SALVAGE GROCERY STORES - AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOOD AUCTIONS
Salvage grocery stores can be a great alternative to bidding at food auctions, if an auction cannot be found in your area. Also known as surplus grocery stores, they can save you as much as 30-50 percent of your food bill.
Similar to items found at food auctions, their inventory consists of the following
- Overstocked items
- Slightly damaged, bent, dented, ripped or torn packages or cans
- Mislabeled or old labeled items.
- Items not selling well in regular chain and returned to warehouse.
- Near or at their sell-by or best-used-by dates.
Also similar to items sold at food auctions is the guarantee by the USDA that such items pose no safety hazard or poisoning threat. Excluded from this list is baby food and formula. The sell by dates refer to a product's freshness, not its safety.
Some Stores To Search For In Your State
Here is a list of salvage grocery stores compiled thus far. Please note the separate link to Frugal Village as it has many more stores listed according to each State. Also pay close attention to the Salvage and Bulk Food Stores List, which is also linked, because it is a very comprehensive link which tries to stay updated and thoroughly researched.
The following list consists of salvage chain-store groceries first, followed by other stores found after a thorough search.
*Any major retailer's clearance aisle or rack *Grocery Outlet *Sav-a-lot* Ameila's *Sharpshopper *So Low Grocery Outlet *The Corner Cupboard *99 Cents Only *The Dollar and Dents Grocery Store
It is easy to forget that the major grocery store chain would rather sell their own bent & dent items. So don't forget to check and see if they have an entire aisle dedicated to selling b&d's or maybe they just have some racks set aside for that purpose.
It is suggested that you try to purchase all you can from salvage or surplus stores, then buy what you can't get from them, at your local grocer. Also don't forget to add coupons when you use the traditional grocer, just to add to your savings.
Frugal Village Forum Page
- Frugal Village
Links to a thread that gives a list of grocery outlets for each state in alphabetical order. You can sign up to be a member of the forum and receive all of its valuable information, if you would like.
Gnivas' Salvage and Bulk Food Stores List
- Salvage and Bulk Food Stores — Savings Havens
The site "gnivas.com" is actually the word "savings" spelled backwards. An excellent up-to-date list of all the salvage stores in the U.S. along with all relevant information available to the site, including hours of operation, reviews, how to pay.
Check Back For Updated Information
As with my article on Food Auctions, this article will continued to be updated with any pertinent information. A new article on Food Cooperatives and the Federally Funded SNAP Program, replacing the old food stamp program is now available. Click here to be taken to the article.
If you have any links you would like to share, please feel free to do so. It has been noted that auctions don't seem to be available in the Southern States. If you know of any, please reply to the food auctions article and if you have noticed a salvage grocery store has not been included, please reply to the "comments" section of this article.
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Carrying and Storage
While you are out saving money, don't forget you'll need a place to store all your good deals. Buying in bulk can be a problematic once you once you need to bring everything home. Don't forget to travel with a cooler, just in case you need to keep your cool items cool. You might need to bring your own boxes or bags with you to make loading and unloading easier, and last but not least make sure you have a place to put everything once you get it all home. We use an extra freezer in our basement and an extra cabinet with four shelves.
Aldi Store Review
- Aldi Store Review
Aldi is reviewed by the site Reviewstream.com Some prices are quoted to illustrate the good deals available at the store.
Aldi Store Locator
- ALDI - Store Locator
Opens to Aldi's Store Locator page, for the Aldi nearest you. Also a tab to go to Aldi's homepage, if you would like to read more about the company and its products.
An Add-On
ALDI
Connie reminded me of a store I totally forgot to mention, Aldi Foods. It has been around for a good while and although it has gone through some upgrades, at least in my neck of the woods. My husband assured me it was still very well priced yet with good quality choices.
Aldi even has more name brand items, something unheard of in the past. You can use the link to investigate it further and find a store near you.
Comments
new store in alabama- C&B BENT AND DENT 501a hway 69s hanceville al m-f 8-6 sat 9-5 fresh milks eggs meats breads all cans bags boxes cleaned cked seals,all exc out of dates discarded every item cked close before going on shelf health and agr dept approved refund or replace any item found bad, 30-70% savings i65 exit 299 bama thanks
ya get what you pay for!
very good article also some stores use dented or damaged can stores
This is informative article, I am glad to found this thing.
Connie you are correct stating the selection at salvage food stores is limited. A budget minded shopper will regularly visit discount groceries stores after making rounds at the local big box. While a salvage food store cannot provide all ingredients for the menu....it sure pays to pick bargains!
Prices at Salvage-type Grocery Stores; and many of them I have been to have begun to mix Bulk Foods, and regular fresh stock Grocery items into their product lineup. 30-50% savings is extremely low; in general what I have seen would be more in the area of anywhere from 100-800%!
Your savings depend on where you go, and what you buy, of course; always do a careful search for bargains before you buy. Think out of the box on products you have never used before, new potential recipes. The best prices are usually with the Salvage-type products. These products are not necessarily of the 'scratch and dent', or 'out-dated' variety; you will often find very good bargains on products that simply are not sold in your state ( out-of-state Bulk or Salvage ).
Thanks for your comment and I hope to bring more attention to your site, as I am sure many are interested in what you provide.
As the economy slumps salvage food stores are opening up all over. The savings found at these stores prompts people to shop at them on a regular basis....
Mary if nothing else is available some Dollar Stores have good deals, just be sure to check the labels and dates. Glad you enjoyed the article.
Good information for saving money on groceries. I need to look more deeply into what we have available in our town. To my knowledge, we have none of these chains here. But maybe there are other, not so well known, options.
Thank you for sharing your resources!
Yes Amish stores are great indeed MFB, glad you are able to put them to good use as you save some cash.
When money gets tighter then the holes in my belt I visit
the Amish salvage stores near me for fabulous buys, Far better than the commecially run stores. $40.00 later i have plenty to eat and it's all quite delicious.
Great hub~~~MFB III
discount groceries, thanks for stopping by. Online buying can be great too, especially if free shipping is included.
You have a great article and thanks for the information. I buy my groceries online and you article really helps. keep it up.
Thanks fishtiger. Aldi has really come a long way. They have increased their quality while keeping their prices low.
Great article, and I do get some things at Aldi. Their milks and frozen turkeys are usually the cheapest around.
Hi MrSpock, any way to save a little money in these times comes in handy. Glad you found this hub.
I never heard of this topic before, very interesting!
Glad to hear you do have some money saving discount stores there in So. Cal. I'll do my best to keep 'em coming. Thanks again for checking the hubs out.
Okay we have 99 cents only here in So. Cal, but I never thought of them as Salvage grocery stores. I love this one too, you are just a treasure trove of knowledge. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks Ben! Don't know if it has been awhile since you tried Aldi's, but if so, I'd give them another look. The quality has really improved. I was shocked to find out the food I enjoyed the most came from Aldi's, where my husband found great deals.
Hey Jen thanks for this I'll check out Sav A Lot. Funny, I shopped at Aldi's when I was a kid visiting in Amsterdam and it was good food, but when I tried it here at home I didn't like the food quality, I will try Sav A Lot though I always wondered what those were.
Great frugal article!
Ben
Hi Johnny! I hope your grocery store business will pick up as you implement your new strategy. Thanks for reading.
Great article and thanks for the idea!!! I just bought a little grocery store back in may and the summer was good to me but now reality is sinking in....buiness has been slow lately and i have been trying to figure out a way to bring in more buisness....once again thank you so much and i will keep reading your page
Johnny
It sure is Dolores, I hope you have a few in your neck of the woods.
Jen
Jen, I've never heard of these stores! What a great way to save money!
Your welcome prasetio30. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Nice , great topic. Thanks for share
LOL, no Honorebel you haven't been living in a closet. From my research, food auctions are only recently becoming more predominant because of massive unemployment. That is why auctioneers are now featuring them, they are good money makers at a time when people aren't interested in other auction items. I hope you find one is available in your area. Thanks so much for leaving a comment.
Man I feel like I have been living in a closet I have never heard of food auction or salvage grocery stores LOL. Great article and im gonna have to try and find one of those 2 if not both. Thanks
Hey Connie, I knew I was forgetting a store. You must have known it as well, eh? LOL Thanks so much for the reminder, as you can see I've added Aldi's info. We have a store right by us, that my husband goes to all the time. Don't know why I couldn't remember to include it originally. Oh well, thanks to you it is now included.
You know some of those canned goods have a proposed shelf life of FIVE years! Come on, I find that hard to believe. I don't want to eat anything I've had since 2004, not even my beloved chocolate. HaHa
Thanks so much for your comment.
Very informative article, Jen. I've never been to a food auction, but I have been to a salvage grocery store. I must admit, I am a bit squeamish about dent cans, but an expired can doesn't bother me. That's because they haven't been dating cans all that many years so I don't even look . I actually saw an advertisement wanting canned and boxed food for a food drive that said they would accept no expired cans. When I was on a budget and grocery shopping for my family (grown now), I used to shop Sav-A-Lot. I was always very happy with the quality of most of their foods and the canned stuff is not dented. It is all private label. Same with Aldi. Very good food for the price. The only problem with both is that they don't sell every item that a shopper might need and you have to box or bag your own groceries. The savings are worth it. `
Jen's Solitude 5 weeks ago
Thanks mark, I hope our readers in Alabama find your C&B Bent and Dent store. Especially since you are careful NOT to sell out dated items.
Nowadays 30-70 percent savings is great!