Cheap bulk cornmeal?

[Emerald]

Does anyone know where I can buy cornmeal in 50lb bags for bulk storage? I found 50lb bags for $17, but they want $80 to ship it! I haven't been able to find a local source.

[TEX]

Check out Frontier Survival

http://www.frontiersurvival.net/item--Yellow-Corn-Meal-50-LB--FR22-124.html

your entire order ships for about $12.95 - I have ordered 100 lbs of wheat from them before and that was the price of shipping

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Does anyone know where I can buy cornmeal in 50lb bags for bulk storage? I found 50lb bags for $17, but they want $80 to ship it! I haven't been able to find a local source.

Do you have a mill? If so you could just buy 50lb bags of corn at a feed store for about $7 each and grind them yourself. Also check the Amish in your area if there are any. They sell cornmeal for around ten dollars a bag that they simply grind themselves.

[Anon001]

If you buy corn from an elevator, coop, feed store, or feed mill, be sure to rinse it. ALL grains are treated with pesticides when they go into the coop or elevator. This is to kill any bugs that come in from the field and to keep bugs from being drawn to it once it is in storage.

Paul

[Pokeberry Mary]

50 # of popcorn would store much better. For $80 you could probably get a mill--maybe not a top of the line brand new electric one--but something. Then you can buy your popcorn in $50 pound bags at Sam's club for about $14.00, store them in a big food grade bucket and you've got corn meal for ages--and popcorn too. :)

[momma_to_seven_chi]

If you buy corn from an elevator, coop, feed store, or feed mill, be sure to rinse it. ALL grains are treated with pesticides when they go into the coop or elevator. This is to kill any bugs that come in from the field and to keep bugs from being drawn to it once it is in storage.

Paul

I didn't know that. We put that stuff into our chickens, pigs, cows, etc.

[patience]

Yeah, Malathion used to be the favorite, about 20 years ago. I dunno what they use now, but I've seen a quart of Malathion dumped into a grain elevator at a time.

I buy corn and wheat straight out of the combine around here, store it in sealed plastic barrels with inert welding gas (75% Argon/25% CO2) added to keep out the pests. (Has to be dry!) We have a burr mill-6", with 1 1/2 hp motor on it that grinds our flour,, cornmeal, and animal feed, at about 200 lbs./hour.

Grain is dirt cheap at the farm--corn $4/bushel = 56 lbs., and wheat $6/bushel = 60 lbs., last year. Yeah, that's right, wheat at 10 cents/lb.

That grain mill has paid for itself many times!

[Emerald]

Thanks to all who replied. I do have a grain mill and I keep a 50 lb bag of popcorn from Sam's (cheap) in my long term storage. If I can find it already ground, it's not so much wear on my mill since I use more in winter. I make my own bird suet up and use 20lbs of corn meal at a time when I make a batch in the winter for this (yes, the birds have it good - but I enjoy watching them). I also buy field corn from a neighbor straight from the bin ($4/bu) so I have plenty of whole corn that I can grind as needed. I just wanted to find some cheap already ground as well. Thanks again!

[NCLee]

Check the brands of cornmeal in your grocery store. Look for the origin. You may have a milling company somewhere within your area. If so contact them to see if you can buy ground cornmeal directly from them in bulk.

One of the brands sold in our stores is milled about 10 miles from me. Maybe you'll be lucky and have one within a reasonable driving distance.

Lee

[cwatson]

Check the brands of cornmeal in your grocery store. Look for the origin. You may have a milling company somewhere within your area. If so contact them to see if you can buy ground cornmeal directly from them in bulk.

One of the brands sold in our stores is milled about 10 miles from me. Maybe you'll be lucky and have one within a reasonable driving distance.

Lee

That's a good idea I hadn't thought of that. I found a place about 80 miles away via internet but hadn't thought of checking bags in grocery store. Thanks for the idea.

[neparose]

Dont know if this will help you, but when I was on a quest for wheat berries, I called a place called Dutch Valley Foods. {they got a web site @dutchvalleyfoods.com} The very nice girl I talked to, asked me where I lived, and then gave me a list of stores in my area that recieve shipments from them. One of them happened to be 7 miles from my house, so instead of over 100 dollars for shipping, I only had to pay 15.
rose

[nhlivefreeordie]

Thanks to all who replied. I do have a grain mill and I keep a 50 lb bag of popcorn from Sam's (cheap) in my long term storage. If I can find it already ground, it's not so much wear on my mill since I use more in winter. I make my own bird suet up and use 20lbs of corn meal at a time when I make a batch in the winter for this (yes, the birds have it good - but I enjoy watching them). I also buy field corn from a neighbor straight from the bin ($4/bu) so I have plenty of whole corn that I can grind as needed. I just wanted to find some cheap already ground as well. Thanks again!

Would you mind sharing the suet recipe? I feed the birds as well, they are great to watch this time of year. All bird food has gone way up it seems. I remember when I lived in NH, and going through 50-100 lbs every two weeks of sunflower hearts, as well as lots of other types of feed. Back then, 25 lb bags of hearts were $12, now you are lucky to find 7lb bags for that price, and suet has gone way up as well.

[Anon001]

Don't forget to check the "Member Businesses". There are a lot of homesteader home based businesses and surely some will have what you need.

Paul

[cubcadet]

Dont know if this will help you, but when I was on a quest for wheat berries, I called a place called Dutch Valley Foods. {they got a web site @dutchvalleyfoods.com} The very nice girl I talked to, asked me where I lived, and then gave me a list of stores in my area that recieve shipments from them. One of them happened to be 7 miles from my house, so instead of over 100 dollars for shipping, I only had to pay 15.
rose

Thanks for the tip Rose. I`m gonna call them in the morning. Last year, I drove out to Ithaca to get a good deal on corn and rice. I can`t find anyone outside Whole Foods that`ll give decent rates on grain and beans. It`s a haul to Philly from here. Same for NJ.

[Emerald]

My recipe varies depending on what I have on hand, but the basic recipe is 2 tubs of shortening (got it on sale for $1.67), 10 lbs of corn meal, and 6-8 lbs of peanut butter. In a 20 qt pan, I melt the shortening & peanut butter. It will scortch if you don't stir it often. Then I stir in the cornmeal after it is melted completely. Sometimes I add birdseed to this or raisins or even cereal or crushed crackers. I also add some oyster shell in the winter becuase it provides calcium & is supposed to keep the birds who are prone to it from eating the eggs of other birds. This will harden. You can put it in cake pans & cut into whatever size you want or I have plastic 5 lb peanut butter jars with screw on lids that I reuse to pour the suet into when it cools down enough and then I spoon it out as needed.
Another great recipe I only use a few times during winter when it is very cold & snow's on the ground is the make cornbread using your regular recipe but cruch the eggs whole & mix in the shells, then add birdseed & bake it in a cake pan. I crumble it on the deck where I can get a close view of about every bird since they all love this. I also have used cake mix instead of cornbread if I get it on sale for .50 cents or less.

[nhlivefreeordie]

My recipe varies depending on what I have on hand, but the basic recipe is 2 tubs of shortening (got it on sale for $1.67), 10 lbs of corn meal, and 6-8 lbs of peanut butter. In a 20 qt pan, I melt the shortening & peanut butter. It will scortch if you don't stir it often. Then I stir in the cornmeal after it is melted completely. Sometimes I add birdseed to this or raisins or even cereal or crushed crackers. I also add some oyster shell in the winter becuase it provides calcium & is supposed to keep the birds who are prone to it from eating the eggs of other birds. This will harden. You can put it in cake pans & cut into whatever size you want or I have plastic 5 lb peanut butter jars with screw on lids that I reuse to pour the suet into when it cools down enough and then I spoon it out as needed.
Another great recipe I only use a few times during winter when it is very cold & snow's on the ground is the make cornbread using your regular recipe but cruch the eggs whole & mix in the shells, then add birdseed & bake it in a cake pan. I crumble it on the deck where I can get a close view of about every bird since they all love this. I also have used cake mix instead of cornbread if I get it on sale for .50 cents or less.

Thank you Emerald, I will give this a try, I saved the little plastic suet containers from the store, I have about 10 of them, if I poured the melted mixture in them, I think it will work great, otherwise, I will just make another type feeder.

[Emerald]

I use those also, but I only have 5 left. The suet from the store now comes in a plastic bag without the plasctic tray. I used to have more, but they were torn over time with use. They work great for quite a while though. Here is a link to the type of feeder I use for the suet I make. I just have to cut or spoon it into the feeder. I got mine at tractor supply or rural king for $3.99.
http://www.duncraft.com/Tall-Nugget-Feeder--P2505C216.aspx

[nhlivefreeordie]

I use those also, but I only have 5 left. The suet from the store now comes in a plastic bag without the plasctic tray. I used to have more, but they were torn over time with use. They work great for quite a while though. Here is a link to the type of feeder I use for the suet I make. I just have to cut or spoon it into the feeder. I got mine at tractor supply or rural king for $3.99.
http://www.duncraft.com/Tall-Nugget-Feeder--P2505C216.aspx

Thank you again. Last time I was at the store I was sure I saw the suet cakes still in the plastic trays, I will go look and try to get some sale priced cakes ( they sometimes sell them at the end of the season for $1 ea.) just to get the plastic containers. I also like the idea of the feeder you linked to, I will check that out at TSC this week.
The Duncraft store was on my weekly travels in NH, I used to stop there often on my lunch break, the store is amazing, I always wanted to open a store like that, only problem is, to be successful, you have to live near a LOT of people, I will pass on that.