Jonny Carmack was perusing the aisles of a store in his hometown, Danbury, Conn., when he first saw it: a giant strawberry sitting on a shelf.

Mr. Carmack, 32, a content creator, was awe-struck. “I was just like, oh my gosh, it’s so cute,” he said. “It’s so whimsical.”

But this strawberry didn’t come from the vine. In fact, it was a ceramic table with the cartoonish likeness of a strawberry. He purchased the table for $59.99 for his office and redecorated the room with the faux fruit in mind, adding panels of moss to a door and turf to the floor to resemble a garden.

Mr. Carmack is one of many passionate people across the United States who scour the aisles of discount retailers like HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in search of culinary-inspired stools. Food as furniture has gone viral on social media, with collectors sharing photos of their finds and trading buying tips.

“It’s a huge community,” said Mr. Carmack, who owns about 30 food stools, including a stack of doughnuts, a peppermint and a pink gummy bear. “I was feral for that,” he said of his ceramic ursine figure.