There's a way to save money on your grocery bill that doesn't involve coupon clipping or comparison shopping.
For starters, Consumer Reports says the average American family just tosses about 10 percent of what they spend at the grocery store.
Researchers say the terms on the food product labels can lead to waste. For example, sell by, best by, use by, even expiration dates, were never meant to indicate how safe food is. With the exception of baby formula, there are no mandatory standards for what those labels mean. Harvard researchers estimate about 20 percent of the food that's thrown out is because of confusion over those labels.
Gary Gluckman knows that all too well. He owns the Grocery Clearance Center in Dallas, one of two North Texas "salvage grocery stores." The other is Town Talk Foods.
"Dates are sometimes a personal issue for some people," Gluckman said. "Some people come in here and will buy stuff in date for several months. Some people have no problem buying something that's past date for several months, but if it's on sale and it's for sale in our store, it is good."
Gluckman's store specializes in products you may not see in other grocery stores. He sells items that might be dented, overstocked, mislabeled, discontinued or near or past their expiration date.
"We' re a licensed salvage store, which means that we are able to purchase certain types of products that would not normally make it in the first line of retail," he said.
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Barbara Robertson, one of Gluckman's customers, checks out the produce first when she visits the Grocery Clearance Center.
"The grapes are always a good. They're sweet as sugar and crispy," she said. "I actually came today to see if he had some more grapes, but he didn't."
But how good are the deals? When we visited, we found Lunchables for $1, jars of Ragu for $0.88 and big boxes of Captain Crunch for $2.99. Lean Cuisine frozen meals for were two for $2 and packs of Tyson bacon were three for $6.
"If you don't like saving money, don't come here," Gluckman said. "People who have large families can feed a lot of people for half, if not less what the grocery bill normally is at the store."
For a handy guide on what to save and what to pitch when, visit the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's website. has published one on its website.
Getting There:
Grocery Clearance Center
3107 Cockrell Hill Rd.
Dallas, Texas 75236
Phone: 214-330-Food (3663)
Town Talk Foods
121 N Beach St
Fort Worth, TX 76111
(817) 831-6136
