Attention all cellarers

Mary Kochan, editor of Catholic Exchange has begun a four-part series on food, from the standpoint of exercising frugality in the coming months/years. She begins by explaining a few concepts for our hand-to-mouth, fast-food generation.

To function in an economical and well-organized manner a home should have both cupboard and pantry storage. Many people also have long-term food storage and there is some overlap between pantry items and long-term food storage, but not much. What goes where is based on the shelf-life and turnover of various foods. Foods whose shelf-life or turnover is less than a year are not suitable for long-term storage. Those foods probably make up the bulk of the foods in your kitchen cupboards and are candidates to be stored in a pantry. Shelf-life refers to the “use by” or “best by” or “expiration” date stamped on the package. Turnover refers to how often you have to replace the product because it has been used up.

It's quite reminiscent of the Benedictine Rule, which gives careful instructions for the monk or sister who takes care of the food for the community.

As cellarer of the monastery
let there be chosen from the community
one who is wise, of mature character, sober,
not a great eater, not haughty, not excitable,
not offensive, not slow, not wasteful,
but a God-fearing man
who may be like a father to the whole community.

Let him keep qua rd over his own soul,
mindful always of the Apostle's saying
that "he who has ministered well
will acquire for himself a good standing" (1 Tim. 3:13).

Let him take the greatest care
of the sick, of children, of guests and of the poor,
knowing without doubt
that he will have to render an account for all these
on the Day of Judgment.

Let him regard all the utensils of the monastery
and its whole property
as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.
Let him not think that he may neglect anything.
He should be neither a miser
nor a prodigal and squanderer of the monastery's substance,
but should do all things with measure
and in accordance with the Abbot's instructions.

I'm looking forward to the rest -- because in our domestic churches this is our God-given duty, for which we will answer one day. [Time to go clean my cell!]