There are few things I love more than getting a bargain and saving money. Having a well-organized house is one of them, but the ability to find a good bargain in order to save money is high up there on my list. I used to almost be a professional couponer. Almost. I wasn’t an extreme couponer that would clear shelves and leave nothing for anyone. However, about 6-8 years ago, I took care of my family of six (at that time) with a grocery budget of about $200/month. $200 a month not only took care of our groceries but also amassed a roomful of food as well.
Then we learned more about eating healthfully, and we abandoned the $200/month for more healthy food choices. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive for a balance between good food and good prices, between eating the most healthy foods we can finding ways and save money.
To that end, I’ve found the two best places that I can get long-term food storage or even just everyday food at good prices. The two best-priced stores at which bulk items can be found are LDS canneries and Azure Standard.
LDS Canneries
The first thing that needs to be said is you don’t need to be a member of the LDS church in order to purchase food or other goods through them. We’re not LDS members, but I’ve purchased through them at least five times over a period of years. We usually make really big purchases when we go through them.
The LDS canneries have the best price on 25# bags of wheat that I have found anywhere. It’s currently $10/25# bag of red wheat and $12/25# bag of white wheat! Talk about a way to save money! They sell wheat in 25# bags, but everything else they sell is in #10 cans.. If you order online instead of at a cannery, you may have to purchase your #10 cans in 6 can cases. Each month, the LDS Canneries have sales on specified items. You can call your cannery and ask them to add you to their email list, and they will email you each month with which items are on sale. The sales will be the same across the different canneries.
A list of LDS canneries can be found here.
LDS Cannery prices are shown on a website address. Don’t be spooked by the prices, some seem high, but please do remember that some of these are 6 #10 cans of that particular item. You will definitely save money over almost any other store or website. The LDS Cannery prices can be found here.
Azure Standard
Azure Standard, on the other hand, will need a little more explanation. You can purchase through Azure two ways. You can place an order it online to be mailed to you. The other way you can order is to sign up for a drop. More about that in a moment.
If you want to purchase from Azure Standard (or Azure as I’ll refer to them mostly), you will need to sign up for an account. This is FREE. It costs you nothing. Nada. You aren’t obligated to order ever, let alone on a monthly basis, but you are ABLE to order on a monthly basis if you’d like. You order when you want to order, never more.
Start an Account
Signing up is simple. Go to http://www.azurestandard.com, and sign up for an account. Again, there is NO obligation by signing up.
Part of signing up for Azure Standard is signing up for a drop. You don’t HAVE to use the drop, but unless things have changed you have to sign up for a drop. They will help you find the nearest drops to your home or work. That doesn’t mean that you have to order through a drop. You can order items online. USPS will deliver them.
Order Items
Once you’ve signed up for Azure Standard and for a drop, you can browse all their items and see their prices. You’ll add items to your cart just like you would at any other store.
Check Out
Unlike Amazon or Wayfair, the checkout process doesn’t HAVE to FINALIZE your order. You can change your order at any time up until the deadline for your drop. Add items to your order. Remove items from your order. You could even completely delete your order. If you want to order though, you must make sure that you “check out” before your cut off. Whatever is in your cart at the cut off date, is your order that they will deliver. Your cut off date and time will always be at the top of any Azure pages. Mine currently says “Cut Off 16d 22h 22m” – this is the cut off for your drop, so I have a little over two weeks until my drop deadline or “cut off.”
Drop Date
Your drop cut off is always four weeks from your last drop cut off. The date my Azure order is delivered is always one week from my cut off date. Yours might be 6 days or 8 days, but it will be around one week.
Drop Coordinator
Coming up to your order cut off and your drop date, someone called your “drop coordinator” will contact you. This is the person who is in charge of making sure everyone who wants to order, orders on time. They make sure everyone who orders knows the date and time of their drop. If you forget your drop (I’ve done this once – Oops!), your drop coordinator will call you. They also organize the unloading of the truck. They are just all around there to help.
Drop Day
The day of your drop, you’ll need to arrive at your specified place at the specified time. If you can’t pick up your order, you’ll need to send someone in your place to get it. As you get to know people from your drop sometimes, one of them may be willing to pick it up for you if you can’t make it.
Azure has almost everything that I need for long-term food storage. They have amazing prices to boot.
Items I purchase from Azure
55-gallon barrel used for food grade items, residue inside – you’ll have to clean (for water storage)
2000cc Oxygen absorber (for repackaging food)
5-gallon bucket (for repackaging food)
6-gallon Mylar bags (for repackaging food)
Berkey Filters (White – arsenic and fluoride)
Remember all those articles I wrote about using tomato powder? Like here, here, here, and here.
Freeze dried organic mashed potato flakes
Gamma Seal Lid (to go with the 5-gallon bucket)
Wide Mouth Canning Jars (Half Pint)
Wide Mouth Canning Jars (Pint)
Wide Mouth Canning Jars (Quart)
What About You?
How important to you is saving money? Have you found an amazing store with incredible prices from which the rest of us can benefit? Do you purchase other preparedness type items from Azure that I didn’t mention? What are your favorite places from which to order your preparedness items?
Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something. It’s living it!
There are links in this post. Some of the links may be affiliate links. Some of the links may not be. My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I buy for my own family. You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.
