US Past Date Stores

[LoreD]

I don't have one close to me, so whenever I go up north to visit my daughter, I load up the car. My daughter was a little snooty about it, but changed her my mind when she saw the prices. She was pretty surprised that a bag of Dot's pretzels ($6.99 in stores: $2.99 at past date) was 5 months past the bag date, and wasn't even stale.

You have to look at the dates on snacks, crackers, cereal (2021 was a little too old for me), etc., but on the canned and bottled stuff it lasts years beyond the dates. I picked up a bunch of Tazo teas for $.69. 12 packs of Wegman's fizzy water for $1.99

 

[kmrobbins]

I have a donation-based, pay-what-you-can store near me (Northern Colorado) called Vindeket Foods. Their entire inventory would otherwise be thrown away. It's hit or miss but they stock products from our local Whole Foods & Trader Joes, and they have a surprising amount of vegetarian and/or vegan-friendly foods in stock!

If anyone's reading & on the fence about past-date stores near you, you should totally check it out!!

 

[Lou]

I don' think we have one of those. My local supermarket has a secret shelf in the back by the restrooms where they sell stuff that is either almost past due for half price. I always browse it for bargains.

 

[LoreD]

I don' think we have one of those. My local supermarket has a secret shelf in the back by the restrooms where they sell stuff that is either almost past due for half price. I always browse it for bargains.

I think the closest is the Grocery Outlet in Redwood City. My daughter shops at the one in Seaside, and is a big fan.

 

[Lou]

I think the closest is the Grocery Outlet in Redwood City. My daughter shops at the one in Seaside, and is a big fan.

I have a friend who is always telling me how great the Grocery Outlet is.... but I've never been there. I'll have to go check it out.

 

[LoreD]

My daughter came to visit this weekend, so we decided to make a road trip to a Mennonite store about an hour away. We didn't need anything, but we thought it would be fun.

We approached a small town and met up with a large convoy of bargain shoppers in vans and huge trucks, arrived in the middle of nowhere, and parked next to a building the size of a Costco. We walked inside and found the Mother Lode. Organic Triscuits for $.75, Pura drinks 4 for $.89, vegan oatmilk Frappachinos case of 24 for $10, large boxes of barista oatmilk for $.79, huge watermelons for $2.49, and organic gourmet granola for $1.39.

What was surprising was the stuff was close dated, but not post dated. The dates were end of June or July, 2025

They had these huge carts that were about twice the size of regular carts, and somebody told me that you could fill it up for under $100. We did it for $87. This place was literally packed with people. We had difficulty getting down the aisles.

My daughter and I got a little excited, bought a little more than we should, and filled up the back of her SUV.

This was quite the experience.