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General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: Zillo7 on June 28, 2014, 04:20:26 PM

Title: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: Zillo7 on June 28, 2014, 04:20:26 PM

I've been thinking about how to reduce the cost of what I eat. I rarely eat out so that's not a problem, but I want to minimize the cost as much as possible.
I've been looking at some sites like allbulkfoods.com; maybe this would be an alternative to going to the grocery store every week. Does anyone here have experience with buying food this way?

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: TomTX on June 28, 2014, 07:27:29 PM

Have you tried using bulk foods from the grocery store? Make your own beans (from dried) and rice from a bag, not "minute rice" from a box?

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: MoneyCat on June 28, 2014, 07:57:31 PM

I get most of my food in bulk from a warehouse store now.  It has greatly reduced my grocery costs.  The only foods that are not a good idea to buy in bulk (unless you have a very large family or split the costs with another family) are perishables like vegetables and fruits (and you can grow many of those yourself if you have your own garden.)

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: 121 Seconds on June 28, 2014, 09:50:43 PM

Quote from: MoneyCat on June 28, 2014, 07:57:31 PM

perishables like vegetables and fruits (and you can grow many of those yourself if you have your own garden.)

This stash of bulk food came courtesy of the backyard...

(http://www.thedirteffect.com/uploads/7/9/1/1/7911196/7618881_orig.jpg)

http://www.thedirteffect.com/patch-to-plate.html (http://www.thedirteffect.com/patch-to-plate.html)

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: soccerluvof4 on June 29, 2014, 07:20:41 AM

Were a family of 6 so alot of dry products like rice, pasta, canned good we buy bulk at Whse store and on sale.  It really comes down to what things you use and how often. Also figuring out price per oz.  Like alot of things the bulk price might not be all that great.  It took me a year to cut my grocery bills in half but I am still looking and working to find better deals and buy in bulk when it makes sense.

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: MayDay on June 29, 2014, 07:23:01 AM

We buy 25 lb bags of oats, flour, and beans from a local store. They stock normal quantities and you can special order big bags for 10% over wholesale.  You can also look into if there is an UNFI group in your area.

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: rocketpj on June 29, 2014, 08:31:56 AM

We once bought a bulk order of meat from a restaurant wholesaler.  It filled our deep freeze and fridge freezer.  Pound for pound it was an amazing deal and we got some great food.

However, our meat consumption skyrocketed, for better or worse.  I loved having a wide selection of good quality cuts available to cook with, so I cooked a lot of meat - much more than I would if I had been at the store buying it individually. 

In the end I'm not sure if we saved money.  It was definitely a good deal, but we ended up just increasing our consumption somewhat.

Title: Re: Bulk Foods - A good idea?
Post by: Mrs. Frugalwoods on June 29, 2014, 08:38:45 AM

We keep our grocery bill very low by buying in bulk from Costco. As soccerluvof4 said, we do check the price per ounce/unit very carefully, because not everything is a deal. We typically go to Costco once a month and stock up on: garbanzo beans, lentils, quinoa, oats, dried fruit, rice, and frozen salmon, plus household supplies (dog food, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc). Then, I go to the grocery store about once a week for just fresh fruit and veggies. Similar to MoneyCat, I haven't found it worthwhile to buy perishables at Costco because it goes bad before we (2 adults) can eat it all. We focus on not wasting any food, which is much easier to attain by buying the perishables in small quantities each week.