Out of toilet paper? Need to pick up a few things for dinner? Take a number and start bidding.

Bargain hunters in a handful of states these days are trading supermarket aisles for the auction circuit in search of deep discounts on everything from cereal to spare ribs. Past the sell-by date? Bidders are happy to ignore that detail if they're getting a good deal.

As consumers seek relief from the recession and spiraling food prices, grocery auctions are gaining in popularity as an easy way to cut costs. The sales operate like regular auctions, but with bidders vying for dry goods and frozen foods instead of antiques and collectibles. Some auctioneers even accept food stamps.

When Kirk Williams staged his first grocery auction in rural Pennsylvania last month, nearly 300 people showed up. Astonished by the turnout, he's scheduling auctions at locations throughout northeastern Pennsylvania.

The increased interest has fueled growth in the auctions, which can be found in at least nine states from Oklahoma to New York, though not yet in Utah.

Brad Jenkins of Interstate Auctions hasn't heard of any plans for food auctions in the Beehive State, though they would be permitted in under certain circumstances, with a caveat.

"We would caution consumers to be wary," said Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Food, noting that inspectors would have to examine the condition of canned goods and the circumstances under which food was obtained to ensure that items would be safe for human consumption.

In a variation on the theme, Smith's Marketplace store in Salt Lake City in November began donating meats, dairy, produce and other perishable foods on the "sell by" date to Utah Food Bank Services to feed the needy. Smith's, the state's largest grocery chain, expects to have all its 48 Utah stores participating in the program by the end of this year.

Elsewhere, auctions are being employed to help those who are coming up short in these trying times.

"Right now, people don't have a lot of spare pocket change," said Williams, 50, operator of Col. Kirk's Auction Gallery near Bloomsburg, Pa. "They're looking to save money."

He insists that everything is safe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration does not generally prohibit the sale of food past its sell-by or use-by date -- manufacturers' terms that help guide the rotation of shelf stock or indicate the period of best flavor or quality.

Cherish Francik, 42, who works for the Social Security Administration in Ohio, said she wouldn't have been caught dead at a grocery auction or even a discount food store a few months ago. Now she brags to her co-workers about her frugality.

"It was a quick change for me, a real quick change," said Francik, who like other Americans has witnessed the worst food inflation in nearly 20 years (grocery prices spiked in 2008 before easing in January and February).

Grocery sales make sense for auctioneers, too. Sales of baseball cards, estate jewelry and other auction staples have "fallen off a cliff," Williams said. He hopes to average about $12,000 in sales per auction, which would net him a profit of about $1,000.

The popularity of the auctions -- which sell leftover or damaged goods from supermarkets, distribution centers and restaurant suppliers -- comes at a time when people are stretching their grocery budgets by using more coupons, buying inferior cuts of meat and choosing store brands over national brands.

Inside the auction hall in Dallas, Williams uses a singsong, rapid-fire delivery to sell everything from frozen broccoli (six boxes for $2) to pork ribs ($20 for a 14-pound hunk). Especially popular are the frozen foods: pies, bratwursts, chicken breasts, popcorn shrimp, whole hams, french fries.

Like any auction, grocery auctions aren't automatically a bargain. Savvy bidders should know what things cost at the supermarket to make sure they're truly saving money. The excitement sometimes leads bidders to overpay.