Banana Box Grocery: Where best-by dates meet bargains

In the Banana Box Grocery store in Drexel, which is just a bit larger than a gas station, workers shuffled around on the warm Tuesday afternoon, unloading pallets and stocking shelves with fries, Uncrustables, and Smucker’s Goober Honey while customers poured in and out of the open doors.

Almost every price tag on the shelves had a reduced cost highlighted in yellow, inviting visitors to scoop name-brand items for often less than half their original price.

Lower grocery prices are on the minds of many Burke residents.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported increased food prices in late April — a 2.9% hike between March 2025 and March 2026.

Further numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics marked another upward shift of 0.7% over April, meaning the search for the cheapest groceries still keeps grocery shoppers combing through coupons before each visit.

Employees at the three locations in Drexel, Lenoir, and Newton upload fresh deals to their Facebook page daily. The stores receive at least one new shipment of items each week.

Owners Royce Ring and Jamie Eastridge were unavailable for interviews, but Kandace Robinson, the store manager at the Newton location and former manager at Drexel, explained how Banana Box Grocery can offer such steep discounts.

“Let’s say Walmart or Food Lion couldn’t sell a certain product before it went out of date on the best-by date, then they’ll sell it to us, and we’ll sell it at a discount,” Robinson said, clarifying that they follow all FDA and health code regulations.

The USDA distinguishes best-by dates based on how long products retain their best flavor or quality.

Other labels consumers may see on food products — including use-by, sell-by and freeze-by dates — generally refer to peak quality rather than safety, except in the case of baby formula, leaving consumers to judge spoilage based on the product’s condition.

The USDA estimates that 30% of food is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels, attributing that waste to a misunderstanding of the date-labeling definitions.

Items on the Banana Box shelves checked in May ranged between a few days past their best-by dates to a few months past. Boxes of Quaker Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars had the oldest best-by date of Feb 6, 2026.

“The motivation behind it was basically families struggling to be able to meet certain needs,” Robinson said. “Some families can’t afford everything that a Walmart or a Publix or a Food Lion may sell. It may be frozen, but hey, you’re still able to thaw it out and eat it, when you’re paying $2.99 for a 40-pack of hot dogs.”

The first Banana Box Grocery opened 18 years ago in Newton, with the Drexel store opening 12 years later.

As of early May 2026, the stores accepted all forms of payment, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and EBT cards. United Healthcare UCards, which are reloadable benefit cards that some United Healthcare customers receive, are not accepted.

Candace Rutherford, the current store manager in Drexel, said that before she became an employee, she was a customer. The closeness to the community made her want to work for the company.

“The Banana Boxes, I feel like, are different than some of the other salvage stores,” Rutherford explained. “The way we present ourselves to the community, we’re reaching out, (not) just trying to make a buck, or whatever.”

Rutherford said that, in being community-focused, the stores try to help communities out where they can.

“If customers need a certain product that might be too high at the grocery store, they can let us know and (the owner) will try and get it,” she said, as couples slipped by, checking nearby shelves for discounts.

Robinson explained that a majority of the foot traffic in Banana Box comes from low-income and disabled customers who receive financial assistance.

“As an employee and a personal shopper for a family of five, that is my first stop,” Robinson said, pointing out that the owners are often easy to reach and in-store. “I see the owners about every day.”

“They’re usually hands-on, as well,” she continued. “That’s what I love about the company: I don’t have to go far to find the owner when I have a problem, being in management. I don’t have to send an email to HR and wait two weeks for them to get back to me about something. The HR is in the building, always there, six days a week.”