Letter: Shopping for Storage Foods at COSTCO

Dear Jim,
I just returned from COSTCO on big “stock up” trip for my retreat. (My family retreat/cabin is 155 miles away, and COSTCO is less than 20 miles away from my house.) Aside for maybe driving over 300 miles to Salt Lake City to buy from one of the big storage food companies, is there any better way to stock up, without my UPS driver knowing [what I’m getting]? Am I missing something, or is COSTCO the way to go?

Thanks, – L.D.M.

JWR Replies: As I mentioned in the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course, shopping at Big Box stores like COSTCO is indeed one of the most time-efficient and cost-effective ways to stock up on staple foods. I still highly recommend that. In recent years, COSTCO has expanded their line to include some specialized long term storage foods in large #10 cans. Some or them are certified organic, and some are gluten free. But there are of course lots of bargain prices on rice, beans, sugar, flour, pancake mixes, and may other foods that are packed in sacks or boxes. My preparedness course describes exactly how to re-package bulk foods to maximize their nutritive shelf life, and protect them from mice.