Buying in Bulk

My son, Chris, has been here for the past 10 days. He will be going to school in Oregon soon, so I took him to the bulk section of Winco and stocked him up. I, personally love the bulk section and taught him the benefits of buying this way. He's been on his own for a while now, and I've taught him the benefits buying whole foods, but,  he has bills to pay, too. When he told me he lived for about a month on top ramen, I knew how hard it had been for him: Pay bills, then eat - I've been there many times. Buying in bulk will help with this kind of budgeting; instead of buying a whole package of something, you  can portion it out into one or two cups. You can have more of a variety of food for a lot less. Most markets have bulk food sections, but as with anything, some are better than others and you have to seek them out. I love being able to buy a cup of nuts or chocolate chips to bake something. Whole grains and rice, pasta - all of this you can buy in portions - it's wonderful. Even spices, flours with nice varieties, also. Organic foods are way less expensive here, also. Since, you're just getting the food by buying in bulk, you're saving money as well as eliminating waste.
So, for the love of bulking up - which does not always mean stocking up, but having a nice affordable variety of good food, go to the bulk section and see how much you can get for $20. I think you'll be surprised.
*When you buy flour varieties, write on the tag to remind yourself what it is.
*If the store offers cards with instructions or recipe for a particular food item, you might want to get one.
*Stores now offer all kinds of candy and junk cereals in bulk, be sure to stick to the whole food rule of thumb.
*Store food in glass jars or air-tight containers. Do this when you get home, and make it part of your shopping ritual.
*Portion out servings for work and school - nuts and dried fruit mixes, to have ready to go.
*Save the bags, and reuse them for baked goods and storing food in the fridge.