B & M Provisions, a Family-owned Wholesale Food Company

Since the 1940s, B & M Provisions has been a family-owned business selling wholesale, quality meat, food, and beverages at great prices to restaurants, facilities, and the public. Its first and foremost focus is on its meats that are USDA inspected but also offers a full-scale inventory just like a supermarket, only in wholesale quantities and prices.

Larger orders can be delivered right to the customer's door. They offer commercial accounts, a food co-op program, and weekly specials. Their inventory includes dozens and dozens of different cuts of beef, chicken, pork, seafood, dairy, produce (fruits and vegetables), groceries, and non-food products.

How to Order

As an individual consumer, I was not allowed inside of the B & M facility. I had to go to the counter, tell the representative what I wanted, and wait for my order to be processed and brought out to me with only a short wait.

They have specials each week with two overlapping online-only flyers that run Monday through Saturday and Friday through Thursday which can be a little confusing, so be sure to compare the two. I recommend that you sign up with B & M Provisions Newsletters, which are basically the upcoming specials flyers and occasional notes about events, such as barbecues with free burgers, free cake tasting and more.

There is a $20 minimum order and they accept Visa & MasterCard.

Positives

B & M is a wholesaler and you need to expect larger quantities of everything. Most of their meats are sold in 5 or 10 pound quantities which are reasonable but some quantities go up to 40 pounds cases or several dozen pieces of fruit or vegetables. The average consumer probably does not have enough room for larger quantities like this. This is why I can only recommend this company if you have a large freezer in addition to the one in your refrigerator. I purchased a 6-cubic-foot chest freezer before I even considered ordering much from B & M. It is well worth the price of the extra freezer and the higher prices due to the large quantities of each product ordered because the unit prices are competitive and sometimes much lower than those of your local supermarkets or other wholesalers, like Costco or BJ's.

Some smaller quantities are available occasionally on the flyers but I'm always on the lookout for package deals that come up from time to time. These allow the company to sell a large quantity and consumers get a large variety of smaller quantities -- everyone is happy! For example, I purchased a 48 pound Super Meat Package for $139.95 last month and it included 5 pounds Chip steak, 5 pounds Boneless chicken breast, 5 pounds Chuck Roast, 5 pounds Haddock, 3 pounds NY Strip steak, 5 pounds French Fries, 5 pounds Ground Beef, 5 pounds Hot Dogs, 5 pounds Beef Cubes, and 5 pounds Sausage. Yes, $139.95 might sound high but we're talking 48 pounds of food! It would probably cost over $200 at my supermarket.

Note that some items, such as chicken, which is listed in 40 pound cases, can be purchased by 10 pound cases. Certain foods can be purchased like this is smaller quantities on an item by item basis. You need to call the company to see if you can get smaller quantities of certain items. They will probably go down to 5 or 10 pounds minimum which is not too bad and a whole lot better than 40 pounds. Cakes may also be purchased single. As I said, it is best to call or ask ahead before placing your order because they don't make it a point to advertise this fact.

Everything I have eaten from B & M has been terrific. Everything is fresh and much better-tasting than most of their supermarket equivalents. For the first time in about a decade, I did not need to do anything to the ground beef to make it taste like beef! Oddly, their 80% lean ground beef contained very little fat compared to the 80% lean at my supermarket -- it kind of makes me wonder if the supermarket's is really 80% lean? The fries are the crispiest I've ever eaten.

Most of the meats are in unlabeled packaging because B & M freshly cuts their meats on the premises. The hot dogs are from Hatfield but different from the kind sold in supermarkets -- bun-length, skinless, and less sodium. The sausage is also Hatfield and tastes the same as those sold in the supermarket.

Not every package deal will contain everything I want but, as long as I like most of the items included, it is well worth the issue of one or two items. Even the worst item has still been supermarket-quality or better.

Occasionally, B & M offers specialty items, such as locally-made Pellman Cakes, 48-count T & L Pierogies, and homemade sausage.

The B & M flyers say that large orders, special cuts of meat, and the meat packages need to be called-in 24 hours before pickup which is understandable. But I was able to get my package with only a few hours notice. It depends on how busy they are with other customers.

Negatives

I've only encountered a few negatives when dealing with B & M, none related to the quality of the food.

The first thing are their flyers/newsletters and inventory lists that are only available online with no physical copies to look at anywhere. I wouldn't mind if there was an online ordering system but they take orders on handwritten receipts. I've only order a relatively small variety of products at any one time, so I have never encountered a complicated order yet.

I'm still not sure why the company has two different flyers each week that cross over into each other day and product-wise. It makes for a lot of unnecessary cross-checking.

The flyers take a little getting used to because they use shorthand that can look odd at first glance. To save space, the symbol "#" is used to designate pounds as in weight. Occasionally, there are a few abbreviations that I don't recognize but I usually figure them out. Sometimes the flyers contain typos and the dates are incorrect. They could stand to use a little more editing before publication.

Food Co-op Program

B & M offers a Food Co-op program for groups of consumers who want wholesale prices but don't want wholesale quantities. It allows groups of people to buy in bulk and divide it amongst themselves upon delivery. It requires no membership or credit check, offers a 10% store credit, and free delivery within a 35 mile range on orders of $499 or more.

Conclusion

As with most food wholesalers, B & M Provisions is best when you have enough cooling storage for large quantities of food because you can save greatly with lower unit prices. You will need to buy large quantities with prices that seem high but the food will last you for a few months, depending on the size of your family and how often you cook. The higher prices every few months are still lower than the total that your supermarket bill would be over the same duration of time. If you are an individual, a business, or a facility that requires large amounts of food in the Lehigh Valley or surrounding areas, B & M is a great food wholesaler to deal with and you will probably be more than satisfied with the quality of the products they sell. Give it a try as soon as possible -- start with smaller quantities to get a feel for the wholesale mindset.

Rating: 4/5