Long Term Food Storage Part 2: BUYING FOOD

Welcome back to “Tax Refund Week” where we’re sharing with you how to get big chunks of your Food Storage built, if you happen upon big chunks of change.

Today is the fun day where we show you all our tricks on where to find your long term food storage items for the cheapest prices. While these things occasionally do go on sale (and we try to warn you when they do), we have found where things are generally the cheapest so that you can feel good about buying your bulk foods at any time.

Option 1: Home Storage Centers

If you live in North America near an LDS Home Storage Center (or cannery), this is generally the least expensive place to purchase your bulk grains and powdered milk. Some common grocery store items can be found here at reasonable prices but by using coupon and sale shopping you can get things like sugar and spaghetti at really great prices at your local grocery store.
Click here to look for a Home Storage Center in your area.

While a few items may be available already packaged in #10 cans, for the most part you buy your foods in bulk bags at the cannery. Many times you are allowed to can them into #10 cans yourself, but the rules vary at different canneries. You will need to calculate in the cost of buckets or cans when you are comparing prices. Here are the current price lists for you to look at.
U.S. Price List | Canada Price List

A few limited items are available online from the cannery. Wheat, rice, pinto beans, and oats can be purchased in #10 cans at good prices with free shipping.
Click here for more information.

Please make sure to call your local cannery to find out their policies before you just show up. Each one seems to have different rules regarding needing an appointment, allowing non-members to purchase products, etc.

Option 2: Grocery Stores / Wholesale Clubs

In general, the grocery store is better for your shorter term, three month supply type of foods as well as your non-food items. However, occasionally there will be some great deals on bulk items. If your only choice is to go to a local grocery store you do the best you can. Often times baking ingredients can be purchased in bulk at your local wholesale clubs such as Costco or Sams Club at great prices. Here are some other ideas of stores to check for food storage items:

WinCo (excellent bulk grain and legume sections)
Organic or Health Food Stores (carry the more uncommon grains and flours and can often help you order in bulk)
Ethnic Grocery Stores (they will often carry things not found in regular stores)
Farmers Markets (great for stocking up on fruits and vegetables that you take home and preserve yourself for long term storage)

If you live in the western United States we HIGHLY recommend subscribing to the Deals to Meals service as it tells you exactly what is on sale in your local grocery stores each week and specifically mentions when it is a great food storage item to stock up on.

Option 3: Online Stores

You can get anything and everything for your food storage online. Since shipping can be a big price factor, it is usually best to order in large quantities to take advantage of shipping price breaks. We’ve included the general shipping policies for each website so you can easily do price comparisons at a glance.

US Shoppers:
– Shelf Reliance – $15.99 shipping on orders over $190 (Price discounts if you sign up for Thrive Q)
– Emergency Essentials – $12.00 shipping on orders over $120
– Honeyville Grain – $4.49 flat rate shipping
– Walton Feed – shipping varies based on weight
– Augason Farms – $11.99 shipping on orders over $100

Canadian Shoppers:
– Briden Solutions
– In Case Of

UK Shoppers:
– http://emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/

Please note that we are not well experienced with where to purchase foods outside of the U.S. and Canada. If you have any tips you would like to share with other readers, please leave them in the comments!