tight
7. Plan for stuck at home with kids items.
Remember puzzle-ocalypse?
::shudder::
Increased costs probably mean you will be able to eat out less and do less entertaining outside the home.
And, you don’t want to be stuck at home with kids and not have anything to do again, right?
Let’s start planning now for winter weather or other stuck at home times, shall we?
That way, if the time comes where we are stuck at home again and even snowed in, you’re already prepared!
Need ideas?
Check out these fun family activities for winter and emergency times:
- Snow Day Survival Kit Ideas for Kids
- Ultimate family board game list
- Cheap craft kits
- Sales on subscription boxes
- Keep Kids Connected Online With Virtual Playdates
- Fun Things To Do When Stuck At Home with Kids
- UNIQUE Bored Things To Do When Stuck At Home With Kids + SURPRISING Benefits of Boredom
8. Prepare for power outages.
I don’t have to tell you, but the last few years has been huge for natural disasters — floods, hurricane and storms, unprecedented fires, crazy high heat waves, and more have left many without power for extended periods of time.
And, even in normal years, there’s always potential wintertime energy shortages.
So, you definitely want to consider backup battery sources (charging your phone to listen to news on the situation or contact loved ones is a BIG deal).
Power Outage Supplies You Need in Case of an Emergency
- DEFINITELY add this backup to your home. (It’s easy for car use, too!) – it’s our #1 emergency power outage tip!
- Head lamps like this
- Batteries in all sizes
- Solar charger
- Oil lamp and extra oil
- Portable heater (we also recommend THIS with any non-electric heater you’re using!)
TIP: KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THE WORLD! These are some headlines in previous years: “With winter fast approaching, Europe scrambles to prepare for energy shortages” and “French people prepare for energy shortages this winter“
9. Prepare vehicle for winter.
When you’re doing all your other preparing for winter, don’t forget to prepare your car for winter, especially if you live in an area that gets snow or cold weather.
And, just like you need emergency bags for your family, you’ll also want to put one in your car. This will help if you get stuck in the snow or in your car for a period of time (especially with the kids).
I’ve carried an “emergency kit” in my car for a few years now.
Some of it is a store-bought kit (first aid), but most of it are things that I’ve put inside a bag in the back of my car.
It’s made up of things that if I get stranded in my car (especially with my kid), we would probably be OK for a little while.
Prepare for winter in your car or prepare for a winter storm with:
- First aid kit
- Hand warmers
- Gloves, hats, socks
- Blankets (I like to keep these emergency mylar blankets in the car because they’re easy to store and don’t take up a lot of room)
- Change of clothes (especially a heavy hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants)
- Bottled waters and individual power drink mixes
- Snacks like trail mix, energy and granola bars, jerky and ready-to-eat prepackaged meals (think lunchbox items like packaged tuna and crackers)
- Small shovel
- Flashlight (we like these headlamps that keep your hands free)
- Windshield scraper and De-Icer (if you live in snow areas)
- Emergency charger (in case your car battery goes dead)
- Solar phone charger like this
- Something to pass the time (like MadLibs or a deck of cards)
MAKE SURE YOUR EMERGENCY SUPPLIES INCLUDE A DEVICE CHARGER LIKE THIS. IT’S EASY ENOUGH TO GRAB FOR THE CAR, TO CARRY WITH YOU IF YOU HAVE TO WALK TO SHELTER, OR TO USE AT HOME!
10. Shop for seeds.
Growing your own food is one of the best ways how to prepare for and survive a food shortage.
It doesn’t matter if you live on a lot of land, have a small backyard, have an apartment balcony, or are full time RV travelers or roadschoolers, you can grow something!
It may be a huge garden, a small backyard raised planter, or even a few containers of tomatoes on an apartment balcony or near a windowsill, but you can grow some of your food, including herbs — which are easy to grow no matter your space constraints!
Start now buying seeds (especially in anticipation for increased grocery prices in 2023 and this winter)!
You can buy seeds anywhere, but stick with heirloom seeds like this (which means they have been cultivated for a long time and passed down and are usually hardier).
We also swear by Park Seed and order regularly from their website. (We grew heirloom tomato plants as tall as our garage with seeds from them and it produced SO MANY tomatoes!)
Once you grow your own garden, you are in control of your own food preservation!
FREE Winter Emergency Checklist
CLICK HERE to grab your free winter emergency prepping checklist.
CHECK OUT MORE FAMILY EMERGENCY PREP
We hope this helped answer how can I prepare for food shortages and more.
Answering will there be a food shortage this winter is difficult, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare now!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PREPARE FOR WINTER FOOD SHORTAGES AND FAMILY EMERGENCIES THIS YEAR?
