Price Creep of Edibles/Drinkables - Does It Change You?

[qrn]

RE. the Flour thing. best to buy in bulk from a commericial rest, supply

I buy 100 pounds, (50 of high gluten and 50 of a lighter variety, for $35and it lasts a few months..

Bud

This works great if one has room to store it and in conditions to keep it from being invaded by nasties. I simply don't have that kind of storage space nor could I handle moving flour in huge amounts.

I solved the storage by using 2, 22quart plastic buckets, from the rest. equip place, I can get 50 pounds in each, by pouring the flour into the bucket to the top, and then picking it up by the handle, and bouncing it on the floor,and then adding more, and then doing it again until I get the whole bag in...It compresses and has an air tight top so it lasts a long time...

Bud

[ScoopKW]

Another advantage to shopping this way is that as a group of consumers we're sending a message -- "less packaging, more product!"

The more people who shop this way, the better.

For instance, when I installed LED light bulbs people said I was crazy to spend so much. Now they're half the price. My LEDs haven't burnt out (and won't for several more years), and they've paid for themselves a couple times over in energy savings. Next time I replace a bulb, it will pay for itself in a matter of weeks, not months. That's progress.

If only this would catch on for Compressed Natural Gas cars... still waiting for THAT to happen.

[Pierogi]

RE. the Flour thing. best to buy in bulk from a commericial rest, supply

I buy 100 pounds, (50 of high gluten and 50 of a lighter variety, for $35and it lasts a few months..

Bud

This works great if one has room to store it and in conditions to keep it from being invaded by nasties. I simply don't have that kind of storage space nor could I handle moving flour in huge amounts.

I solved the storage by using 2, 22quart plastic buckets, from the rest. equip place, I can get 50 pounds in each, by pouring the flour into the bucket to the top, and then picking it up by the handle, and bouncing it on the floor,and then adding more, and then doing it again until I get the whole bag in...It compresses and has an air tight top so it lasts a long time...

Bud

But those 50 pound containers still have to be MOVED from somewhere to somewhere else. There are those of us who simply cannot do that.

There are also those of us for whom coming up with an extra $35 in the budget, in one place, at one time, is almost as impossible as moving that 50 pounds of flour from Point A to Point B.

[Pierogi]

If you want some High Gluten Flour( for bagels). I'm getting a 50lb bag thru a caterer in LB. My aunt works for him and he is letting me order it. Just let me know.

Randi, thanks, its tempting, but I've never actually made bagels (yet). They're on my list of things to accomplish. I'll wait until I've mastered them on a small scale before I commit to anything larger. But I appreciate the offer for sure, and I'll keep it in mind.

[qrn]

[Mjx]

Does anyone get together with others on a regular basis to divvy up things that, if bought in bulk, are significantly more affordable than if bought in 'need of the moment' quantities, but that would involve too much cash outlay/take up more space than many people have in their homes, if just one person were to make that purchase? Now that I think of it, perhaps there's even a thread about this...

[Kat Tanaka Okopnik]

...not everyone lives in a place with basements!

(And as far as Americans complaining about the rising costs of food...maybe you'd be cranky too, if your healthcare costs were what ours are. But we're getting far afield from the topic.)

[azurite]

I shifted from buying (in bulk from a local co-op) Guisto's organic baker's flour to buying flour not certified organic grown by some eco-conscious (not the term used) farmers in eastern WA or MT, can't remember which (I'm in the PNW). It could be the latter flour is "organic" but that the farmers don't want to pay to be certified, or not--but for sure it's less expensive. I was ordering 25 lb bags of the Guisto's through one co-op, but when I joined a different (larger one), I got a call from the person in charge of grains telling me I wasn't saving any by special ordering a 25 lb bag but that I should just ask a clerk to fill up a bag w/20 or 25 lbs, whatever I want. I think this co-op, because it's larger, is ordering 50 or 100 lbs at a time itself, so I get the cost benefit of the co-op's larger unit purchases.

I stopped buying a local soft goat cheese I really liked when the seller simultaneously decreased the size of the container & increased the price. If I buy it at all now, it's for a special occasion.

My ability to perform mental arithmetic is improving as I do much more of it (and I love unit price labeling)--I've spent more time than I have in years calculating whether I can save and by how much by buying in bulk or not. Whether it's bringing my own containers to the co-op or special ordering in bulk. Being a member of this co-op helps, as I can order in bulk through the co-op. If they can get it through one of their wholesalers, I can order it. I do have some budget flexibility so I can save by buying a case or however much I have to buy to do a bulk purchase. Sometimes. I save quite a bit on dried catfood that way.

I used to buy a sausage made from free range whatever, but did some price comparison and realized I could save a significant amount of money by buying X amount of ground (free range) pork when it was on sale, and mixing in some spices myself. Not sure how it'll taste (I guessed at the spice/herb amounts), I divided it up into the portion sizes I generally use and froze them. It's for tomato/meat sauce for pasta and I haven't felt like eating that lately--I don't eat much meat anyway.

For the past few years, I've gone to a local u-pick place for blueberries. Last year I picked about 12 lbs, that seems to be lasting fairly well, and they freeze well. A friend has a fair amount of land, and while her fruit crops last year were pretty poor (late wet spring), usually I help her pick fruit and berries and take home some of what I pick. Some of it gets eaten, some frozen for later eating, some turned into chutney or jams (for presents as well as home consumption).

I plan to expand my veg garden this spring and perhaps buy a bare root berry bush (raspberry or marionberry or loganberry). The local climate limits what I can grow, but for the past two years, I've been able to overwinter kale (it's an amazingly hardy green) so I no longer buy lettuce or other salad greens, either I grow it myself during the growing season, or I'm using kale as the salad green. This year I bought corn salad (mache) seeds to try out as a second winter green. Maybe I'll get brave & try to build an unheated 1/2-1/3 greenhouse (all I have room for in the south-facing part of my yard) and be able to grow a few fruit/veg that require more warmth then normally exists. Working w/wood/old windows is something I have no experience doing.

Edited February 14, 2011 by azurite (log)

[Pierogi]

Does anyone get together with others on a regular basis to divvy up things that, if bought in bulk, are significantly more affordable than if bought in 'need of the moment' quantities, but that would involve too much cash outlay/take up more space than many people have in their homes, if just one person were to make that purchase? Now that I think of it, perhaps there's even a thread about this...

I've thought about this, and my one or two other food obsessed friends have actually discussed this, but never gotten it together. Mostly for me, it again is having the discretionary money at the time they want to go to the warehouse stores or whatever. But I do need to persue this idea further, and exploit it, because I think it could be a good thing...as they say....

BTW, last trip to the MegaMart showed me that a 5-pound bag of sugar is now a *FOUR* pound bag of sugar. At a slightly higher price, of course....