Need to make a decision now...
 

Ok, I've got a dilemma...

We have been food prepping here and there for the past 6 months or so, but haven't really got near enough to feel comfortable. We're looking to stock at least a year of food for my wife and I. We've had to put off diving deeper into this until now as we couldn't afford the extra expense (we were on one income for a few months).

We've been looking at a few different websites, and being that we are up in Maine, shipping is super expensive. Pretty much what we're finding is $50 for every 100 lbs. So what was $450 in grains, beans, etc., now turns into $700.

The other issues is shipping delays. 8 weeks at Walton Feed, or 12 weeks at AAOOB Storable Foods. What if something happens in the midterm? Unless someone has advice for somewhere that isn't having shipping delays, I assume this is unavoidable. Although their prices are very similar, for whatever reason it would cost $100 more to ship through Walton.

We really need to make a decision now, but with these issues above, we keep dragging our feet. We have been searching online for local suppliers...somewhere in the New England area, but haven't had any luck yet.

Does anyone have any advice? This is making my head spin!! :10_1_19:

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

I think you have to many issues if it is realy that hard to find food resources
where you are now why are you living there?because it is only going to get
worse.

cheap way to get some serious preps put aside on the cheap is the local ag supply buying wheat and barley and corn is there not one of these in your
area?bulk rice and beans from the local supermarket is another good low
cost start.

i know what everyone says about storing what you eat but if it comes down
to a sense of urgency and a lack of food stock the basics wheat rice corn
barley even if you only end up feeding the chickens.

walk in buy it problem solved.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

another note on the grains is they can be planted,sprouted,ground into flour
and hence baked into bread.soaked and added to soupes and stews
fed to livestock.

and you would be surprised the feeling of security you will get from
a tone of grain and a little bit of knowledge how to use it.

and you will be surprised at how cheap a years woth of food is if you
get right back to basics.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Get you some mason jars and a foodsaver mason jar sealer.

Buy local rice, beans, pasta, lentils, etc from grocery store or sams club.

This is a VERY fast and cheap way to build up your storage.

I use it myself....

Shameless plug>>> See my thread on Mason Jar Storage and howto.

You can also call your local mormon ward and inquire VERY politely about food storage. If you ask the right person, they will put you in touch with the local food storage specialist or provident living administrator.

We are going to can over 14 cases (that is 72 cans) for 300 bucks in Jan. at the local Mormon Bishop's storehouse.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Oh, you can also buy directly from the Mormon website staples such as rice, beans, wheat, and oats. They do not charge for shipping and is available to everyone.

https://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wc...FzpDmS0K&ddkey

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

You can buy bulk rice and beans at a warehouse store if you have one near you and pack it yourself. You can order buckets, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers online. Those should ship pretty quickly. There are other places to buy canned foods, such as Honeyville or Beprepared.com that ship quickly.

You might also look into getting a pressure canner and canning your own food.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Oats for horses = oats for people....

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

If you think something is going to happen between now and when your food gets delivered, then you can easily fill that gap by loading up at the local grocery store. Buy a few week's worth of stuff there (no shipping charges or delays) and if you need it, you eat it, if you don't need it, you still eat it.

The dried out survival food is for if the SHTF 5 years from now and you don't want to keep rotating stock until then. Should things get bad next week, the stuff in the grocery store is plenty good and you'll surely eat it before it expires.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Quite true....

oats are VERY versatile as a food storage prep, and should be considered more important than rice IMO.

We stock a lot of both, but I can make MUCH more from oats.

Cookies
Bread
Pancakes
Filler (ala meatloaf etc)
soups

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

I would agree totally.

We keep at least 15 cases of canned vegatables, soups, sauces, etc at the house at all times. This is the easiest food storage there is.

Date the case when you bring it in the house. Put the oldest cases in the panty to be used first.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

They covered it. We store our local and honeyville stuff in foodaver vacuum bags (to defeat insects) then in cheap metal trash cans (to defeat rodents). Beans and grains and oil and salt first, since that is the big calorie for the buck stuff, then extra canned goods you eat. You can probably do fine 100% local as far as being able to eat. When you get to fancy, beyond survival and into treats, then other things go on the list.

We had taste tested some diabetic sweets with no aspartame or splenda and they pleased my diabetic wife so today I ordered just under $200 in assorted preserves, faux honey and maple syrup.. things that will make life nicer for her. I tasted them too and I don't really need to be eating sugar either, so all our sweets bought from now on will be th sugar alcohol kind.

The tongue cannot tell it isn't sugar, or ours can't, but it just passes through and does not feed yeast fungus, tooth decay bacteria, or spike insulin.

Get garden seed in too. AOOBS are a good seed supplier of non hybrid seed.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

If shipping cost is in any way related to distance, then you need something closer than Idaho. Try Natural Way Mills. I ordered grains from them. They're in Middle River, Minnesota, which is still a long way away from you -- but about half the distance as Walton's in Idaho. You're probably not going to find too many wheat growers in New England.

Another thought. Your local health food store sells whole wheat berries and whole rye berries too -- I'd be willing to bet money on that. Talk to your store manager and see if you can piggy-back an order through him. I did that myself. With a proper adjustment built into the price to incentivize him, you can get the shipping based on his bulk order and save some $$$.

Other posters are right, though. I'm sure you can find big bags of rice and beans in your local stores. Go ahead and stock them. You can always wait to put them in mylar bags with O2 absorbers until your shipment arrives. In the meantime, you've got the food!

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Thank you everyone! Even after all the reading, including the FAQ at the top, this is exactly what I needed. THANKS!!

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

thanks for starting this thread - a lot of good input. Got some good/smart/respourceful folk at GIM.:RockOn:

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

These guys are in Barrington, NH and will deliver:
http://www.assocbuyers.com/shop/pc/v...?idCategory=37

Won't deliver but have bulk items like most food coops do:
http://www.springfieldfoodcoop.com/Department_Bulk.aspx (in Vermont)
http://www.belfast.coop/ (Maine)

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Honeyville only charges 4.99 shipping on everything.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/shippingpolicy.aspx

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Here's some of the places I've been buying from. Good prices, free or cheap shipping, fast shipping. What else could you ask for? I've tried to keep each order around $100 every two weeks on payday. It stacks up fast.

http://www.bulkfoods.com/default.htm
http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/
http://www.vitacost.com/MountainHouseProducts
https://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wc...FzpDmS0K&ddkey
http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/
http://www.mrefoods.com/

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

+1 on Honeyville Grain shipping fast. I placed a large order with them back in October and ended up receiving everything in about 10 days.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Us cityfolk can get a rather balanced survival cache by a simple trip to Costco or any other big-box store.
Start with the starches; pasta, rice, dehydrated potatoes. Spend what it takes to get a year's consumption stored ahead. I also buy cases of soups, beans, lentils, etc . .
Next move is to get other consumables that we eat regularly like cans of tuna, beef stew, corn chowder, etc...

The theory is that by mixing, lets say 1 cup of rice or pasta to a can of soup helps to stretch it a long way. I was living in the bush for about a dollar a meal this way last winter.
Great thing is, it only takes water to prepare the starches, and the canned goods get rotated and replaced on a daily basis. Think 1-year pantry ;-)

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Thanks again everyone. Pulled the trigger this evening on the following:

Honeyville - went with them on the initial purchase because of $5 total shipping, no delays, and I could use the remaining balance of my paypal account for payment
6 Grain Rolled Cereal - 50lb
9 Grain Mix - 50 lb
Farine Germade - 50 lb
Whole Wheat Flour - 50 lb
Soy Protein Isolate - 8 lb
Steel Cut Oats - 50 lb
Long Grain Brow Rice - 50lb
Freeze Dried Raspberries
Freeze Dried Banana
Oxygen Absorbers

Mylar Bags - 20 5 gal bags fromhttp://sorbentsystems.com/mylar.html

Picked up 5 buckets w/ lids at Home Depot yesterday as they are on sale.

We already have a decent pantry supply, along with another 50 lb of white rice and 25 lb of quick oats. We plan on getting more things like beans, rice, sugars, canned veggies, and meats locally. I feel that this is a decent start though for a more concrete plan. I feel a hundred times better after hitting that 'Order' button! :ok:

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Although I've been buying local, earlier this year I found that http://www.bobsredmill.com/home.php was able to help me out at a reasonable price. I reccomend their 13 bean soup mix (50lbs.) and powdered buttermilk....

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

I'm buying as much as possible in #10 cans. 15 to 20 year shelf life. I guess if one could for sure see the bad times coming soon, like next year, I'd buy 50 lb sacks of grain.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Thanks! Oh....BTW, if I order from them, three college kids aren't going to show up on my doorstep on bikes to make me take delivery of a book of Mormon along with the product are they??? Is that why shipping is free???

:signs14:

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Oh....I saw some buckets at Walmart and Lowes today and I got to wondering...

Is a bucket a bucket or do the ones online have better seals or food quality plastic (and does that even matter if you're planning on lining with bags)?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Check the phone book for restaurant suppliers. Smart and Final is a great place. I get stuff in large sizes there all the time.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Emergency Essentials is another good supplier that ships (in-stock) items quickly. Right now, they have many superpails in stock:

http://beprepared.com/quickshoplist....e_E_Superpails

Note that Superpails come with the food preserved in a mylar bag and with O2 absorbers, so the pails you receive will be ready for long-term storage with no further effort on your part.

They also sell a wide variety of freeze-dried #10 cans, including staples and Mountain House freeze-dried entrees.

Shipping is a flat $12 for any size order.

Re: Need to make a decision now...
 

Well, that hasn't happened yet. If all else fails, just ask them where you can get the chickens for ritual sacrifice.