[Food] Canning

[RoseTower]

Since I'm an urbanite, food is about the basic prepping I can do right now.

My question is: Where can I find inexpensive canning supplies and equipment? When I find foods on sale I would like to be able to buy and preserve the excess but have no idea where to start and finances are a problem.

 

[blueberry]

Yard sales are always good, but I know someone who put an ad in her local "Thrifty Nickle" type of paper saying that she was looking for canning supplies.

She had SO many people call her, and tell her to just come and pick them up! Older people were so happy to see a young person interested in canning, they gave her jars, canners, and advice too.

 

[CGTech]

STRONGLY recommend using a pressure canner for all your canning. The extra initial cost is worth it to ensure you and yours don't get food poisening.

 

[Christian for Israel]

try thrift stores. in the thrift stores in my area, pint jars are around 19 cents each, and quart jars are 29 cents each. i even found a cast aluminum pressure cooker/canner for $5.

another thing to try is dumpster diving. we were diving one day when a man brought out 2 cases of jars to throw away! they even had unused lids!

lots of people are spring cleaning now...it's a perfect time to see what they're throwing out.

 

[Deena in GA]

Yep, yard sales and thrift stores are good sources. Also, just spreading the word among your friends and/or church members might result in some free or cheap jars. Estate sales are good places to find them too. For brand new jars, Big Lots is the cheapest I've found.

 

[Mushroom]

Rose Tower,

You might look in the phone book and see if there are any produce houses in your area. You can buy produce by the case and it is usually cheaper than at the grocer. You can also try the local farmers markets. You might find some things there that would be worth your while. Don't forget to put up meats to go with your fruits and veggies. They are not difficult to do and are nice to have on the shelves. Happy prepping.

Mushroom