Grocery Auctions

SEVERNA PARK, Maryland (WUSA)--If you would like to save 50-percent or more on groceries, you might want to head east toward Severna Park, Maryland. Once a month hundreds of consumers find these types of savings on food at the Wishing Rock Grocery Auction.

Linda Dickerson is a self-proclaimed grocery auction addict. She travels the country from her home in Kissimmee, Florida looking for these auctions. She says there are none in the Florida area.

"I have 6 grandkids that live with me," says Linda. " I need all the help I can get with food because they eat me out of house and home."

Dickerson has plenty of bidding options on meat, fish, snack foods, drinks--you name it.

Dickerson has also come prepared--she drove up to Maryland hauling a trailer, with a freezer in it, to bring back her purchases.

"Make sure the food is good and frozen, put some dry ice on it, and bring it home," says Dickerson.

Here's an idea on some of the prices:

At the grocery store 24 Lunchables would sell for $48. At the Wishing Rock auction you can get that many for $8. An average ham steak would set you back $7 at the grocery store; it's $2.50 at the auction. Three boxes of Triscuits could cost you $8 at the store, it's $4 for all three boxes at the auction. Ten pounds of ribs went for $17 and a pound of frozen jumbo lump crab meat sold for $13. At one point during the auction some bidders got the crab meat, a large hard salami and a tray of 8 croissants--all for $14.

So where does the food come from? Kathy Allen is the owner of Wishing Rock. She gets the food from wholesalers and overstock. Some of the food is close to expiration. Some of it has years of shelf-life left. There are also lots of frozen items.

"It's really for everybody. It's a family auction," says Allen. "It's a social event for some. It's fun. We try to put some fun into it."

Allen points out that grocery auctions are not new. It's an old concept that has taken off in today's tough economy.

"It's gotten even more enormous than it ever was," says Allen. "Unfortunately for the wrong reasons. But the economy is judging all of us."

In fact, the auction has gotten so big, Allen has had to move it from her Glen Burnie headquarters to the Earleigh Heights Fire Hall on Route 2.

Linda Dickerson has brought her sister-in-law and niece along for the bidding fun.

"If you bid, I won't bid against you. You don't bid against family," Dickerson jokes.

Wishing Rock Auctions takes cash, checks, and credit cards. You might also want to bring some boxes and perhaps a cooler along to haul your items back home.

The bidding is fast and furious. By the time the auction ends--around midnight--Dickerson has almost 2-months worth of food for her family for a total cost of $191.

"I'd say I saved at least 60 or 70-percent," says Dickerson.

Dickerson is so into these auctions, after our interview she wrote us to say, "I wanted you to know, I am in the process of trying to get a small business loan, going to auctioneer school, and the plan is to have my family open a food auction here in Florida. Its a wide open market, as there is currently NONE in the Florida area. I have spent the past two weeks doing research on what I need to do, trying to find food sources, finding out about the auctioneer school."