Buying bulk food is smart; storing it properly is key.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—If you're not into buying food in bulk, now's a good time to start. Tomorrow, October 23, has been designated National Bulk Foods Day by the Bulk Is Green Council, a trade group representing bulk-food manufacturers. Buying in bulk allows you to ditch excess packaging—even use your own, reusable containers—and buy food for less. According to the Bulk Is Green Council, bulk foods like rice, grains, nuts, and dried fruits can cost anywhere from 30 to 96 percent less than their packaged counterparts. Given the economy, those savings are starting to register with people; bulk sales were up by 15 percent last year, according to the council.

But buying in bulk doesn't mean buying so much food that it goes stale before you have a chance to eat it. After all, a study published last year estimated that the food wasted in this country amounts to 1,400 calories per person per day. Keeping your food fresh for as long as possible really doesn't take much, says Mark Devencenzi, national sales director at SunRidge Farms, a company that manufactures organic nuts, grains, spices, granola, and other pantry staples. "For bulk-food storage, your three enemies are light, heat, and oxygen," he says. Most bulk foods will last a good while if stored in airtight containers, such as glass jars, in the refrigerator, he says.

For a more specific breakdown of popular staples, here's an easy guide to bulk-food storage:

Grains. Because they never seem to go bad, you may assume that leaving rice, quinoa, and oatmeal on the shelf indefinitely is fine. But these actually can get stale and rancid, particularly brown rice, which has oils that cause it to go bad much faster than white or wild rice. Left on a shelf in a cool, dark pantry, white rice will last indefinitely, but brown rice will only last a month after being opened. Store it, along with your other whole grains like quinoa, in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Not only does this keep them fresher, but it also prevents bugs from getting into your containers. Oatmeal, on the other hand, will last up to 12 months in a pantry.

For more bulk-food storage tips, keep reading.