Hello All,

I am a new member here and have been doing a lot of reading. I have come to the conclusion that if SHTF a lot of people are going to be in a world of hurt. I don't my family to be one of the ones that doesn't make it. So.....

Anyone from the twin cites, Minnesota? I am looking to stockup on grains and general supplies, but I don't want to pay the sky high shipping costs.

Dave

welcome Microage97, Hope to see you around the forum a lot.


For grains and storage food try www.beprepared.com you will find just about anything you would want.

Thanks Big Al. I will check them out.

Dave

Got any Mormons (Latter-Day Saints) there? Talk to them, and you'll probably get a lot of helpful tips.

Sue

Sometimes you can find less expensive supplies locally at health food stores. You can also check at stores that sell grain feed for animals. I picked up a 50 lb bag of alfalfa seeds for about $15 to run through my sprouter. I got mighty tired of eating sprouts after a while, and still had darn near a full bag.

You'll find good preparation info at http://www.standeyo.com

Both on how to prepare within your budget and what to consider when trying to determine what threats you do or do not really need to worry about.

I recommend the book, "Dare To Prepare" by Holly Deyo. It's very informative (especially for a newbie) and it is easy to read.

Microage97: See if there's a food coop nearby that you can join. Coops usually let you order bulk foods, such as sacks of grains, at significant discounts. Some health food stores will also give you a bulk discount without joining, but it will be less of a discount than a coop.

By the way, I highly reccomend buying quinoa and amaranth for your emergency food supplies. They are extremely nutritious and both complete proteins, tasty, and last a very long time. I beleive amaranth loosely translates into "long-lived seed", or something along those lines.

You can also buy huge bags of steam-rolled oats through a feed store. We feed that to our horses every day, but it is EXACTLY the same thing sold in the little round cartons - though maybe a bit more protein (insect parts - all oatmeal has them though and they won't hurt anyone once its cooked!!). Be careful though, in warm weather after a while you're likely to start to get little tiny bugs feasting on it too - don't know what they're called. I don't know of any solutions other than buying fresh grain and using rather quickly (except for freezing it to kill the bugs).

Thanks! I will be busy doing lots of reading.

Dave

Thanks! i am going to look into ordering bulk wheat at first. I am thinking that we can use this to make bread ect as a means to keep it somewhat rotated.

Dave

Just a heads up on the mormon comment.... Every mormon congregation (called a ward) in the states has access to either a cannery or canning equipment and bulk grains, beans and foods. The way it works is you buy what you want and then help to can your and everyone elses orders. I've done a lot of work trying to find the best prices and the prices I can get there are better than anywhere else after you figure in the shipping. It takes a couple of hours of time, but well worth it in my book. Look in the phone book and I'm sure you can find a listing for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Call and ask about it.

Also, for the rolled oats, or any other grain you can buy food grade 5 gallon buckets and put them in there with oxygen absorbers to remove the oxygen and keep the bugs out.

Another good place to look for bulk grain, flour, legumes, sugar and pasta is resturant supply stores. Here in washington there is a chain called Cash n Carry which caters to businesses but you can shop there as a private individual.

hope that helps.