Have you tried restaurant or catering supply stores? You might have to buy a larger quantity, but the price should make up for it. If you want plain ol' anonymous grocery store packs, there's always Walmart.com.

My local grocery stores and chains (Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lowes, Wal-mart, Target) have lots of dried beans - most at $2 per pound. Perhaps you need to go out of your local sphere to other stores. As for availability - lots of people looking for cheap nutrition with so many out of work. Here most of the stores have 1/3 of the normal stock of pasta and rice and lots of people are buying vegetable seeds for late crops or for next season because we just don't know how long this pandemic will last. I've ordered mine.

I used Barry Farm Foods for all my gluten free flours, some dried fruits, nut flours, nuts, and beans when I had my small food business. Everything was always fresh but, as you said, prices have gone up considerably- most beans at $7 per pound and then there is the shipping $.

I live in a rural area. Other stores are 45 min. drive away. I used to go into the nearest big city to visit a gourmet grocery. Don't really want to spend the time and money doing that right now. We used to make a day of it, shopping. During the pandemic, we don't shop or dine out for fun anymore, just in and out and as few trips as possible.

I won't shop at Walmart in person any more. Too many sketchy people in my local store. Won't shop at store with majority unmasked and cars flying Confederate flags in the parking lot. And I mean literally flying on poles attached to the car, not just a sign in the back window or bumper sticker. Flying up over the parking lot. I live in a state that fought bravely and squarely on the side of the Union . . . don't feel safe in that store now on several fronts. Haven't really been a Walmart fan anyway, no experience ordering from them online. I suppose if it was my only option. Hopefully there are others . . .

Like you said, maybe it is a nationwide thing with availability. I can live without a huge bean variety, but being mostly vegetarian, gourmet beans has been one of my easy and relatively inexpensive luxuries.

I have used the Wal-mart food pick up twice. It went well and they had everything I wanted on my small list plus some cat litter on sale! Not really a fan normally but the local stores were out of half of what I wanted. I will do it again but will follow the sales.

I use exclusively Palouse (Washington state), RanchoGordo and Bob'sRedMill.

All on-line since march but I am stocked for a while now. All had trouble keeping up with orders with sales up 300% by late March. Staff issues with school aged children home and supply issues for their packaging.

I'm a RanchoGordo bean club member. Every three months. He supports small farmers growing rare heirloom beans. Pound cost is under 5$ free shipping. With extra freebies tossed in like spices. A free shipping code if something else is desired.

Palouse has had a couple great 'thank you' deals when they caught their breath. A back to school deal a few weeks ago one the small bags...killer deal when their burlap bags came it. Under 3$ a pound and free shipping. Their regular price is still excellent for the quality. (5 pound bags)

Cool beans! I did see that brand (Rancho Gordo) offered by Amazon, so maybe I'll try ordering direct. I am finding that almost no matter where you get them, the heirloom beans are twice the price of the more common ones. I used to grow some in a big garden at work. No room where I live now. Maybe I am missing a good business opportunity. They were dead easy to grow and harvest. The place where I worked was a nature center with an heirloom vegetable garden outside of an historical homestead exhibit. Every year during our harvest fest we would offer bean thrashing as a kid's activity, along with making a pea shooter . . . and free samples of black bean soup cooked in a cast iron cauldron over a fire. Fun times, and pretty easy fun at that. Kids really enjoyed beating up on the dried bean pods to get the beans out . . .

Edited to add thanks Nancy for that link to Barry Farms Foods. Cool store and I like supporting local and regional businesses over the chains. I might end up getting some things from them eventually. We are down to really, really basic and frugal eating at this point though . . . Don't know how long this austerity will last . . . I can see maybe getting some of the pie fillings for filled Christmas cookies. And the clear gel is a find!

I use only canned beans, but I have had great luck lately ordering many things from Target, so I just checked the availability of dried beans on their website. one lb of pinto or black beans for $.99. Lots of organic choices on many things. Not sure what you're looking for. I opened a Target account and you get free shipping (I don't think there is a minimum order if you do). With a card you also get 5% off on everything you order. They are fast and great customer service.

https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=dried+beans&Nao=0

I've ordered from nuts.com:

https://nuts.com/search/instant?query=beans 

I only mentioned Walmart.com because of their pickup and pricing.

I use some Berry Farm baking products and really like the quality.

If you want the slightly bigger amounts online, webrestaurantstore has many beans for a great price.

Sleevendog's display has me salivating and if I were allow to have beans more than once in a blue moon, I would so sign up for the bean club!

I remember Rancho Gordo from Mouthfulsfood.com from 15 years ago. I've always been able to find any beans I wanted at Latin markets here, including Grand Central Market, and so I never ordered from him, but I did appreciate his posts.

I purchased Palouse garbanzo beans when I couldn't find them locally last spring. The quality is very good. They do cost more than the generic ones in our local store (about $3/pound if you buy the 5 pound bag vs $2 a pound) when the store has them.

Hey, L, I can't help you with legume buying advice. My unusual ones come from ethnic markets nearby. But I am wondering:

Do you have the nature center's black bean soup recipe? I lost mine several years ago. Last week I bought some red wine vinegar which I think was one ingredient added at the end. Thought I'd experiment with my next try at black bean soup...but if you have the recipe, I'll go with that.

Also, maybe try growing just a pole or two of heirloom pole beans. They do not take much room compared to the usual bush beans grown for dry beans.

Ya sure know where I'm comin' from dontcha Nature Girl! ;)

I never saved the recipe. It is not my favorite. I still have nightmares about the time when I just threw all the ingredients into a pot after I got home from work on a Friday, thinking they would be done in the morning to take to the Fall Fest. I didn't know at the time the effects of adding vinegar at the start of the cooking. Leathery hard beans than never softened, even by midnight after cooking for six hour.s Even after I ground them up with a hand blender. And then all through the next day cooking over the fire . . .

I seem to recall the recipe being rather basic . . . yes vinegar at the end. Onion and I don't remember much more than that. Maybe peppers . . . maybe garlic . . . oregano . . .

My go-to black bean nowdays is more of a chili type recipe. I like to use red pepper and yellow corn and tomatoes. No vinegar . . . but perhaps a squirt of lime to finish . . . and some sour cream.

Yes, I recall it was very basic and that may be why I liked it, all ingredients I had around except for the red wine vinegar. I'll try what I remember and maybe add in some of your "chili type" ideas. I'm trying to use up end of the season garden peppers and tomatoes.

Fall Fest did have it's moments, that's for sure. I have a few funny and one maddening memory.

I definitely remember oregano.

I checked my recipe file just in case, and all I have is that other one I mentioned. Here it is, because it uses tomatoes and peppers, so good for end of the garden time. I think I got this one from a vegetarian magazine.

Black bean soup with red paprika sauce
Serves 8

1 lb. black beans (soak in water overnight, then drain and rinse)

8 cups water or broth

2 chopped onions

2 ribs celery (or use celery seed if you don't like celery's texture, or omit)

2 cups chopped tomatoes (add at the end, they are acid! I usually use a can of diced tomatoes but like you, now I have a lot of fresh ones still, I've been covering the tomatoes . . . )

2 TBLSP paprika. I have sometimes used some smoked paprika as part of this, but not so much as to overpower

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup cilantro (I rarely have cilantro, use about 1 TBLSP dried cilantro or dried parsley plus a small amount of ground corriander)

2 bay leaves

1 cup corn

1/4 tsp. pepper

Simmer beans in broth or water until soft, about 2 hrs. Add vegetables and spices and simmer one hour more. Add sauce right before serving.

Red Paprika Sauce

2 TBLSP olive oil

1 large red pepper, diced (you can use green ones, red looks better)

3 scallions, minced

2 tsp. paprika . . . or less, to taste. Could use ancho chili powder if you want that taste . . .

2 tsp. salt

2 TBLSP lime juice

Saute veggies in olive oil til tender. Add lime and add to soup. Good with dollop of sour cream and some crumbled tortilla chips . . .

That looks delicious...

Excellent recipe. I did similar last night but all came from the freezer. 4 half pints... mirepoix, bone broth, a mixed grain, and a mixed bean. A pint of rich chili. 4 smoked chicken thighs. Topped with a feta/yogurt cream. If I saw this I would have added some fresh/frozen corn and remembered the lime.

Nice thing about beans and grains is how well they freeze. I freeze them unseasoned when tender in 1/2 pints so I can add to anything. Yes, a completed dish freezes as well....just need proper labeling. (I often use frozen grains and beans in my pups food so I need to be careful about seasonings)

Nothing great about covid but the restocking of shelves might bring fresher beans. Many grocery beans are old to begin with and not rotated for freshness.

Bean tales, lol. When we moved to NYC in our late 20's, obviously old beans were the reason for a few failed soups and chili. Possibly something acidic. Futon on the floor, no way could we afford food fails. Once with a visiting NewOrleans cajun band gigging in the city, I was smart enough to cook a pound of black beans separate in just water....never softened so sent DH out for 6 cans. The hard beans I started again the next day and eventually softened but 12 hours?! (good grief😜)

The RG bean club is not for everyone. SteveSando says the same. Actually a wait list has been in place for months. Only four of the six varieties are beans. The other two are a grain or lentil like the black caviar lentil we love or posole or wild rice. Then a spice like wild mountain cumin or Mexican oregano and some other treat. (last box had a sheet of bean stickers, 😂. what to do with bean stickers?)

If I was a good little entrepreneur I would start a farm growing heirloom beans and grains and then market them online mail order with a series of videos about how to eat low on the food chain. I'd call the series, "Low on the Food Chain and Lovin' It!" ;) I initially thought "low on the chain and lovin' it" but that may have all kinds of other meanings . . . :)

That's basically Bob's Red Mill and maybe Arrowhead Mills and some of these other places but perhaps there is room for a few more in the market. My local bean canning operation, (Randall Beans) has a wonderful Web site now with great recipes featuring their beans. I wonder if they would ever consider branching out into the dried beans. Their canned beans are top of the line, canned in jars so no metallic taste.
https://randallbeans.com/

With a bit of smokey paprika that black bean recipe I posted is a good vegetarian riff on the more traditional black bean soups that are made with smoked sausage. With the additional vegetables it's also colorful and filling. Black beans are one of my favorites.

Sorry, I misunderstood what you were looking for...I thought a cheaper source for common beans that were actually in stock. No heirlooms at Target!

Yeah, that was confusing. I guess I'm looking for the "medium" kinds of beans. Not the rarer kinds of heirlooms but the ones that they used to carry quite regularly but are now AWOL. Red beans are an example at my local store. They still carry kidney, but now red beans are as rare as hen's teeth. Same with yellow split peas. Not super rare, but less common than the green ones. Can never find the yellow ones anymore . . . Tangentially, I noticed that heirlooms and even some of the "medium" level ones, are now commanding a hefty price online at Amazon and some of the other sources.