You know things are bad when career government employees start bragging about frugality. In a report filed by the Associated Press, Cherish Francik, a long-term employee of the Social Security Administration talks about her new found frugality:

“Most of my life, I’ve been a brand-name shopper. It was a quick change for me, a real quick change,” said Francik, whose haul from the Williams auction included trail mix, honey-barbecue chicken nuggets and a spiral-cut ham. “I guess it’s sort of a thrill now to find something that tastes good and is the right price.”

It’s highly unlikely that this newly inspired frugality will reach into the higher echelons of Government any time soon, which means grocery auctions will become more popular. If you’ve never been to an auction before, check out this article on auctions in general.

As with any auction, visual inspection is imperative. The food at grocery auctions bears close scrutiny. That’s because most of it is damaged in some manner or has reached its expiration date. There are good deals to be had, for sure, but you could easily over pay for inedible food.

How to find a grocery auction:

If you live in a rural community, locate a grocery auction the old-fashioned way: call up you local auctioneer. If they don’t handle grocery auctions ask them to consider doing so. Ask if they know of another auctioneer in the area than holds food auctions.

Below are some resources for locating grocery auctions.

• Colonel Kirk’s Auction Gallery
• Michigan Auction Sales
• Wishing Rock Auctions
• Schleeter’s Auction Ltd.
• Schiestle’s Auction
• Highway 99 Auction Company
• Colonel Steve Sitar and Company
• GSG Auction Services
• Missouri Produce Auctions (University of Missouri Extension site)
• Captina Produce Auction
• Pirrung Auctioneers, Inc.
• Plowboy Produce Auctions

What can you expect to find at a food auction? Here are some things that are common at grocery and produce auctions:

• Name brand hot dogs and lunch meats
• Pre-packaged convenience food like granola bars and Lunchables
• Cases of produce, some with moderate damage
• Bulk paper products like toilet paper and baby wipes
• Cases of cereal, hot and cold
• Snacks
• Pet food
• Pizza

If you know of a grocery or food auction near you, please share it here. If you are an auction house that handles grocery auctions, please contact The Scarecrow Chronicles via the contact form.

Follow us on Twitter and get a free issue of Countryside. Join the Nation’s oldest homesteading community.

Tags: Find a food auction, Find a grocery auction, Food auctions, local food auctions, meat auctions, produce auctions