I was wondered what all of you do about the food products that you use to make your cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc. .

Do you buy your items at the supermarket or do you buy from somewhere else. . like, a restaurant food supplier?

If from a food supplier, which one?
If from a supermarket, which brands do you trust to use?

If you're running low, and need something do you run to the supermarket or wait to order?

I buy my flour and powdered sugar from GFS. My sugar and butter comes from Sam's, my eggs from a local farm, my shortening from a local cake supply store. My fondant from the internet.

If I'm short and I can't wait to order, I run to the supermarket, but generally speaking I keep a close eye on it. GFS isn't too far away, and neither is Sam's. So it's not usually a big issue for me.

It depends on how much you use and the limits of your supplier.

Some will not deliver to residential addresses. I had a caterer friend order a few things for me.

Some products only come in 50lb sizes. some things would no longer be fresh, unless you have a high production.

A compromise can be a restaurant supply store or a big-box store like Costco. Costco has larger sizes and pretty good prices, but not necessarily the giant commercial size packaging.

I also use multiple suppliers. flour, sugar, eggs, butter, peanut butter, oatmeal, choc chips and most catering foods from GFS on truck delivery. SOme things I buy at the GFS store (because I don't need a whole case of salad ... I just need a couple of bags).

Some stuff from Sysco, but I pick it up at will-call. Craisins, raisins, marschino cherries, peanut butter chips, and other stuff from Sam's. Misc stuff from walmart. I know all the walmart greeters and cashiers on a first name and personal basis!

I keep a spreadsheet on what I buy where and the unit cost of each, so I know where my best deal is. If I fall short, I can't afford to wait until I can get a truck order in ... I'm in the van heading to the nearest store.

I am VERY fortunate that I have a walmart 3 minutes from me, two Sam's CLubs within 20 minutes of me, and a GFS store just 15 minutes down the road.

Local supermarket and the cake supply store. I'm not that busy yet to where I need to order things in bulk.

I use store brand for almost everything b/c it's cheaper and just as good as the name brand.

I average about 4-5 cakes per week (most are not weddings) so I haven't hit the "big time" yet. I get most of my stuff from WalMart. I buy the store brand ps, vanilla, shortening, flour, sugar, and milk. I buy Duncan Hines mixes. My husband works for a food distributer, so it is easy to buy some things in bulk...I just call him and have him bring it home. He gets me my 19X14X4 cake boxes for 50 cents apiece in cases of 50! Maybe one day I'll have more space to store all my goodies, but right now I don't have anywhere to put a 50# block of Crisco in my house!

These days I buy from Dawn (will call), Sam's and misc. other stores. I also order a fair amount from Ck and BakeryCrafts. If I have to, I run to the local grocery or cake supplies store. Boxes I get from a restaurant supply store.

In my case, I order my hi ratio online, and much of my stuff from different sources that give me a very good price in boxes, supplies (Bakery Craft, Decopac have free delivery over $75, Lucks), I love Aldi for eggs(1.10 per dozen)and milk, and my fondant is home made so is less expensive. The nearest cakes supply store is more 40 minutes away and some times don't have what I need in stock, so its better deal paying up to $20 in shipping cost, that $30 in gas and wasted time.