I was knda excited yesterday. A new Costco-ish restaurant supply place opened up in town yesterday. Obviously, I don’t have a restaurant but what I do have is an interest in bulk food at low prices. So…off I went.
The biggest problem was that many things are in Costc-size packaging. Sure, it’s a great deal on ketchup but it’s in a 5-gallon bucket that, once opened, won’t stay good until I’m done with it. Lotsa that. But there were a few things that were of interest to the survivalist type. In a display that would make any homeless hardcore-alcoholic salivate, there was a bulk amount of Sterno products:
There was also a huge amount of paper/plastic tableware…whcih is handy to have when you dont want to waste time and hot water in a crisis.
If you’re a beans-n-rice kinda guy, there was plenty of that as well:
The meat department had the huge cuts of meat all wrapped up in heavy plastic nad ready for cutting. That was a pretty sweet deal. They also had bulk italian sausage, which is always a staple in this household. (especially after this and this ).
All in all, the prices were okay. Some stuff was stupidly not-a-bargain (Coke for example), but other stuff was. There was also a great selection of frozen entrees and appetizers. For my needs, there were a few things in there that were worth making the trip. For a non-survivalist, convenience standpoint there was definitely some good stuff….for example, a few bags of frozen dumplings are nice to have for a quick meal.
If you’re in Missoula, check em out but keep in mind it’s geared more towards commercial kitchens, so you may have trouble with the product sizing.
Problem with ‘survivalists’ is, they tend to not form ‘clubs’ for like-minded individuals.
A dozen buddies with similar values could ‘pool’ their purchases and really maximize their buying power.
They kind of form clubs for the like-minded, they just sort of Venn diagram it…..If someone is in, say, the local 3-gun club, libertarian/conservative club, NRA, VFW, etc, then those kinda all overlap into the unincorporated survival club.
This would make an interesting topic for a future post.
The difficulty in this concept is finding people in those circles who also possess necessary skills beyond shooting straight.
In a prolonged emergency, I’d want people with skills in mechanics, medicine, gardening, carpentry, engineering, etc. You’d want each of them to have good social skills, problem-solving mindsets, and pleasant dispositions. In the interests of group cohesion, commonality of religious and/or political beliefs would be very beneficial. If they can shoot straight, that’s a definite bonus.
What I wouldn’t want is a group of otherwise unskilled gun-toters. That seems like a recipe for a gang of marauders.
That’s the trick. The like-minded tend to be individualists. Well, maybe introverted. Screw it – probably downright curmudgeonly. By the time you get comfortable with a group, you’re elderly. And you tend to be an alpha personality, or at least assertive. That’s part of why you prep, right? Group building is hard stuff in real life. People flake. That’s why local, local, local keeps getting repeated.
I like Cash & Carry. I usually can only visit when I go West on business, so it will be good to be able to go here in MT. Beans and bullets are making Missoula a “go to” place more and more.
I made the trip today and comp-shopped. Did pick up some barley at $.60/lb. It’s nice when the regular price beats my town’s best sale price.
Had them here in Wash., open to the public for a while now. We like the restaurant portioned frozen seafood’s, bulk cooking oils, as you said val-pac’d meats, paper products (TP), candies (for the bride), pure hardwood (no coal) briquettes for BBQ (hard to find sometimes), and especially professional grade cooking implements. Yes, you do need to be aware of prices, they can be more expensive for some things as compared to local establishments.
The trick – assuming there really is one – is linking up with someone who owns a mom ‘n’ pop convenience store/neighborhood market.
They’ll have an account with one or more food/grocery wholesalers, and those wholesalers will have flats (12 or 24 container half-height cardboard packaging) of “regular” size stuff like 15.5 ounce cans of beans, corn, hash, fruit, pints/quarts of juice, etc. The prices won’t equal the $/ounce of #10 can packaging at someplace like Cash & Carry (or even CostCo), but they will be substantially better than retail on a day-to-day basis (it’s tough, however, to beat the random “loss leader” pricing at large chain supermarkets that’s sponsored by the manufacturers).
The wholesalers won’t allow any customers in who don’t have a real business, meaning you’ll need a business license and maybe a tax number (depending on the wholesaler’s rules), and they’re interested only in folks who buy in quantity, but since very few states tax food, there’s no reason a bunch of like minded folks can’t get together and create the Green Valley Preppers’ Community LLC (very bad name but chosen for illustrative purposes), put together a shopping list and the money to cover it, and go buy a grand or two of food every couple of months.
Good insight!
Nice to see Survivalists used not Preppers.
Cash & Carry has some good deals on cleaning supplies, Torani & DaVinci syrups, & some kitchen supplies. I bought a package of disposable plastic aprons for my volunteer job (I get wet & dirty at that), & realized they will also come in handy for butchering.