Food is one of those non-negotiables in life. When food prices rise (whether due to inflation, supply chain issues, or some other reason), people get nervous—and food prices have risen quite a bit in recent years. Even fast food isn’t exactly cheap anymore, and grocery bills are causing sticker shock for people across a wide range of socioeconomic classes.

That makes saving money on groceries a priority for many people. Reducing that budget might mean buying less, switching to store brands, or practicing the age-old art of the coupon. But there is one way to drastically reduce your monthly grocery bills right away: shop at a supermarket outlet store.

Grocery stores, sometimes called "salvage groceries" or "bent-and-dent groceries," are retail stores that purchase unwanted or unnecessary products from regular stores and resell them at deep discounts. These "food liquidators" offer what are known in the industry as "unsaleables" — items such as:

Food that is close to or has already passed its expiration date