rotation and donation

Peanut butter and oil are two products on my shelves that don't store well for very long. These are important products for my three-month supply, but sometimes we don't consume all that I've stored before the foods hit their expiration dates. For many foods, expiration dates are just a rough guideline to ensure the highest quality of the food product. But foods with high oil content, like peanut butter, turn rancid fairly quickly and the expiration date is worth paying attention to.

I find that, depending upon the storage conditions, oil products can often exceed the storage date by a year or more (but go rancid quickly once opened). Peanut butter tastes terrible if we go much beyond the actual expiration date. For these products, and others like canned meat, I pay extra attention to the expiration date. When the expiration dates nears, I donate these food items to our local food bank. I really think this is a win-win situation. I am able to keep a nice supply of these items in my three-month supply, but am not wasteful if we don't use them as quickly as I thought.

Think "rotation and donation," especially if you dislike storing any food item beyond the expiration date. You'll be blessing lives in the process.