Bulk Food Tips

I love buying food in bulk whenever possible. Not only do I love that I’m reducing unnecessary packaging and saving the earth’s resources, more often than not I’m saving my wallet. I can try new foods without having to buy a whole, big bag of something I may end up tossing or better yet--finding a new food that I love!

Here are a few tips that I have found helpful when purchasing food in bulk.

• When bagging your bulk food, use your own pen. This helps eliminate picking up germs. I keep a fine-tip sharpie in my bag.
• Mark your tag with both the item number and what the food item is. Nothing is more frustrating than getting home and not remembering which light yellow colored mix was which.
• Date your tag. Bulk items should be used within six months.
• You want to store your bulk foods in airtight glass jars away from heat. I like to use pint and quart size Ball wide-mouth canning jars. Canning jars are cheaper than canisters. If you run out you can easily find the exact same item at the grocery store, thrift store or garage sale. Reuse and reduce--they are great for canning!
• Rather than mess with a label or later have to scrub marker off of the lid, take the tag and twist it around the lid. The wire is small enough to form to the jar threading and still seal your jar.
• FIFO—first in first out. Never add new falafel mix on top of the old. If you have a little bit of something leftover from your previous shopping trip: remove it from the jar, pour the new mix on the bottom then add older mix on the top to be used first.