free food from work
By Kelli M
@spiderdust (14741)
San Jose, California
November 8, 2022 4:26pm CST
Holy moly! Have you seen the price of groceries lately? I'm really grateful to work at a grocery store where I can get a pretty nice employee discount, not to mention being able to bring home some of the "discards".
This morning I picked up a partial gallon of milk (from the coffee bar, but it expires today and they didn't want to keep using it), a carton of raspberry kefir (which my son LOVES), 2 bottles of peach ginger iced tea, a roast beef sub sandwich, a turkey & cheddar sandwich, a package of sliced turkey from the deli case, and a container of cottage cheese.
After this picture was taken, I was also given a very long seeded loaf of day-old bread (the deli uses them to make sandwiches for the case, making one big sandwich and cutting it up into single servings), a box of day-old mini croissants, 2 packages of flour tortillas, a container of roasted potatoes (leftover from the breakfast hot bar), and a bunch of Halloween/fall items that were being discontinued since the season was over -- a package of vegan maple flavored mini marshmallows, a bag of individually wrapped pumpkin-shaped peanut butter cups, a bag of Little Secrets chocolate covered caramel & nougat bars (similar to mini Milky Way bars), and a container of Nut Pods shelf-stable pumpkin spice flavored dairy-free coffee creamer.
Lately, I've been able to get bags of grapes (you know those loose ones that fall off of the bunches in the produce case? The produce department bags those up for employees to take home) and cartons of eggs (when eggs crack in the cartons, those go into the culls fridge), but they didn't have any in the fridge today.
Have you had to get creative to manage the rising food costs? What tricks have you learned?
13 people like this
12 responses
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
8 Nov 22
Wow that is awesome. The prices here seem to get higher every week. We have stopped buying big grocery orders and just buy things as we need them. We shop a lot at the dollar store. They have better prices for a lot of things.
4 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
8 Nov 22
I did a big weekly grocery shop at Walmart on Saturday and nearly fainted when I got the total -- over $300! 
I felt like I hadn't gotten very much for my money either.
One of the things that I hadn't been able to get on Saturday due to the price was lunchmeat for sandwiches (how on earth did cheap lunchmeat go up $5/lb this year?!), so I was very thankful to get the turkey deli meat from work. The free sandwiches help in that way too. Even if they have things on them that my kids don't like (such as yellow mustard), I'll still take them apart and use the sandwich fillings to make a new sandwich.
I felt like I hadn't gotten very much for my money either.
One of the things that I hadn't been able to get on Saturday due to the price was lunchmeat for sandwiches (how on earth did cheap lunchmeat go up $5/lb this year?!), so I was very thankful to get the turkey deli meat from work. The free sandwiches help in that way too. Even if they have things on them that my kids don't like (such as yellow mustard), I'll still take them apart and use the sandwich fillings to make a new sandwich.4 people like this
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
9 Nov 22
@spiderdust lunchmeat has gotten ridiculous in price. Its nice you get the extras from work. Every little bit helps.
3 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
@Happy2BeMe Something that cost $1.67 in January now costs $5.97. It's frustrating.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (74564)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 Nov 22
These grocery items are a blessing from God, to feed your family healthy, delicious food!
3 people like this
@kobesbuddy (74564)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 Nov 22
@spiderdust That's wonderful! Your co-workers know how expensive it gets, to feed an entire family! And fresh-squeezed juice, that's such a healthy drink for you and your children:)
3 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
8 Nov 22
@kobesbuddy Oh, it's such a treat too. The 64 oz. jugs sell for $12.99!
3 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
8 Nov 22
It helps that my coworkers know I have a bunch of kids in the house. The coffee bar/juice bar people especially will bring over opened gallons of milk and jugs of fresh-squeezed juice that are expiring, and say "here, for your kids!"
3 people like this
@much2say (53959)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Nov 22
That is so awesome . . . you have great perks working there! I don't know if I have tricks - I shop around many stores and grab deals. These days I seem to base my meal planning on what I get rather than getting stuff I need for recipes.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53959)
• Los Angeles, California
29 Nov 22
@spiderdust That seems to work out well, doesn't it? And it's kinda fun this way too . . . you never know what you might find and then you have to think on the fly.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
24 Nov 22
Yeah, my meal plans tend to work around what's on sale/free instead of my looking for specific ingredients for specific recipes too.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
29 Nov 22
@much2say Yesterday I got 3 pies! 
The store sold out of pumpkin pies, but barely anyone bought apple pie. The person in charge of culling out the pies insisted that I needed to take home not only an apple pie, but also a mixed berry and a cherry pie as well. They're good pies too, usually $25 each. I'm encouraging the kids to eat pie for breakfast right now, and they don't mind that at all.
The store sold out of pumpkin pies, but barely anyone bought apple pie. The person in charge of culling out the pies insisted that I needed to take home not only an apple pie, but also a mixed berry and a cherry pie as well. They're good pies too, usually $25 each. I'm encouraging the kids to eat pie for breakfast right now, and they don't mind that at all.
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
9 Nov 22
Oh, very nice haul!
We haven't found a way to cut costs on groceries... I just complain about the cost and we buy the same things we always do.
We did have an odd thing happen two days ago, though. One of the neighbors from down the street knocked on our door. (We'd never met the lady before.) When I opened the door, she pushed two grocery bags into my hands and told us that her church was helping people out with the rising cost of groceries. Then she turned and walked away.
In the grocery bags we found three dozen eggs, a pound of American cheese, several Lunchables, some packages of mixed sausage and cheese snacks, a dozen containers of pudding and Jell-O. A very nice haul for free...
2 people like this
@jstory07 (134460)
• Roseburg, Oregon
9 Nov 22
@DaddyEvil that was really nice of her.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
9 Nov 22
@popciclecold Yes, it was... And she forgot to tell us which church she goes to, as well. I would have sent them a thank you card. I guess that gives me an excuse to talk to her again.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73407)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 Nov 22
That is great, I purchase groceries once a month and always look for the best price options and get what ai can like frozen items that can last a long time,
3 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Frozen items are often less expensive than fresh too. Well, I guess it depends on the item, but often the frozen veggies are cheaper.
2 people like this
@oahuwriter (26780)
• United States
9 Nov 22
That's great! Wonderful way to save money! I look for in store bargains, buy sale items eat more fruits, fruits cheap.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
I've been scanning my receipts into iBotta and ReceiptHog to at least take advantage of the rebates too.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
10 Nov 22
@oahuwriter I especially like Receipt Hog because I can scan pretty much ANY receipt and earn coins.
1 person likes this
@oahuwriter (26780)
• United States
9 Nov 22
@spiderdust
Fantastic, they're handy & helpful!
1 person likes this
@Archie0 (5636)
•
9 Nov 22
Wow that’s a lot of good stuff that hasn’t gone bad yet. I wish my work place gave me employees discount or some benefits. But we don’t get any. I work for online retail shops from grocery to daily items to expensive ones but we get non as I work from home but I am sure people who work at the warehouse can grab a lot of stuffs.
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Yes, it helps a lot! We've used some of it already. The potatoes and some of the milk went into chicken corn chowder for dinner and the kids have already had some of the kefir. The coffee creamer will keep for a while, and folks will have turkey sandwiches in their lunches tomorrow.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134460)
• Roseburg, Oregon
9 Nov 22
@spiderdust I am glad you made good use of the food. That is always good.
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
9 Nov 22
YES, I have seen the prices, I notice how much more I spend every month to buy grocery.
You are really lucky to receive free food from the store where you work. I am cutting on meats and serving more rice, pasta and potatoes, as those are still cheap things.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
10 Nov 22
@spiderdust - We have local potatoes and those are still not expensive. I bought dehydrated mashed potatoes, so I have something to serve in case we run out of fresh potatoes. I also bought dehydrated milk, because you never know.
Vegetables right now are more and more expensive, I suppose it's because so many people want to go vegan. Vegetables are not a choice for the price and I cannot digest most of the vegetable fibers.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Potatoes are getting expensive here, and harder to find as the crop was poor this year. Some things I have purchased recently are dehydrated potato products, like dehydrated potato shreds and slices. They're shelf stable and still inexpensive (for now) and will help feed my family when it gets too expensive to purchase fresh potatoes.
I have a history of blood sugar problems, so I don't personally eat a lot of starchy things myself. I've been trying to focus on filling my plate with vegetables instead, but that's still more expensive than rice and pasta.
1 person likes this
@Dena91 (15860)
• United States
9 Nov 22
That is wonderful you can take those items home.
I just pray when I go to the store, one that what I need is there and two that I don't pass out when it is finished being rung up. Learning to go to the local produce market more often lately as their prices on vegetables and fruits are lower than the grocery store. I use to go there every now and again, now it's every week.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Yeah, I've been seeing a lot of empty shelves at the stores too. You've reminded me that there's a produce market in town that I should check out. I remember that the items they have at the front are usually really well priced.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58134)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
9 Nov 22
You know Ive had to be creative with our food.
I haven't ever tried kiefer. But I want to I bet she child would love it.
Every time i see that word though I think of Teen Mom, Jenelle I think was her name and her baby daddy or boyfriend or whatever was named Keefer, and yeah. LOL
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Kefir, at least the kind I got (which is dairy kefir) is a lot like a drinkable yogurt. The word always makes me think of Kiefer Sutherland from The Lost Boys.
