FREE Food grade 5 gal. buckets for food storage=IDEA

[big bertha]

I checked at our local Wal*Mart. They said they could not give them away or sell them. Seems such a waste to me. But then in such a lawsuit happy society, it's hard to blame anyone for not wanting to. I'm going to have DH check at the local eateries where he works. Small town - so maybe some small town friendliness may get us some (?) I did buy 3 at TSC the other day. They were on sale for $3 each, but they were out of lids.

 

[MorelCabin]

Around here they are found beside the nin bins (garbage boxes out back) at fast food restaurants...they held lard. Another place you can get food grade buckets is at the hard ice cream shops. They are a little smaller but I like them because the lids come off easier.

 

[ChickaD]

We used to get them at Chinese restaurants, originally used for duck sauce. (due to language difficulties when I went in there asking for duck sauce buckets, they kept handing me those little take-out packets of duck sauce! It got to be a full-fledged game of charades. )

BTW, at the risk of going slightly off-topic, I'd like to mention that one way to extend the lifespan of stored hard foods such as rice or beans is to mix in some diatomaceous earth (food grade only) - a couple handfuls to a 5 gal bucket, and then stir it up with a big wooden spoon. It keeps food very dry and absolutely bug-free...for years! We're still opening and using food we stored 9 yrs ago and it's nice and fresh, with no stale odors at all.

 

[MorelCabin]

We're still opening and using food we stored 9 yrs ago and it's nice and fresh, with no stale odors at all.

I see someone was prepared for Y2K

 

[ChickaD]

Yeah, blush, blush...I always feel like a doofus when a repairman has to go into our basement and see "the bucket brigade"! Funny, how they never bring it up... The great part is we won't run out of beans in the next 780 years!

 

[Farmfresh]

Team those GLORIOUS 5 gallon buckets up with Gamma Seal lids!

This is a product that I found that works great! The rim of the lid snaps tightly on the bucket and then the actual lid screws on to the rim forming a tight vacuum seal. Check them out!

http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/gammaseals.html

http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/screw-top-lids-for-5-gallon-buckets--5-pack

 

[TanksHill]

I bought the Gamma Seal lids from Emergecy Essietials.com. They work great. Makes using and rotating food storage much easier.

 

[DaMommaBean]

I will be hitting the local stores in the morning!!! I have only found them for sale for about $5...

 

[FarmerDenise]

You might also check coffee shops for the buckets. Chocolate used in coffe drinks come in them. My daughter used to bring them home for me from Starbucks.

 

[Nifty]

So check the schools or if you have a prison nearby check with them too.

School / Prison... I swear they are easily confused.

I really should hit up some of these places... we've got buckets around the house that are just SUPER old and it would be nice to have some new FREE stock!