Comments on: Planning a Bulk-Buying Grocery Staples Excursion

By: A Co-operative Evening…

A Co-operative Evening… — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:45:29 +0000

[...] that was a bad pun. Micah and I scouted out the local co-op tonight. Nice little [...]

By: m

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:00:26 +0000

I think I know the coop too, well if it’s the one I’m thinking, we used to live near there when we lived in the DC area.

Anyhow, I am def. one to spend on healthy food. It’s def. one area I don’t skimp on. Not to say we buy whatever we want. We’ve lowered our grocery bill by hundreds a month so far, but we will pay to have healthy food. I have a health condition that pretty much requires it, but if I didn’t, well I wouldn’t want to acquire one, and eating well certainly doesn’t hurt in trying to avoid that fate.

We are def. on a quest now to eat healthier and learn a whole new way of shopping, eating, and cooking. It’s a process but one I enjoy. Our time is limited so we shop wherever is most convenient and healthy and easy, usually for us that is grocery store not farmer’s market, though we hope to check out the farmer’s market if we ever manage to find time.

I try to eat food that is organic, in season, and at least from our region, and not from out of the country. We don’t really buy in bulk, though. We don’t have extra storage space and when we have done it, the food seems to go to waste quite a bit. Now, we buy for the week only and it works great.

Whew, that was a lot of writing about food!

By: Mrs. Nathan

Mrs. Nathan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:59:01 +0000

When Nathan and I saw the word “staples” in the title of your post, we both were like “gee, we don’t use staples as often as they do…maybe only one box per year? What are they doing that require so many?” And then we realized what kind of staples you meant….

Duh.

We’ve recently started buying in semi-bulk (we have the same problem of not being able to eat things fast enough before they spoil) – like if raisins or shampoo is on sale, we buy several because we know we’ll need it eventually. I honestly don’t have enough *room* to store massive amounts of extra staples though.

By: wealthy_1

wealthy_1 — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:18:13 +0000

I must say that I’m willing to spend a little more for healthy food. I get paid every two weeks. On pay day I do what I consider my big shopping. I stock up on items I use regularly if they’re on sale. I shop for produce every week. That’s generally all I need. Sometimes I need milk and snack food for C2, but I only try to only buy what I absolutely need on the off pay week. I’m not good about cooking food and then freezing it.

By: boomie

boomie — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:39:54 +0000

I make my own granola. It’s much cheaper that way AND it is sooooooo easy. The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) from http://www.foodtv.com has the best and easiest recipe. You can add in dried fruits and nuts and raisins and make it your own. I store it in airtight containers and sprinkle it over yogurt. Delish!

By: War Gold

War Gold — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:32:54 +0000

We go to the original Co-Op in Rochdale, Lancashire. It’s like a tourist attraction at times!

By: Looby

Looby — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:15:04 +0000

I use farmers markets in the summer, I also recommend asian supermarkets for bulk purchases of rice etc, they also have fairly cheap fresh produce and lots of very interesting fruits and veg to experiment with. I go to the grocery stores in Little India for spices.

By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:28:45 +0000

I frequently go to the farmer’s market on the weekends. I’ve been considering going to the Co-op for some time, but haven’t made it over.

By: deepali

deepali — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:54:07 +0000

I’m a nutritionist – I put no price on wellness (or good food!).

Love the farmers’ markets (I go to the Penn Qtr, Dupont, and U St), love my Whole Foods (P St), and especially love toiling out at the farm in the summer in exchange for produce (great money saver!).

My Whole Foods has a bulk bin aisle – so I don’t buy rice, beans, etc, in 5 lb bags, but I do buy it somewhat cheap.

As for freezing veggies – I do recommend blanching them first. Tomatoes should be stewed, and peppers can be roasted. Of course, I say all this, and a good friend of mine (in NE) insists that all veggies can be frozen raw.
All that being said, buy veggies in season – cheaper and fresher. Now is the time to check out the collards and root vegetables!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:33:17 +0000

Farmer’s Markets. Watch out. Some of the vendors buy from the grocery wholesalers.

I know at least 10% of the vendors at our local farmers market would buy 50-100% of the produce from our warehouse or retail stores. Some would go for the older stuff to get a deal. The new stuff that I saw on Saturday’s at the market would be priced about 20% higher than the stores.

A good way to find out is ask them where they grow their crops. Their reaction will tell all. Do not ask where their farm is. They will tell you even if they did not grow the veggies there.