Have you ever been to an Amish Bent and Dent or Surplus store? If not, you need to put stopping by one on your to-do list when visiting Amish Country. We LOVE these awesome stores and you will too! Why? Because they sell slightly imperfect or outdated goods (sometimes nothing is wrong with the item at all) that are perfect for our wallets. Did you know that most foods are absolutely fine to eat long after they’ve reached their dreaded expiration date? I am not talking about fresh foods since we all know how hard it is to keep a banana for longer than two days and how quickly milk can sour. Pasta, candy, and coffee are some of the things I buy once they reach their final destination at the bent and dent shop. I do not claim to be an expert on food consumption or expiration dates, but from my experience, everything I’ve purchased has been great and fine to eat. I recommend you buy at your own discretion. Here’s a great article to check out about food labels.
Today, I wanted to highlight my absolute FAVORITE Amish store, Brookside Surplus, which is located just outside of Sugacreek, Ohio. I never miss a chance to pop in and see what I can find. Nine times out of ten, my items are not even outdated. The owners are super friendly and the parking lot is always full. You never know what they are going to stock the shelves with. That’s the best part. The surprise of finding items that are usually 90 percent more in a regular store and you can buy them for so cheap!
My loot from this week:
Pennsylvania Dutch Noodles
Ortega Hard Taco shells
1 box of Larabars
1 box of NutriGrain Bars
1 box of Kind Breakfast Bars
1 box of Nature Valley Granola Bars
2 packets of crockpot breakfast seasonings by McCormick Spices
Tabasco Sauce
Habanero Sauce
All of this for $7.27! I’m thinking of doing a whole series devoted to what I find on my shopping trips. Is this something everyone would read? Leave a comment and let me know!