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Recently, I have received emails from readers asking me tips for saving money on food, especially when buying organic items.
Over the years, I have gradually shifted to buying organic products whenever possible because I believe it is an investment in my health and the environment. Obviously, the downside to buying organic and high-quality foods is often the higher price tag!
But I have a secret-weapon…
I buy in bulk.
Of course, buying in bulk is not really a secret, but it never really sunk in until I opened the bakery. It was my bakery that taught me the beauty of buying in bulk because I was purchasing all of these expensive organic ingredients (Glo Bakery is 100% organic) and I had to find a way to still make a profit at the end of the day.
Along my journey, I also discovered that I could start buying a lot of our household food items in bulk and cut down our grocery bill substantially. My solution is now to buy larger quantities of food and shop less often.
Here are a few of my tips for buying in bulk:
1) Research organic wholesalers in your area.
In the Toronto area, there are a lot of wholesalers, but I zoned in on ones that provide mostly organic, whole foods/nutritious items, and local food options. For example, I wasn’t interested in wholesalers for typical bakery goods like corn syrup or fondant. That narrowed down the list substantially!
I came across a few wholesalers that I now use on a regular basis:
- Ontario Natural Food Coop (my main wholesaler.. not always the cheapest, but awesome selection!)
- A & E Fine Foods
- Grain Process Enterprises
2) Seek out a ‘Buying Club’ if you do not own a business in the industry.
One of the first things I noticed about many wholesalers is that many of them require you to have a business in the industry to be able to purchase from them. This wasn’t a problem for me, but it will be a problem if you are simply a ‘regular’ consumer.
But, there is good news!
Some wholesalers, like ONFC, offer what is called a Buying Club.
What is a Buying Club?
Buying Clubs are groups of individuals and/or families who get together to buy directly from the wholesaler. Each member creates an order based on the ONFC Buying Club catalogue, and the club places a collective order to ONFC. We deliver the order to a club member’s home where it is divided into the individual orders. Members then pick-up their orders and pay for their invoices.
The beauty of the buying club is that regular consumers can form small groups and buy in bulk without having to own a business in the industry! I know of a few readers who use this approach and it works well for them.
3) Once you find suitable wholesalers, request the catalogues and start price comparing.
I can’t tell you how many hours I spent doing price comparisons and tedious calculations to find the best bang for my buck. It takes a lot of work, but in the end your wallet will be happy. The only downside is that many of the wholesalers I have come across are still ‘old school’ in the sense that they do not have computerized ordering systems online. This makes for slow ordering procedures and I look forward to the day when wholesalers like ONFC make online ordering possible.
To give you an idea, here are a few prices of some things that I buy in bulk:
- 11.3kg (25 pounds) Organic Dried Chickpeas = $31.75
- 11.34kg (25 pounds) Organic Pearled Barley = $22.13
- 11.34kg (25 pounds) Organic Shredded Coconut = $37.67
- 10 kg (22 pounds) Organic Peanut Butter = $70.28
When I think about how long these items last (grains/beans will last years), I am really amazed by how much money can be saved over time. This has also encouraged me to cut down the amount of canned items I buy because the price difference is also huge when comparing canned goods vs. dried goods.
4) Find out the minimum order for free delivery.
On average, the minimum order for my wholesalers is between $300-500 if you want to quality for FREE DELIVERY. This is why I prefer to order less frequently and in larger quantities, because free delivery is priceless when we are talking about 25-50 pound bags. The time it takes me to drive to my wholesaler (over 1 hour at least) and then load all of the items into my small car is just not worth it. Free delivery is where it’s at!
Ordering less frequently does have a downside though- I need to always be on top of my stock and know what I have available and what I am running out of. Before I place an order, I always do a stock check (for both the bakery and home items).
5) Figure out how you will store the bulk items.
I buy just about everything now in bulk (except for produce, but we’ll be switching to the CSA in the late Spring) and storage can become an issue with so many items. The best way for me to store my food in a safe manner is by using FDA-approved food bins. I buy my food bins from a great packaging company called Uline.
I stack the food bins by category such as grains (oats, couscous, quinoa, barley, amaranth, etc), protein (lentils, chickpeas, beans), dried fruit (dates, apricots, cranberries), nut butters, etc. It works out pretty well for me. I also take a permanent marker and clearly label the top and side of each pail.
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Now let me just say this- Food bins are a real pain in my ass!
And they aren’t always great if you don’t have the storage space. Right now, we are cramming our bins in our laundry room, which isn’t ideal but it works for us now because it is close to the kitchen.
It does not make sense for me to keep my frequently used/personal food items only in a food bin. It just eats up a lot of time going back and forth every day. I like to have my frequently used items handy in jars.
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I prefer not to store them on the counter, so I clear a space in the cabinet to store the jars. I also used a permanent marker on the inside of the lid to write what the product is in case there is a chance I may forget.
6) Recycle the Delivery boxes
There can be a lot of packaging leftover when I have a delivery of food items. Wholesalers will throw a bunch of items into boxes whenever possible so it is easier for the driver to carry. Instead of having a bunch of useless boxes lying around, I now empty out the box immediately and give them back to the driver so they can be re-used in another delivery. This helps cut down on needless waste.
7) Find a CSA or hit up the Farmer’s Market
When the season starts up again, we will be ordering another local CSA share. It is a great way to save money on local, organic produce and it also cuts down on grocery trips too.
8.) Bulk Bins
If you can’t order from a wholesaler, try purchasing food from bulk bins in your grocery store or from bulk food stores like Bulk Barn. Both of these methods are often much cheaper and you can also purchase in the quantity that you desire.
As I typed up this post, I enjoyed a delicious breakfast…made in my kitchen for just pennies a bowl.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Vegan Overnight Oats
Inspired by Live Well 360.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
- 1 heaping tbsp carob powder (not the same as cocoa powder- carob is SWEET)
- 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, or to taste
- 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
Directions: Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and then whisk in the wet ingredients. Place in fridge for 1 hour or overnight. Enjoy with a spoonful of peanut butter and a drizzle of sweetener.
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We’re off to hunt for a dining room chandelier today. I have discovered that finding a chandelier is not an easy process!
I also appreciate your votes whenever you can, in the Best Health Blog Awards Contest. I am nominated in the Eat Well category. You can vote once a day until March 21st. Thank you in advance!
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Do you ever use peanut flour? I just ordered some online but I was wondering if you know a place here in Toronto that sells it?
thanks for all the great tips! I definiately need to start buying bulk .. esp oats !
LOVE these tips! My goal is to buy more in bulk. And delicious peanut butter cup overnight oats! I made a version of this a while back but I like the addition of carob powder–YUM! I will have to revamp my bowl. :)
Grea tips! I just went out grocery shopping this morning and probabyl saved close to $50 by combining sales and coupons and then hitting up the reduced produce bin at the farmer’s market! :D
The Choc PB Cup oats look stellar!
What awesome tips, Angela! Wow, you really took this one to the next level. There are so many similar and related posts that I’ve seen other bloggers do (myself included) about how to save money on groceries but I love your focus on wholesalers and buying in serious bulk.
That is one thing that I just can’t do b/c I have ZERO storage. We have no basements here. My garage is almost “open-air” so I really can’t keep food in it, and I can’t have 5 gallon drums of dry quinoa lining the hallways in my living room but if I DID live in a house with more storage and not in urban San Diego, I would definitely do more of that type of buying b/c you can save TONS of money.
Enjoy your spring time CSA!
I am super spoiled in that in So Cal, everything grows, pretty much year round, so I can find locally grown kale to squash blossoms to cantaloupe year round in the farmers markets and CSAs. I have more produce than I know what to do with…my tip for myself is not buying everything I see and over-buying and letting fresh produce go to waste b/c it all looks so good :)
What great tips! I only wish I had the room to buy more bulk items!
I absolutely love your blog. Your pictures are gorgeous, and your recipes accessible. Thank you.
I’ve recently taken to buying almond flour off of Amazon, as I can find really good prices and free 2 -day shipping with my prime account. It’s swell.
Thank you!
Really great tips! I try to buy in bulk and store in jars, too (I write on the glass with a sharpie because sometimes I wonder…farro or barley?!) I also, every other week, only allow myself to buy produce because I KNOW that I have plenty of beans and grains! LOL
Great post, Angela! I also try to buy organic produce as much as I can, but money often doesn’t suffice … Well, someday! ;)
soooooo I was just about to pick up the phone and order as many buckets of grains as possible when I realized that if you have a problem storing the items in your house, I’ll likely have a problem storing them in my tiny apartment. Brad really shouldn’t leave me alone to my own devices when it comes to meal planning and budgeting, who knows what lengths I’ll go to :)
Great tips Angela! I too am a big fan of bulk bins!
I think price comparing is the most useful tool for me in terms of saving money. Lots of times I just don’t know what something (especially in bulk) should cost, so I buy it from the first store I go to. But shopping around can really save a lot! Especially online!
Mason Jars are one of the best inventions ever! This is a great post! I will definitely share this with my clients. Thanks!
Good luck finding the perfect chandelier!! Light fixtures are often the types of items that you have an idea in your head of what you want but then when you look, you wonder if they even make anything like the idea in your head because none seem to be surfacing, haha.
ahhhh we have not had luck finding a chandelier…who knew they were so expensive too!
Loved this post! as I was reading I was seriously starting to think of people who could join my buying club when I remembered I live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment with a fiance who probably wouldn’t appreciate me replacing all our furniture with bins filled with chickpeas. Dang.
If you’re in Toronto, Groupon had a great deal this week for 50% off of a custom fresh box delivery from front door organics. Definitely worth keeping an eye on that site.
I love shopping at my local Sunflower Farmers Market. They have a whole section filled with bulk foods! I was able to get a pound of organic oats for about a buck :D Savings! Your overnight oats look great by the way. I might have that for breakfast tomorrow since I haven’t had them in a long time.
Hi!
I read your blog every single day and you have helped me through so muchI just created a blog and was wondering if I could use your recipes under my favorite recipes page?
Thank you,
Kelsey
Of course…I just ask that you link to the original recipe. Thanks!
Yes! Even in my little studio I try and buy in bulk – bulk for one, at least. I buy when things are on sale…keep them in the cupboard and then store them appropriately once they are opened. It works pretty well, and I almost always have some sort of grain ready to use.
I love all your jars, super cute and super organized!
What an awesome post….from all the helpful tips to the yummy recipe :) and I Love,love,love the idea you have given me to store my dried beans and such in mason jars.My pantry can be such a mess because a lack of space but this is a great idea! It looks so pretty too.