Bulk Up

A fine and frosty good evening to you, Sisters and Brothers.  Here in the GreyNorWet, we have suddenly become the Much-More-White-and-Icy, rather than our usual grey and gloomy.  The inclement weather required a stop at the local food emporium to stock up the fortress, in case of a continued siege of the ice from above.  Whilst loading my little cart amongst the bins of food, the subject of this blog came to me.

As all of our Brethren know, food is one of the biggest household expenses, and the cost of keeping the table laden is a heavy burden indeed.  It can be costly enough to feed ourselves and our special someone, but when we add children into the mix, why, the supplying of victuals can be a daunting task.  The Rev has seen the Genetic Envelope cut through grub like a Great White Shark annihilating a school of tuna high on Prozac.  It is just not a pretty sight.  I can only imagine how much food several teenagers, working in tandem, might be able to consume.  

One way to cope with with the high price of foodstuffs is to buy vittles in bulk. Up into the early 20th century, purchases of beans, dry grains, pasta products, flour, or most any other food items, were bought in bulk, wrapped in some sort of sack or paper, and carried home to be used.  Plastic bags did not exist, neither in the mercantile establishments of the time, nor blowing around the landscape.  

As the century reeled past the First World War, more and more pre-packaged food appeared on the shelves of local stores.  New technologies allowed food to be processed and packaged more easily and cheaply.  The packaged food items could be shipped over longer distance and still remain edible.  The modern food revolution had begun.  Oh, hallelujah!  How else could we have received the benefit of such wonders as aerosol propelled spray cheese?  As the modern supermarkets became ubiquitous, so did the food that was sold in them.  

Yes, Brothers and Sisters, I know, I am babbling again.  So, when we purchase packaged food, we are paying for the packaging and the labor or machine that put the food in the package.  Once we have used the item, we are paying for the disposal of that packaging, either through the cost of proper disposal or recycling, or the environmental damage caused by plastic packaging that ends up on the landscape or in our oceans.

What then shall we do?  Up until recently, bulk food bins belonged to the world of Co-ops and "Alternative" food stores, but no longer.  While the Rev supports his local Co-op, and urges all of us to do so, bulk food bins have found their way into mainstream supermarkets.  Brothers and Sisters, dig out those old yogurt containers, those plastic tubs and whatnot, even those plastic bags, and re-use them while you fill them up with lovely bulk food from a bin.  Many stores carry everything from pasta to dried peas, and the finer Co-ops will have bins full of things that may have you scratching your head, but hopefully have you eager to try as something new as well.  

Here is what we need to know, my Brethren:  bulk food is cheaper.  Even if you are buying breakfast cereal in the boxed cereal aisle, look down low, where the BIG BAGS of cereal are!  Oh yeah, now we're saving money.  Not only are the bulk items cheaper, there is the added benefit of reducing the waste cycle of unwanted plastic packaging.  Besides all of this, the Rev has to admit that its fun scooping raisins out of the bin.  Oatmeal at the Fortress wouldn't be the same without them.  Finally, many of the better food establishments sell organic items in the bulk foods.  Supporting our local organic producers helps us eat healthier while keeping the planet healthier as well.  So, Sisters and Brothers, wield those scoops and start bulking up.

Purchasing in bulk is not just the province of food purchases.  There are few things that sooth the heart of the Rev like a good hardware store.  One of my strongest criteria for what makes a hardware emporium "good," is whether or not they sell nuts and bolts in bulk.  I simply cannot abide pre-packaged screws hanging from hooks!  No Sir!  This sort of thing is contrary to the laws of nature, and of any good handy-man or handy-woman.  I urge all of our Brethren to find that old school hardware store in your neighborhood and support it.  If we are all buying those fasteners in bulk, we are saving money and the world.  

Oh, there is one more thing Sisters and Brothers, one more solid reason to buy items in bulk, rather than locked up in plastic.  The Down-Pressor HATES it when the people buy bulk items, doing it the old-fashioned way.  It makes him crazy, and if that is not an added bonus to a purchase, I ain't got a squeaky-eye.

Be well, buy well and eat well, Brothers and Sisters.  Be strong and strike that blow!