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Letter Re: An Alternative to COSTCO for Storage Foods

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I have just ordered your preparedness course. I can't wait for it to get here. I've been reading your blog for about a year now and it has changed the way that I look at everything. My husband is slowly getting on board with the preparedness thing, but he has a long way to go. Our house burned down over 2-1/2 years ago and we have been fighting the insurance company and contractors ever since. We still live in a trailer so I don't have much space for storage. But, we have found many places to hide 5 gallon buckets of food and thousands of rounds of ammo.

My point to this e-mail is that I have a suggestion for an alternative to big box stores like COSTCO, etc. My husband is a commercial beekeeper and buys large quantities of granulated sugar to feed his bees in early spring and late fall when there is no honey flow. Stores like The Restaurant Depot are an amazing deal. If you have one in your area, membership is free. The only requirement is that you have proof that you are a business. It doesn't matter what kind of business you are. This place is food storage heaven! 100 pound sacks of rice, beans, flour, corn meal, etc! It's much cheaper than COSTCO! Plus other shoppers don't look at you like your insane when you are buying enough rice and beans to feed an army. But we still have a good time messing with people in the store.

Thank you, Thank you , Thank you for writing this blog and "Patriots"! Although my family now thinks that my cheese has slipped off my cracker, I know that if the time comes, I will be able to provide for them.

Many thanks and prayers for you and your family, - Tricia H.

JWR Replies: Thanks for that suggestion. As I described in "Rawles Gets You Ready" family preparedness course, I have found that COSTCO, Sam's Club, and similar "Big Box" stores are a great place to stock up on bulk food that you can re-package yourself. (Typically done with 5- or 6-gallon food grade HDPE buckets. Commercial vendors like the one that you mentioned are a great option, but their selection seems to be much smaller, and the condiments that they sell are in either ridiculously large or small containers. (Such as one gallon bottles of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, and mustard, or itty-bitty single-serving packets) Another option that I mentioned in the preparedness course is ethnic food stores. You'll often find the very best prices on rice there, and they do such a large volume of rice sale, that their inventory is usually very fresh.

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