@TLM
I think that's a very sound way to look at it.
To aim for what you will actually use, what you can use for multiple purposes, kind of thing. A flexible approach if possible. Decent storage of stuffs that will keep, be something you and family will actually choose to eat.
Personally my pantry is pretty well set, I know what we use, how quickly we go through stuff, but then I'm old enough to have learned over the years. I don't think that anyone can really lay down just exactly 'what' every one or family ought to have. We're all different.
Knowing what I do, and having a good store of the usual flours, grains, oils, seeds, etc., I have chosen to stash extras of items that I know are already expensive and are likely to become more so, especially since we are on an island where we just cannot grow many of the spices, etc., that greatly enrich our diet.
This week I bought saffron strands and vanilla bean paste and extra cornmeal. Last week I bought more crystallised ginger. All of these will happily keep for years
but we use them, so it'll not go to waste.
Where I live I can easily get to M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Lidl's, Asda, Morrisons, Iceland, Farmfoods, Co-op, Home Bargains, B&M's, etc., all within ten minutes of the house. So, I can compare, but right across the board
@Woody girl is right, there are filler uppers in every shelf, and fewer varieties available of items too. The shelves aren't empty by any means, but they're thin looking. Much more like the small supermarkets of the 1960's early 1970's than the 2000's.
Maybe it's just in response to folks not buying as much during lockdown, etc., and supermarkets being careful about overheads and waste
Me ? I'm starting to think like my Granny