1 package cinnamon sugar pita chips
1 Package grilled terriaki chicken strips
1 package organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package animal crackers
4 packages chicken parmigiana with marinara sauce
3 packages lasagna bolognese
5 packages baked ziti with pork sausage ragu
5 packages beef tenderloin stir fry
1 package strawberries
1 package sushi
1 Vietnamese chicken wrap
1 package mints
1 package tomatoes
1 bag pink lady apples
1 package granny smith apples
21 bananas
4 dozen eggs
1 reusable bag
I really hate waste. This was just one night at one grocery store in one town. I cringe when I think of how much isn't getting rescued from dumpster but instead feeds flies in landfills. I've been diving for a month or so and we've not had a need to go to the grocery store since.
I don't find anything legally wrong with diving. I know in Australia it's illegal, but in the US it's mainly an issue of trespassing. If anything, throwing away so much perfect food should be illegal. The majority of the food we get is thrown away for small aesthetic imperfections. One egg in a dozen is cracked so it's tossed. One lemon/apple/orange/strawberry in a pack looks a little discolored so it's tossed.
I ask you to consider dumpster diving. Also, if you have Netflix, watch "Dive!"
The reusable bag presents a particularly ironic symbol for your diving. Be wary of that sushi..
Oh yes, I thought the same thing. Yeah, I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try it. It's unopened and it was still very cold to the touch when we took it out, but I'm still a little hesitant.
Well, I really don't like wasting things. We as Americans live in a culture where waste is commonly accepted. That's unacceptable. In order to remedy that issue, I checked out a few ways in which I could reduce waste and diving was among the best ways. I'm not sure if it's still on Netflix, but I'd highly recommend "Dive!"
Bummer. Here's the link to the film's site. About a year or so. I imagine there'll be a bit of competition when I move out to Portland.
Oh yes, extremely. But there are a set a of rules a diver adheres to. One of which is never take more than you need.
Exactly, that's the point of the movement. I've been trying to find you a link for the movie. I'll send it your way when I do. It might not be within the next few days though because we're starting the drive from Kansas City to Portland in about 20 minutes.
Thanks! We're currently in Boise. Word to the wise: don't stay in Cheyenne, WY. It's a strange place. Laramie is a lot nicer.
It just seemed like everyone was really strung out. We drove around looking at motels to stay at and we passed up about seven because we felt as if someone could easily have broken in at any of them. The one we ended up staying at still has reminders on the door to lock the deadbolt "for privacy."
Hey there. Two things: 1. No need to shout out since b_c is the author 2. That said, shout-outs are case sensitive. Cheers!
I'm curious about this. Do you actually go to the dumpster every night to see what you can find, or do you just contact the grocery store and ask them for the food they are going to throw away? I'm a bit skeptical about this mainly due to sanitary reasons.
We go into the dumpster. If we were to ask the store for permission or if they'd give us what they'd throw away they'd more than likely put a pad lock on the dumpster (a Trader Joe's not too far away has a locked dumpster). I have special shoes I wear that I leave at the door when we get home and I change clothes as quickly as I can.
Are you concerned about the food or the packaging itself?
I'm mostly concerned about packaging, but if it's sealed completely then I suppose there isn't much to worry about. I'm assuming you have some sort of dumpster diving outfit. Does the smell from the dumpster stick to the food or your clothing and what do you do about it?
Yeah we check thoroughly to make sure it's all securely sealed. Not necessarily an outfit but more so clothes I intend to wash right away. From what I've noticed the food hasn't smelled of dumpster at all.
Those are frozen meals. They were thrown out because the day we got them was their "sell by" date which doesn't mean they expired.
i enjoy dumpster diving but i don't do it as often as i should. there's a fairly active subreddit for it if you still use that website http://reddit.com/r/dumpsterdiving be sure to check recall information if you find packaged products. and i'd never dumpster meat... it's just a bad idea.
Thanks, I'll check it out. We've been eating dumpster meat for a while. My girlfriend does a thorough inspection before we put it in our crate.
I seem to recall that it's not legal for stores in the US to give away food that's no longer able to be sold, but I haven't fact checked that. It makes sense that they wouldn't want to, though. Don't they have "manager's special" sections where they toss all the "blemished" food where you are? Certain items seem perfectly fine to take out of a dumpster. I think you're a brave man for grabbing those meat items though, and grabbing that sushi is downright heroic.
I know that Bill Clinton signed the Good Samaritan Act which allowed stores to give food past the "sell by" date to food banks and have immunity from lawsuits. But most stores don't want to go through the effort of giving it food banks. Yeah I've not had an issue with meat. I had turkey burgers the other day that were delicious. The sushi though I'm weary of.
Wow, that's an incredible amount of food and it doesn't look like there's much wrong with it... What's your process for diving, if I may ask?
That's because there was nothing wrong with it. I've been eating out of a dumpster now for about a month and I've not had so much as an upset stomach. We have three people: the diver, the flashlight holder, and the inspector. I'm the diver, so I jump in. I dress in long pants and shoes that I leave at the door. We head to the dumpster around midnight.
I search for food that's still in its original packaging while another holds the light. The inspector makes sure there aren't any tears in the packaging or that any meat doesn't seem spoiled. We put it all into a crate and then take it back home.
Back home we clean everything off and perform a second inspection (which includes testing the eggs). After everything is put away we disinfect the kitchen and revel in our free food.
By law, certain foods must be disposed of after a certain amount of time, even if there's nothing wrong with it. For example, if you ever go to a Dunkin' Donuts just before closing, you'll notice that they throw away everything that wasn't sold that day (at least they used to). I'm not sure if that's by law or company policy, but it's a good way to score free donuts. Not that anyone needs to be eating a whole shitload of donuts . . . Some companies that get rid of their stock at the end of each day, for example, some bakeries, will donate the food to local homeless shelters or churches. It really is crazy how much food is wasted in the U.S. and how it permeates the culture. When towns and cities are organized around roads intended for cars, it seems like food moves farther away from people. When people are less familiar with what fresh foods look like, it seems like the trend is to trust in a governing body to issue standards for what constitutes food as being "fresh" or at least safe for consumption. I really, really don't like it, but most people in America aren't able to go to the market each day to get fresh food, or even have the time built in to their schedules to take the time to prepare food. In my mind, it's a huge contributor to the general fatness of the population.
When I worked birthday parties we served pizza and sometimes, if the parents didn't take it home with them, we would have 10-20 half eaten pizzas at the end of the day. In Culver City, the three of us would go drop it off to homeless. But in the other location - Manhattan Beach - there aren't really any homeless. I would text my friends and the hungry growing high school boys would drive up at the speed of light to grab it. But usually that only got rid of 3-6 pizzas and we would have to dump the rest. It made me so frustrated. I know pizza isn't the healthiest option but it's pretty damn filling and could have made at least 10 people pretty happy for a night. And this was every Saturday and every Sunday for 3 years. If you think of these two little locations and then multiply it by about 10 million to apply to every kids birthday place, every corner deli, every bakery, every grocery store, every catered event, every restaurant, it's really quite despicable.
Yeah definitely. I've heard of some places starting composting sites at dumps and landfills and while that's great and all, there are still people who can't eat healthfully, or even at all. If the U.S. can provide aid to people in other countries in the form of food, I'd think that more attention would be paid to making sure that at least kids get proper nutrition.
I used to do some volunteer work with the Red Cross here on their 'soup patrol' vans every week or so in high school. We'd basically head down to our local Croissant Express and they'd give us a ton of sandwiches, rolls and baguettes full of meat and such that they didn't sell that day. There was honestly nothing wrong with any of it, but they can't exactly just have it lying around. Red Cross soup is pretty delicious, fyi.
I'm thinking it's a law, all the pastry and bakery shoppes back home throw out their goods on a nightly basis. It's kind of sad to see, even if it's just donuts. If you're making that much food where you're throwing out a good portion of it on a daily basis, why not just cut down on the quantity you're making? That seems to be the easiest thing to do. Markets are the best. I can't wait to be back at college. There's an incredible market in that city, and there's nothing of the sort. There's one very, very small market (under 5 stands with barely any food). Usually what happens is I'll go to the market every other week during fair weather, and try to get my milk and butter from a local dairy farm every week or as needed. Markets are a great way of supporting the local and/or regional economy.