Case Lot Sales

I am very fortunate to live in an area where the local grocery stores offer bi annual case lot sales.  During this particular event a store will offer special pricing on food items that are sold in large quantities. To take advantage of the cheaper pricing, you must buy the entire shrink wrapped case..  usually in quantities of 12, 24, 36, or 48. These sales also usually include large bags of flour, wheat, sugar, dried beans, oatmeal, and rice. Twenty or forty pound boxes of chicken or bacon, and #10 cans of dehydrated and freeze dried foods are sometimes also available. I love taking advantage of these sales for several reasons:

• The prices are usually as cheap or cheaper than I can find the item on sale.
• I can stock my food storage quickly.
• I can usually buy enough of things I use frequently to last my family until the next sale.
• I can supplement the foods that I don't grow or home preserve myself.
• The unopened cases can be stacked and stored easily.
• It is so nice to run downstairs to the storage room to grab ketchup, rice, or toilet paper when we run out of something in the pantry, instead of hitting panic mode and running to the grocery store.

As I have mentioned before, my food storage is just an extension of my kitchen pantry. We use it daily. When I go grocery shopping it is to replenish what I have used up or am running low on. Case lot sales make it easy to replenish those items at one time.

In order to take full advantage of these kind of sales there are a few things you should know.

• The store usually offers a case lot sale twice a year, roughly six months apart. I have three stores in my area that offer this kind of sale, and they are usually within a month or two of each other.
• If you are on a tight budget, you may need to set aside a budget to purchase all the items you need. For example, if you are buying canned pineapple for $.78 each, you are required to buy the 24 can case of pineapple to get the cheap price. In  actuality, you are paying $18.72. If you are buying numerous items it adds up quickly.
• Know your prices. Make a price list, if necessary, of the lowest price you will pay for the items you use frequently. I know I won't pay more than $1.25 for peanut butter, $.48 for mandarin oranges, and $1.99 a pound for butter. Compare your price list to the prices of the food offered at each particular sale. 
• Write down a list of items you need or use regularly. I keep a running list on my fridge of the things I am running low on, and how many of each item I will need. Think ahead if you will be using more of certain items, because of a particular time of year. I buy extra sugar during the spring sales, because I know I will be canning fruit and making jelly during the summer and fall. You may use more flour in the fall, and more ketchup in the summer.
• Certain items are always on rock bottom prices during case lot sales. Flour, sugar, dried beans, rice, oatmeal, and wheat are usually at their lowest price (even cheaper than the bulk section).
• Emergency preparedness and long term storage items are sometimes included in the sale. This is a great time to purchase water barrels, 5 gallon buckets, gamma lids (these attach to a 5 gallon bucket and have a lid that screws on and off. A must have if you store frequently used items in 5 gallon buckets), powdered and freeze dried foods.
• You may need to return to the store several times over the course of the sale to purchase all the items you want to buy. After shopping these sales for years, I have discovered that going to the store early in the morning; especially Saturday morning, is my best chance for finding well stocked displays.
• You may need to special order or ask for a rain check for certain items. If you don't find something you are looking for ask a sales associate. They can help you order thos items.

Of course, the most important thing you must do if you want to participate in these fabulous sales, is to be in the know of the forthcoming event. There are several ways you can do this. Sign up on the store website to receive emails of sales and upcoming events. If the store has a Facebook page, like it. Then you will get alerts of their promos and sales on your Facebook feed. Last, but not least, if you live in Southeast Idaho like the Prepperific facebook page (conveniently located to the right of this post). I will alert you to case lot sales, as well as hot deals on grocery items, right here in our neck of the woods. I love, love, LOVE sharing a great deal!

Creating A Pantry





 

(Here is my ghetto pantry, a.k.a. the converted closet next to the kitchen.)

In my last post I talked a little bit about incorporating food storage into your everyday menu. The idea is great in theory, but if you have never really cooked solely out of your pantry; how do you start? What should you add to your pantry? The answer will be different for everyone.

 First, how advanced are your cooking skills? If you can barely boil water don't automatically assume you will be able to produce blue ribbon baked goods on your first attempt. Cooking skills take time to perfect. I recommend investing in a good basic cookbook. A good cookbook should include charts for cooking dried beans, legumes, rice, whole grains, meat, and vegetables. It should also include a section with step by step instructions for baking bread, muffins, etc. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook has seen me safely through many cooking adventures over the years. I still refer to it often. You Tube also is a great resource for cooking tutorials. Gearing your food choices to those things you feel comfortable cooking, and branching out to new items as you master cooking techniques is important.

Second, ask yourself is what does your family like to eat? Gear your pantry staples to those things that appear on the menu on a regular basis. If your family are big chicken eaters or love smoothies for breakfast, stock up your freezer with those items when they go on sale.
For example, freeze strawberries or peaches when they are in season (and on sale for rock bottom prices) for use in the off season. Meat sales cycle through at loss leader prices (low prices to entice you to shop at a specific store) every three to four week. On the week that ground beef is on sale for a fabulous price, forgo buying chicken breast and buy extra hamburger, instead. Buying meat in "family packs" and repackage them into smaller portions is usually the most cost effective way to go.

Third, shopping the bulk section of your grocery store to stock up on pantry basics like pasta, beans, rice, grains, dried fruit, baking supplies and spices is usually the cheapest option, and you can buy as much as you need. Buying out of the bulk section is a great way to try new foods. It's useless to buy 25 pounds of brown lentils if your family ha never eaten them, and decides they hate them. It's better to find out if you have only bought a half of a pound to try first. Once you have established what your family eats regularly, purchasing those things in bulk amounts (and storing them in 5 gallon buckets) is the cheapest way to go. Also buying canned meat, peanut butter, soup, fruit, veggies, beans, and pasta on loss leader sales is also a great way to stockpile.

Now we come to the all important question of what actual items do you need to have on hand? Like I said, the answer is different for everyone. I cook mainly from scratch (even though I do still buy boxed macaroni and cheese, canned refried beans, cream of something soup, and cold cereal...for emergencies). For me, buying baking supplies, oatmeal, dried beans, and rice in bulk works best, because I go through it quickly. Using someone else's established list as a "cheat sheet" is a great starting off point to build your own.  I used The Prudent Homemaker's Pantry List to add to and organize my own pantry. She has a very inclusive list. Go over to her site for a list of basic items.