How to get Food Grade Buckets for FREE

November 27, 2018 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

I'm excited to share with you a trick I have been using for years to store my bulk food safely and inexpensively. Who else is gearing up for all the Christmas baking coming just around the corner in December? It seems like I am always cooking or baking something extra in the weeks leading up to Christmas. As someone who cooks a lot anyway, I like to have all of my dry ingredients on hand.

For those of us who cook a lot and like to save money, buying in bulk is a necessity. But when you buy food in bulk, it usually comes bagged in plastic or thick paper packages. Those are nightmare to scoop out of without making a mess. They tip over easily and pests can quickly chew through the thin layers to the food beneath. Not to mention issues with humidity and food going rancid.

Luckily there is an easy way to prevent that from happening. Food. Grade. Buckets.




The good news is that food grade buckets are really easy to get. You can buy them for about 4 dollars a piece. Buying 1 or 2 like that isn't a big deal. But if you want to stock up it can quickly make a pretty big dent in your budget. Some people try to get around this by buying the buckets at like Home Depot because they are less expensive, but you shouldn't do that.

You might be asking yourself if just any plastic bucket will work as long as it is clean. The answer is no. The plastic used for food grade buckets must be free of dyes, additives and recycled plastic products shown to be harmful to humans. The reason for this is that some foods will leach additives and chemicals from their containers which can poison your food. Most food grade plastic is in the HDPE category or high density polyethylene with the plastic code 2. You can find it buy turning the product over and looking for the number in the triangle.

I don't love the thought of spending $100 on buckets just to store my food. I'd rather spend it on yummy food! So one thing I found out many years ago is that you can go to your local grocery store bakery and ask they if they have any left-over buckets. They are usually happy to wash them out and give them to you for FREE. I just call ahead and ask and they will put some aside for me until they have as much as I need.

 What I love most though is that they come in a range of sizes from 5 gallons down to 1 gallon. My favorite size is actually the 3.5 gallon. It seems the perfect size for most packages of grain I get from Costco. And, they fit the same kind of lid as a 5 gallon bucket so I can use my favorite Gamma Seal Lids. Guys, if you haven't tried these, you are missing out. There is a ring that goes around the bucket then an inner lid screws on top making it so easy to get to your food without having to pry off the whole lid. It keeps it totally airtight and they come in a range of colors so you can color code your food easily. Love them.

These are the sizes of buckets I use

•  wheat in 6 gallon buckets (which also can fit the gamma seal lids)
• sugar, flour and long term storage grains and other food in 5 gallon buckets
• rices, oats, quinoa, lentils, long term storage beans in 3.5 gallon buckets
• beans and specialty rice like basmati or jasmine in 1.5 gallons buckets