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How to Create a Garage Food Pantry

Andrea Hermitt

If you want to stockpile food or are short on storage space in your kitchen, you may want to consider creating a garage food pantry. The garage is not the most ideal space to store food, due to moisture problems and temperature places. With a few adjustments, however, you can store food safely. Here are some tips for creating a garage food pantry.

Create a Garage Food Pantry
  1. You want to invest in a garage storage system. Prices range from $200.00 for a single freestanding pantry closet to $1500.00 for freestanding, heavy-duty, steel garage cabinets. It is important that food stored in the garage is put in a cabinet that will keep it free from pests and will help eliminate temperature changes.

  2. Consider purchasing an inexpensive, no-frills new or used refrigerator to store certain foods in your pantry. You can keep the temperature at the highest setting so as not to refrigerate the items, but to keep them cool. You won’t find a safer more airtight environment than this. You should be able to find one for about $200.00.

  3. Not all foods can be stored in your garage. Unless the foods are in jars or cans, you really should keep them in the house. If you really need to put food in bags or other paper-based packaging in the garage, they should be inside of an airtight plastic or metal container, and then put inside your storage closet.

  4. Take steps to keep your garage pest-free. Food stored in your garage can attract all kinds of critters. Before adding a food pantry to your garage, make sure that your garage is sealed to keep pests out and to reduce temperature fluctuations as much as possible.

  5. Do not store your food near gasoline, insecticides or other chemicals. The plastic that these chemicals are stored in is porous and can leach into your food. These items should be in a separate cabinet on the other side of the garage.