As of lately I have seriously begun to consider how I can end my trips to the grocery store. What would it mean to run our kitchen like a restaurant, buying all ingredients in bulk?

I know that we can buy our meat and eggs directly from the farmer. I mentioned in other posts that we joined a ‘meat buying club’ and will now be buying all of our grass-fed and pasture-raised animal products from a farm in Corvallis, OR – Afton Field Farm. A number of friends and acquaintances have mentioned dairy cooperatives that run similar to the meat buying club. In short, I order ‘x’ amount of milk containers or pounds of butter and then I meet the farmer in someone’s driveway to make a friendly exchange. Though in the past, I have learned that these transactions are more costly than I desire. At this point in my life I seek out milk that is sold in a glass container, one that I return after use to receive a small deposit. The buying clubs I have encountered charge something like $7-8 for a half gallon of milk, when we easily pay half that at the coop.

I can’t say that I am dissatisfied with the dairy products we currently purchase. The Rose Valley Butter that is sold in the coop and grocery store in our neighborhood is the kind I want to buy. The cows eat grass and hay in the winter and the butter is healthier for it. Plus, purchasing the butter supports a cooperative of Oregonian dairy farmers which is also great. Speaking of which, we are getting some tasty milk at the Alberta Coop. But to end my fix on shopping at the store I really will have to make the extra effort in finding the right diary club to fit our needs.

The next question is grain. I have decided that I want to create a spreadsheet that outlines all of the grains, beans and nuts that can be bought in bulk. For example, I am considering black beans, polenta, brown rice, polenta, peanuts, maybe some other beans, cornmeal, and some flour for my wife (as I am gluten-free.) All the other grains, beans and nuts can either be avoided or rotated in and out with each passing shipment. The question becomes, how much do I order at once and where do I store all of it? To be honest, I have no answers yet on the dry goods factor.

Fruit is easiest. Since fruit doesn’t really grow here in the winter I can rely on what we have frozen, canned, jammed or dried. After last year’s winter of no fruit, I know not to expect fresh fruit in January (unless we are visiting family in Hawaii.) And lastly are the vegetables. I really like eating seasonally. I love the foods of the fall and winter. The main problem is storing them so that I can buy them in bulk. I want to research the winter storage of beets and carrots. I have heard that both require a wet sand mixture and I think I may be able to put that together. I definitely intend on buying a big box of onions and potatoes and maybe some bags of garlic and shallots to help us too. In our own garden we will have some hearty greens growing all winter long. And if other plans work for us, we will be volunteering weekly at a new urban farm to earn our full share of a CSA! That would be the icing on the cake.

Maybe with a little foresight and some planning we can really eat all or meals from farm to plate with no middle men in between. That is my goal and I think we can do it.

Related posts:

1. Good-Bye Grocery Store (part 1)
2. Living off the grid
3. A Failed Experiment
4. Food Fantasies
5. The 100-Mile Diet vs. World Hunger (part 2)

Tags: Bulk purchase, CSA, seasonal eating, Urban Ag