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From garage to table
Coupon business saves consumers on grocery bills
grocery grarage 2 jd
Helen Potts looks at one of the cake mixes for sale inside the store. - photo by Jim Dean

At a glance 

The Grocery Garage Sale opens its doors once a week for a three-hour stretch.
It will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to noon April 25. The building is located at 570 Veterans Memorial Blvd.
For more information, e-mail grocerygaragesale@hotmail.com.


A team of coupon-clipping Forsyth County women have made it their mission to save folks money on their grocery bills every weekend.

With humble beginnings in a local woman’s front yard, the Grocery Garage Sale has grown by “leaps and bounds.”

Forsyth County resident Dawn Powell got the idea to buy discounted groceries using coupons and rebates, then re-sell them to the public in November 2007, “because I was throwing away so many coupons, it was like I was throwing away money.”

One year later, she opened the current location on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Cumming with the help of a nonprofit organization and powered by a group of women helping her cut out thousands of money-saving vouchers.

Much of the money made from these discounted groceries goes to The Angel Connection, a local ministry for single mothers.

Angel Connection leases the building, which opens its doors for three hours once a week.

The operation brought out more than 150 people last weekend seeking deals on grocery items like cleaning and paper products, perishable and non-perishable food and dog and cat food.

“Whatever we can get a good deal on is what we carry,” Powell said, adding that the Grocery Garage Sale is open to “anybody that wants to come.”

Powell said while some folks don’t qualify for help like welfare or food stamps, the weekly sale aids the general public “because our economy is such that everybody needs some help.”

No complaints from Forsyth County residents Helen Potts and Joann Melton, who said they saved dollars at last weekend’s sale.

Potts visited for the first time and found a bottle of steak sauce for more than half off the store price. “You can really save money,” Potts said. “It’s so much cheaper than the store.”

Melton, who is a frequent visitor, said she bought cereal for a dollar a box as well as finding some cheap chicken nuggets. “I love the place very much,” she said. “I come here every time it’s open.”

Online Editor Jim Dean contributed to this report.

E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com