I just bought some bulk wheat and corn in 50lb bags. The guy who sold them say there are places that sell 5-gallon (or 6-gallon?) buckets that are specifically good for storing grain.

Anyone have a phone number or link that could help me out?

Thanks in advance.

-- B-17 (flying@fortress.com), December 21, 1999

Answers

Also, he said the buckets cost about $5.00 each.

BTW, that Corona grain mill is great, especially for $40.00!

-- B-17 (flying@fortress.com), December 21, 1999.

I have a pretty fair list of packaging suppliers in the back of the FAQ along with a discussion of what you should look for in the way of packaging. Five bucks for decent food grade buckets is a good price, if you can find them.

I buy my buckets locally from a beekeeping supply house that sells them for honey.

..........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@sprintmail.com), December 21, 1999.

Here's one source:

http://www.usplastic.com/y2kbucks.htm

I believe soybean.com also has these buckets.

If you're in a great hurry [:)], you might try calling a restaurant supply in your vicinity.

If you're desperate, get used buckets and lids from bakery/deli depts., Dunkin Donuts, other food supply places, reseal with lots of duct tape. You can also use 2-liter soda bottles in a pinch. Consider also metal (NOT plastic) garbage cans, and stand them on pallets, concrete blocks, bricks, etc.

Above all, ensure any plastic containers are food grade.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), December 21, 1999.

I wouldn't count on getting anything delivered by this late date. However, local stores may still have the 5-gal plastic buckets in their paint departments. I got some at Walmart before my local store ran out, then found more at Home Depot 2 weeks ago (Northern California). Both stores charged about $5 apiece with the lids.

In case you are curious, check the archives below on how to store that stuff bug free. There are several methods. Good luck!

-- Margaret J (janssm@aol.com), December 21, 1999.

Sorry, almost forgot--beer- and wine-making suppliers have those buckets too.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), December 21, 1999.

One of the methods that we found to be cheap and successful was to buy those 12 1/2 gallon plastic bins available at Home Depot (I own about 300 of 'em). At $5.95 for almost triple the volume of 5 gallon buckets ($9.00 with lids), it's a big savings.

Each bin will hold from 25 to 80 pounds of grains, etc based on product density. Put a clear 33 gallon trash bag in the bin, pour the grain into the bag and tie it up. Leave enough room for a couple of inches of non-scented kitty litter. Pour the kitty litter in on top and mice and rats will not get to your grain. If you freeze it first, you won't have to worry about insect damage either. It works great and in much more convienient than buckets.

We also use these bins for canned goods, beans, pasta and bottled drinks. At a glance, we can go through the root celler and do an inventory without even opening the bins 'cuz they are almost transparent and they stack about 5 high. Bins hold about 40 cans of each type of veggies, fruits, soups, stew...

We put together about 3,000 pounds of food in a space 15 feet long by 2 feet wide.

-- Randers (coyotecanyon@hotmail.com), December 21, 1999.

Hey, thanks for all the responses.

The U.S. Plastic Corp still had buckets-o-plenty, and they will ship them out today. They should be here on Monday if not sooner. Gotta love that JIT system! [joke]

Nothin' like cutting it down to the wire. Unfortunately, we haven't had enough cash throughout this year to buy everything when we needed to.

-- B-17 (flying@fortress.com), December 21, 1999.

For anyone near Fresno, CA, buckets by the thousands are free at the Wawona Foods Plant (used for peaches). We have extras at home in case we need to supply neighbors with clean water.

-- Kenin Marble (kenin17@yahoo.com), December 21, 1999.

Why not just go to your local grocery store, in the bakery section, and ask for their used buckets? I get all I want from my local IGA store, food grade 4 gal. buckets with lids, for 50 cents each. Wash em & use em.

-- (cheap@buckets.com), December 21, 1999.

I've gotten 5 gallon buckets with lids from Ace's hardware- they're food grade. (just got a couple, today.)

-- Jo Ann (MaJo@Michiana.com), December 21, 1999.

I get my buckets from the donut store. Their frosting comes in them. The lids are a nice tight seal, and I know they're food grade. Best of all: they're free, and they have a few more each and every day.

-- mommacarestx (nospam@thanks.com), December 21, 1999.

I got 4 and 5 gallon food grade buckets with lids for $1.25 per bucket at a local dairy.Various types of fruit had orginally come in them.Now have over 50 buckets containing 1000+ lbs of various grains and beans.

-- Ralph Kramden (and@AwayWeGo.com), December 22, 1999.

Try drywall contractors. We bought about 200 buckets for 50 cents each, then lined the clean buckets with big bags bought on a roll from Gordon Food Service (institutional food supply company.)

-- Ann M. (hismckids@aol.com), December 22, 1999.

HOME DEPOT!!

-- tt (cuddluppy@nowhere.com), December 22, 1999.