now that the stores are open

[Ambergris]

Amazon is a much cheaper grocery option than it has been in the past several weeks.  Some shelf-stable foods have disappeared, some have become much more widely available, and some have changed position or labels.  Case in point is powdered milk.

I have not bought Nido in a long time because what was available here stopped being the powdered whole milk.  Now, you can again get the powdered whole milk. https://www.amazon.com/Nestle-Nido-Milk-Powder-Ounce/dp/B00E5VTBUK  It is substantially more expensive than it was in the nineties, but what isn't?

The Pet brand of canned evaporated milk I grew up on is being crowded out of the market by Nestle/Carnation.  Some people are apparently willing to pay $7 for one little can.  Alas, I am not.  And searching for evaporated milk gets nothing less than $7 or so except Nestles.

But, as Jeepers says, I digress.  A search for powdered whole milk turns up an array of options I didn't see last year.  Should anyone here feel capable of breaking down and packaging for storage on her own (ahem) Land o Lakes has  a 55lb bag of Grade A for $199 and free shipping  https://www.amazon.com/Lakes-Powder-Pasteurized-Gallons-Milkfat/dp/B086829CLZ  That's $4 a pound.  28.5% milkfat.  The options in smaller packages run $12 a pound and up.  Way up.

 

If you want to get ready for the next shut-down, it's a good time to do it.  The hurricane buyers are not in panic mode yet, even.  If you do the Prime Pantry for the better prices they sometimes have (be careful about those) you might want to buy just over the $35 needed for free shipping and then hit send and start another box. Also, don't buy  too many soup cans per box. The boxes are not always as sturdy as they should be, and floppy, heavy boxes are hard to deliver.  The previously assigned mail carrier threw some of the heavier boxes down on my steps.  Avoid this level of resentment by ordering lighter boxes, making multiple orders.

 

 

 

[euphrasyne]

We'd changed to regular milk a few years back, but for about a decade I used to buy the 5 gallon pail of non-instant powdered milk from Walton Feed.   I'd repackage it and it would last us about 9 months each time.  It isn't that hard and takes about half an hour to redo.  

[Mt_Rider]

4 hours ago, Ambergris said:

The boxes are not always as sturdy as they should be, and floppy, heavy boxes are hard to deliver.  The previously assigned mail carrier threw some of the heavier boxes down on my steps.  Avoid this level of resentment by ordering lighter boxes, making multiple orders.

 

 

EXACTLY what happened to us this early winter too.  We will not order from Amazon Pantry and put our carrier thru that.  Besides, all the products packaged in non-metal were damaged/spilled throughout all the shipping.  Got some refunding at least, for that.

 

MtRider     Amazon regular has been shipped in very good packaging!  And reasonable weights!

[Ambergris]

Prime Pantry is all-around better, usually, than regular Amazon groceries.  The selection is much more limited, is all, so you have to be ready to buy in cycles.  And watch for the electronic coupons.  And, of course, order smaller boxes.  I have not had a problem with the non-canned items busting up/spilling in smaller boxes.