Where To Buy Wheat Berries For Long Term Food Storage
So, now that I’ve told you what wheat berries are and how to store them, how to grind them into flour, and why you should have them, I should probably back track a little and talk about where you can buy them.
It has only been a few months since I myself learned about wheat berries. Before then, I’d never even heard of such a thing. I had no idea how we got our flour, or that I could grind my own at home for that matter. And if I hadn’t had friends to point me in the right direction, I would not have known where to begin looking for wheat berries to buy.
Rest assured. Even though you may have never noticed, you probably have a source of wheat nearby. If not, the internet will be your best friend.
You have a few options to get you on your way. Here are some places to begin looking for wheat:
Feed Mills- If you live in a rural area, chances are there may be an old mill somewhere nearby. If you don’t have any farm animals, you may have never even noticed it before, though it’s been there for a century. Finding wheat at a mill is going to be one of the cheapest options, though selection will be very limited. They will probably only carry whatever type of wheat grows locally. Our mill only carries soft white wheat (pastry wheat). I cannot make a loaf of bread with only this type of wheat, so I had to find a source for hard wheat as well. If you find a mill to buy wheat from, you’ll need buckets with lids to store the berries in so that bugs do not spoil your purchase.
An Amish or Mennonite Store- Amish and Mennonite communities are nestled all over the US countryside. You may have one in your own town and not even know it if you’ve never looked. These stores will most likely have wheat berries for sale, and the kind people will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
A Mormon or LDS Cannery- If you have a cannery in your area, you’ll be able to find wheat at a good price. You may have to be a church member, or know somebody who is in order to get in. I think they all work differently. I’ve never been to a cannery, as there aren’t any in my area, so if any of you have any info to share about them that would be great!
Whole Foods or other Natural Foods Stores- Although these stores will carry wheat berries, they will be the most expensive option. Not a practical choice for large purchases of wheat.
Costco- If you have a membership, Costco.com has cans of wheat available for purchase, though they are quite pricey compared with local and other online resources.
Purchasing Online- This may be your best option! After searching everywhere in my area for wheat berries, I finally decided upon ordering my hard white and hard red wheat from an online source. The local mill carries the soft white wheat I wanted, but the only place locally I could find hard wheat was in the Amish community. After calculating the driving expense, the buckets and oxygen packets I’d need for storage, plus the cost of the wheat, I came to the conclusion that ordering off of the internet was my best option.
We’ve ordered all of our hard wheat from Emergency Essentials. What I love about ordering from them is that the wheat comes already packed in food grade buckets, with oxygen packets, and a tightly sealed lid to ensure long term storage. After shipping expenses, the full 6 gallon SuperPails of wheat only cost about $2 more per bucket than what I could find locally. The time and effort saved was worth the extra little bit of money to me. I’ve been very happy with everything we’ve ordered from Emergency Essentials, and haven’t found anybody online who can beat their prices. They are located in Utah, so if you live in that area you should definitely check them out!
There are many places to find wheat berries, so get out there and start looking! Grinding your own flour is healthier, cheaper, and just plain tastier!
Do you have a favorite place for purchasing wheat? Let us know where you get yours!
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Heh, I live near the breadbasket of the NW – my uncles now run the wheat farm my grandfather started way back in the day (he used to own about half the county I’ve heard?). So, I can either wheedle some from them, or trip across their county to a particular mill/feed store where some second cousins live and get some goodies.
And fwiw, we’ve stored wheat berries the low-tech way (um, in old school giant Schwan’s ice cream containers in pantries) and they do fine. I have some that have got to be a good decade old by now. My grandpa back in the day actually had to bury his wheat seed so the bank couldn’t come after it as collateral (this was before Monsanto got a stranglehold on things) – and apparently it kept fine in those burlap bags in the ground until planting time.
I’ve ordered my wheat from Honeyville Grain. They have flat shipping – i think it’s less than $6 no matter what you order. I did order gamma seal lids from Emergency Essentials and was happy with their service. I wondered about their buckets – its nice to hear you had a good experience! Thanks for sharing!
This is a particularly timely post as it has just been reported in the last week that the Russian wheat crop has failed due to drought. This is expected to lead to higher wheat prices worldwide as the Russians will be forced to go to the open market to buy wheat. I think I will be stocking up on a 50 lb. bag or hard wheat this month and possibly a 25 lb. bag of soft wheat next month. Thanks for the reminder and the incentive to check my local price vs. online pricing. I can still get in cheaper locally in PA from a local wholesaler.
I just made a purchase of 5 superpails of hard white wheat from Emergency Essentials myself. the challenge will be finding a place to store them! Our two bedroom trailer can only hold so much. LOL. But with the direction things are heading, I wish I had the money and storage space to fill up a whole room with buckets of wheat and other long-term food storage items. It’s scary to me how few people realize how unstable our food system is and how little it would take for compelete chaos to start. I wish everyone would realize the benefit of at least having a well-stocked pantry and at least planting a small kitchen garden.
Don’t forget your co-op! Check to see if you have one in your area. Ours carries all kids of wheat berries at great prices! We use Azure Standard.
I LOVE our local Dutch foods store!!! Where would I be without them!?
They used to carry Wheat Montana Prairie Gold in flour, but now they only sell it in berries. So, I am praying for a mill (seriously!). I like Wheat Montana because they do not spray and they are non-GMO. But, to order directly from them costs more.
Thanks for such practical posts! I am sure that many people are being helped.
Bethany
I have been intending to buy wheat but accelerated the timetable due to the news. Like you, I found Emergency Essentials to be the best buy for me. We just don’t have any place local to buy that sort of thing.
Walton Feed has a large co-op. You can call them and get the person’s name for your area. Very reasonably priced.
Here is some information on LDS Canneries.
http://www.sanfranciscograpevine.com/blog/view/id_267/
I was able to find a local cannery in my state of MA through LDS. If you go to providnetliving.org, you will be able to click on your state and it will tell you if you have one near you. I went there about a month ago and it was my second time and I have to tell you that it is awesome. I know you mentioned in your blog that you were not sure if they will let you in if you are not a church member but we had no problem making an appointment to use their facilities. They have a ton of stuff you can purchase and they did have the hard white and the hard red wheat as well as flour. My plan is to go back every couple of months or so to stock up. Hope this helps some of you.
Thanks Mike!
Walton Feeds is a wonderful site for all kinds of grains.They also have storage techniques and other storage foods. Also some yummy recipes.
Thenewsurvivalist.com is a good site for survival suggestions.Dr. weed also has videos on cooking rice and other healthy grains.
The LDS canneries are run by the LDS church. You can go with a member you know when they go. It’s a good way to buy case lots of what they are canning that day. There are canners avaiable that you can purchase to can things it bags and cans for storage. If you belong to a coop group they might want to invest in one and rent it out to the members or have a canning day.
Whole grains are fun to work with. There is always a period of learning what is right for you and where and how you live.
What about vacume sealed bags to stack in the buckets ? Thanks
Gary,
Yeah, you could definitely do that. As long as you’ve vacuum sealed them properly, storing these foods in plastic buckets would be a great way to keep them from any water damage or meal-seeking-rodents.
Hi Kendra,
I order my wheat from Wheat Montana. I’ve been ordering from them for the past 13 years and have never been disappointed.
If you order a minimum of 5000 pounds you receive a GREATLY reduced price. A LOT less than what you’re paying at Honeyville.
That includes the shipping which ends up being approximately $7.00 dollars each.
It isn’t that hard to get together a group order of 5000 pounds, and you can order by the 50 pound bag or in buckets.
Our group tends to order once or twice per year.
The wheat is delivered in a semi-truck. You’re responsible to meet the truck at delivery time.
Oh, I ordered buckets initially, but one can only collect so many! Once you have a lot of buckets to re-fill, you can order 50 # bags for less money. I re-fill the empty buckets with wheat and oxygen absorbers. I haven’t had any trouble with rodents or bugs.
What a great resource – thanks!
A word about buckets for storing wheat – I have gotten several food grade bucket, for free, from supermarket bakeries. Their frosting comies in them. I just wash them really well, using a little vinegar to cut any greasiness and they are good to go.
It depends on where you live but the wheat berries wouldn’t have to be stored in buckets, again, depending on the humidity. We live in Colorado and leave our wheat berries out in the open for months and they are perfectly fine and still make delicious, nutritious bread.
There is a family farm in Colorado, Dodsworth Farms, that sells hard red winter wheat berries directly off their website. It’s reasonably priced and it comes already vacuum sealed in like 2.5 pound bags. It’s not organic but it is Non-GMO, all natural and chemical free. You can check them out at their website, http://www.dodsworthfarms.com
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