Encounter With a Freegan
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inhisgrace Yesterday I spotted my first freegan, standing in front of the Dumpster in the parking lot of a Chicago Trader Joe's. The encounter made me think long and hard about what I would feed my children and how I should procure it.
I've been fascinated by freeganism since reading about it and hearing about it on the radio. So when I saw the young man by the Dumpster, I turned my head to look closely. He gave me a shrug and a smile. I rolled down my window and asked, "Freegan?"
Yup. "There is some amazing stuff in here!" he said. Indeed, "amazing" was the very adjective used to describe this particular Dumpster on a freegan Web site I'd seen. On the ground were a few grocery items that looked similar to the stuff I had just paid over $200 for inside the store. A loaf of whole wheat bread, in a bread bag. A container of mini red and yellow peppers which had spilled open. A plastic-wrapped wedge of brie.
"Did all that come out of the Dumpster?" I asked. In response, he held up a large backpack that was so full he could barely lift it with one hand.
"All this came out of there," he told me. "Want some bread?"
I chuckled, and he glanced at the backseat and said, "You probably don't want to feed your kids out of the garbage."
Do I? Reading about freeganism, I have thought that it's something I wouldn't mind trying. People routinely find wrapped or packaged food, before the expiration date, from premium stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
But now the freegan himself suggested that his spoils might not be fit for children. I thought it over on my drive home. Suddenly I could think of all kinds of reasons that feeding my family out of Dumpsters might make me nervous:
-- I don't know why the store discarded the food. A lot of it, freegans say, is thrown out because of a small blemish or other reasons that would not affect the safety. But how am I to know that it's not being pitched because a cooler broke and the food wasn't kept cool enough overnight? Or because it was sitting under a leak from an upstairs toilet? Or because a customer returned it complaining that it tasted moldy?
-- Much of the food is wrapped, but it is not exactly being stored in a clean place. Would I mind if a cockroach or a rat walked across that breadbag before I brought it home and set it on my counter? OK, that could happen in the food warehouse, the truck or in the store as well, I know. But it seems almost guaranteed to happen in a Dumpster, don't you think? And what if the store puts rat poison in the Dumpster to keep vermin away?
-- What about that other garbage it's sitting next to or under? Suppose my wedge of cheese has been lightly bathed in the last drops from a bottle of Draino that was also thrown out?
Of course, I can think of counterarguments to my squeamishness. The store always looks clean and shiny, but I know my food has not always been in pristine places throughout the production chain. And even with these risks to food purity, my kids would probably be better off eating organic food from the garbage than the conventional low-quality produce I usually buy from the grocery store nearest to me. And the waste of resources involved in all that food ending up in a landfill is probably a bigger threat to my kids' long-term health than the possibility of getting a dirty banana today.
Alas, as much as I long to be a radical mommy raising a couple of little Abbie Hoffmans, I guess I'm more Donna Reed in this respect: Say rat, and I'm outta here. Even hypothetical rat. Anyway, if we shopped outside the Trader Joe's instead of inside, my 3-year-old would not get a balloon, and, let me tell you -- there would be serious repercussions.
So -- any freegans reading out there? Tell me, do you feed your kids this way? Am I underestimating the hygenic standards of the modern Dumpster?
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I would have to say no, I wouldn't do it to feed my child. Not even if we were starving. I would wonder why it was there in the first place, just like you. Besides, if there's "nothing wrong with it", why doesn't the grocery store donate it to a food pantry? They can write it off either way. Just my 2 cents.
Debbie in Ft. Lauderdale
Perhaps the store could be sued for food poisoning or something?
You wouldn't take free food to feed your starving children? I am glad you're not my mother.
Clearly you have never been starving.
Donating it to a food pantry sounds like a good idea. If the good is simply near the expiration date (or at the expiration date), instead of putting it out in the dumpster, the store could donate it. That's before the cockroaches have a chance to walk over the package.
It's one thing to choose that lifestyle for yourself. But to make your kids eat from the trash? Try getting a job and buying food for them.
Honestly, the intro gave me a chuckle. The way it actually went down and the interaction with the freegan . . . classic. I'm interested to see how this discussion unfolds.
I joined the trader joes freegan bandwagon a few months ago and it is amazing. My fridge is always stocked with eggs, bananas, bread, tortillas, vegetables, pesto and orange juice. Honestly I eat better now than I did before I moved to semi-freegan and I spend almost nothing on food now. Just watch out for dairy and meat products, everything else is good.
@Eden:
I don't see freeganism as being about being poor or cheap, necessarily. You say "Get a job" like they're just being lazy, but I think they're acting out of a desire to mitigate the incredible amounts of waste in our current society.
Pesticides and herbicides were probably used to grow the food, and fossil fuels were almost definitely used to gather and transport to food to the store. Add in any paper or plastic packaging - then imagine all those resources dumped, unused, into the trash. Doesn't that seem kind of...disgusting, in a way?
I greatly admire people who stand by their convictions and do what they can to reduce their ecological footprint.
"...but I think they're acting out of a desire to mitigate the incredible amounts of waste in our current society."
Seriously? They do so for purely altruistic reasons? I have a bridge to sell you if you believe that nonsense.
And I agree with the "get a job" sentiment. If you're seriously considering feeding your children out of a dumpster, you have no business being a parent.
I grew up in a rather poor family and at times didn't have much to eat (which makes me recoil a bit from the first comment - I couldn't imagine starving just because you don't want to feed your children dumpster food). My step-father used to come home with all sorts of things he'd picked up from the dumpsters behind grocery stores - bread, potato chips, boxes of other dry goods. The most common reason for disposal of these things seemed to be that they were one or two days beyond the expiration date, and I don't think that any of these things were ever actually stale or spoiled.
The idea of bringing home open vegetables or cheese though ... that might be going a bit far.
I really don't have a problem with boxed, canned, wrapped food from the dumpster unless it is wet, bulging, etc. However, in my current area, dumpsters seem to be always locked or behind locked gates so I've never had a chance to look here. Also, stores in this area don't seem to have clearance racks except after holidays and then it's usually just candy. In NE I would routinely check dumpsters and remove what I know I could put to good use - from food, magazines, furniture, silk flowers, etc.
When I moved out on my own 13 years ago my room mate & I discovered "Dumpster Diving". While we never searched for food, we found many many treasures. A regular stop was at a cleaner's who apparently threw out unclaimed clothing. We got coats and all kinds of nice surprises there. We found a Payless Shoe Source that regularly had decent unworn shoes in the dumpster. Behind malls we found everything imaginable from CDs to furniture, most of it pristine. Having worked in grocery & at a bakery I'm not disturbed by people who get food this way. At the bakery the artisan breads we threw out were simply a couple of days old. At grocery stores it's generally because the food is past it's pull date or slightly wilted. I think Freeganism is wonderful, and if I were a little less afraid of getting chased off, I'd do it.
Having lived and worked in Bolivia for several years I think when people say things like "I wouldn't do it to feed my child. Not even if we were starving" they are not cognizant of what it really means to be "starving." Working through lunch and getting a hunger pang or two is far from starving- seeing any child, let alone your own, literally dying from lack of food will overcome a lot of the "is that banana clean" issue in that rematk.
I work at one of the mentioned Natural Food Retailers and have a friend that routinely dumpster dives at the regional distribution center. I just spent a night at his place and ate a great breakfast of organic bread, juice, milk and cookies.
The store that I work at has a compactor that I would not enter into, but the distribution center has overflow dumpsters that you wont get squished in. these centers are prime dumpster diving locations because they discard products well before their expiration date because retail stores will not accept a product that doesnt have at least 7 days shelf life.
My friend retrieves products out of dumpsters that are 2 to 10 days away from thier sell date and most are sealed.
I have no problem eating these foods and would feed them to my child if I were in a financial bind.
Also, the fact that there is so much time and energy used to produce and transport these high quality products, only to have them dumped, makes diving a moral bonus. Its a pity so much good stuff is tossed and I'm happy people can nourish themselves for free.
I work at one of the mentioned Natural Food Retailers and have a friend that routinely dumpster dives at the regional distribution center. I just spent a night at his place and ate a great breakfast of organic bread, juice, milk and cookies.
The store that I work at has a compactor that I would not enter into, but the distribution center has overflow dumpsters that you wont get squished in. these centers are prime dumpster diving locations because they discard products well before their expiration date because retail stores will not accept a product that doesnt have at least 7 days shelf life.
My friend retrieves products out of dumpsters that are 2 to 10 days away from thier sell date and most are sealed.
I have no problem eating these foods and would feed them to my child if I were in a financial bind.
Also, the fact that there is so much time and energy used to produce and transport these high quality products, only to have them dumped, makes diving a moral bonus. Its a pity so much good stuff is tossed and I'm happy people can nourish themselves for free.
Well, I was one of those people who were starving, not just missing a meal here or there, more like eating once or twice a week if I was lucky and that consisted of 1 can of soup and maybe a peanut butter sandwich. I had to chose either having a roof over my head and paying the rent-note: had no electricity or phone b/c I couldn't pay for it-or going without food. This lasted for 6 months until I could get myself back on my feet. I was lucky I didn't have any children to take care of, but I do know plenty of people now who are in the same situation I was in a long time ago. They either go without food for a couple of days, or go to the food bank. That's why I think the grocery stores should donate the food if it's not bad. They could feed alot of people. Just a little FYI-I live in SoFl and as of right now, there are 68,000 children who go hungry every day, this number does not even include their parents/guardian. These people aren't even the homeless you see out on the streets, this is just the "regualr joes" who just can't make ends meet. They work hard, but are financially strapped. So do you think those 68,000 children should be dumpster diving for their dinner or do you think that maybe the government should take a good look at the hunger problem in our country b/c it's all over the US and do something about it.
PS-I still wouldn't dumpster dive for food, I would go get help and in return since I could not financialy support the food bank, then I would volunteer my time in return.
You're probably safer eating your dinner off of the floor of a truck stop mens room. Here's an idea, if wasting the food bothers you that much, why don't you just use what you find in the dumpster to make nutrient rich compost and grow your own food?
i have been living of dumpster diving for the past three years, its in denmark but still, same deal, dirrerent corporations, and i have never gotten sick. The worst i have ever tried, was when i found 3 boxes of chocolate milk that still had months to go by the date, i brought them home and without thinking about opened one. took a big zip. and suddenly remembered the taste of infected pus from a dental problem i had years before. as it turns out the milk used was from a cow that had an udder infection. i waited for three hours to get sick, but nothing happened.
as for mold. you can ALWAYS smell it with just a minimum of training. most times. stuff is trown out because of the date on the package. a date that is required by law, but has nothing to do with the quality of the food.
or maybe a jar of jam cracked and the content got on other products, the law says that a supermarket cannot just clean off products and put them on the shelves. they have to throw it out. the winter, atleast here in denmark, is the best time to dumpster dive. they take stuff from the fridge inside the supermarket and place them in the big dumpster fridge outside.
Its very simple why the stores don't donate. It is liablility. Some lovely people in this country have chosen to sue companies/stores/individuals that have donated food to a good cause.
I learned this tidbit from a local food pantry that helped out a friend. I inquired why they didn't get more food from restaurants and such. Their reply was liability to themselves and the store that donates the food. That is why they only accept packaged non-perishable food that is NOT expired.
So sad, but true. :(
I know stores cannot donate their food b/c of idiots who are sue happy etc. and it is a shame. Maybe there should be a program where the food is collected and inspected before being tossed and then sent to a food bank. I just think that there are too many people who are hungry and could really use the food if it is ok like some people say who do dumpster dive.
I admire their lifestyle. A lot of freegans live that way based on principle... i.e. anti-capitalism, anti-corporatism, etc.
I go dumpster diving all the time and find great stuff! A place down the street always has bags of premium loaves of bread they throw out because they only sell stuff that was made that day. I'll tell you what - one day old bread is good stuff.
As for "why don't the stores donate it?" - they're lazy, that's why. And lot's of places actually won't take it. A friend tried to take bread from his deli to a shelter and they turned him away. They didn't want bread, they wanted sandwiches. Ridiculous.
And really, places throw out perfectly good stuff all the time because it would take more time and effort to do something else with it, not because there was ever anything wrong with it.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
There were several jackpot lawsuits in the US that scared most places from giving food away.
Many restaurants make popular items for the lunch rush before people order them. Many used to give away extras after the lunch rush. I'm talking full meals not stuff out of the trash. But some lawyers ruined that for everyone.
How many lawyers do you see handing around dumpsters soliciting business? None, the lawyer does not make up the cases thet come through the door. It takes one of you to have a "frivilous" problem before a "frivilous lawsuit can be filed. Also, keep in mind the few good things that have resulted from litigation...seat belts, air bags, and the dates on the food that sustains the freegan lifestyle.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I'd feel too embarrassed to dumpster dive and that some I know might see me. I do find the concept fascinating though. For the price of food nowadays, you certainly would save a pretty penny and helping not contribute so much to the tons of waste we make every day is a pretty fine idea.
I used to work in a convenience store where we would throw out several good sandwiches and stuff every day. I used to beg them to at least let the employees take it home, but they couldn't allow that. I always felt so bad seeing all that perfectly good food go to the trash every day. Many people in the world are starving and we're throwing it away. What a shame.
The food is usually thrown out by grocery stores because it is at or near its sell-by date. Of course, the sell by date does not mean that the food has gone bad, but for liability reasons most stores like to get the stuff off the shelf. We learned just how much so when my husband tried to buy a deli sandwich at the store one night, must have been at Wal Mart, and the sell by date was the next day, but because it was past midnight they would not sell him the sandwich. The cashier asked a manager and was told absolutely not. There was nothing at all wrong with it, he wasn't going to get food poisoning and sue, but the cashier took the sandwich and threw it right into the trashcan even with a willing customer wanting to buy it.
...but now grocery prices are through the roof. It becomes harder and harder to countenance the waste when people are hungry. If it's still good it should be going to hungry people. Look, you are paying twice. You pay to feed the less advantaged through the social service organizations in your communities and you pay a premium to have fresh food in your paradisical grocery (where nothing is ever spoiled). It would probably be cheaper for communities to purchase the food that is about to be pulled. The grocery would have less overhead and could lower prices.
I've been in quite a few dumpsters and I've never seen a cockroach or a rat. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it has never been my experience.
Like Dr. Zaeus, I ate better when I was dumpster diving. At the house there was just about always a counter full of fresh fruits and vegetables, many of them organic. However I also took meat and cheese, but I was careful about that; if there was ever any question about it, then out it went. There is just nothing like coming home with 18 pounds of 90% lean ground beef or 6 pounds of beef tenderloin.
I think that kweeket, ComidaBuena and Guest (you wouldn't take free food) make some excellent points.
darrendloux,
I agree, a lot of places/people are lazy.
I worked in restaurant that made a pretty good loaf of focaccia bread and it was quite popular. Some days they would have a couple of (large brown paper) bags of the stuff left over, and since they didn't need any more for making croutons they would just throw it out. Now, there was a homeless vets shelter about a two minute drive down the road, so I would let people know that if I was around don't throw the bread away because I would bring it to the shelter. Everybody knew where the shelter was, and they knew that they were glad to get it, but if I wasn't around, NOBODY ELSE would bring it there. And doubtless there were people who drove right by the shelter, but they didn't want to bother! In fact, some people didn't even want the hassle of having to let me know that there was bread for me to take over there! So yes, I would say that there is a TREMENDOUS amount of apathy and "don't bother me" going on.
I think Dale also makes an important point. And it raises the question: who do you think is paying for the food that gets thrown away? If a store isn't making enough money, they don't just say "oh well." After all is said and done, they are in business to make a profit, not break even. So they raise their prices or they go out of business.
Food that is thrown away IS paid for.
You know how much stuff is thrown away a week before date?
30 loafs of bread I found. I feed my son with it and I have a great job. I think people forget we are just animals wash it, eat it, be done with it.The only time I have had food poisoning was from arbys, and i paid for that food.
Hello all,
I am a journalist in Chicago working on a story about freeganism. I'd love to speak with anyone invovlved in the movement/lifestyle. You can contact me at ryanbones at hotmail dot com. Or phone number: three zero 3 8O9 zero four 83.
Thanks,
Ryan
I'm afraid to go dumpster diving solely because of the fact that I am afraid of eating anything in an unsanitary condition. But without being a freegan, I can say it still influences my life. After hearing about it a lot, I started realizing how much gets thrown away, and it makes me think about throwing my own things away. While I am not dumpster diving, I try my best to never throw out food (which I do mainly by watching the food in the frige; if it gets pushed to the back, I am more likely to forget it is there and let it go to waste). I respect their principles, and without actually being one, I try to incoroporate their basic ideas (environmentalism, not being wasteful) into my everyday life.
This is a fantastic photo and I was wondering if you would allow me to use it in a student publication we are doing on saving money. It is coursework that will not be published but we need to ask for permission anyway.
Many thanks
Alice
You should be able to download it from Flickr by searching the photographer's name.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
I'm a dumpster diver, and while I don't have children yet, my dumpster-diving wife and I have talked about the prospects of feeding our future children from the dumpster, and we plan to be careful, but go for it. As for the fears you mentioned, I've actually never seen a rat or cockroach in a dumpster - only flies in the summer. But a vermin merely walking next to your food won't hurt anything, as long as it wasn't chewing on the food, and you prepare the food properly. Dangerous chemicals like Drano are rare in my experience, and usually bagged up with other garbage, rather than thrown into the dumpster loose - but sure, one has to keep an eye out for what is near what else. So thank you for your sympathies, and good luck if you decide to give dumpster diving a try, for yourself or your whole family!
Why yes, yes I do. They eat lettuce, brocolli, carrots, apples, pears, chocolate, Chips, eggs, cheese you name it from the dumpsters I crawl. None of us have gotten sick from it yet. Infact I took my 15 yr old out diving with me. We ran into a couple who where diving at the same location. It was quite cool. I ask. Where does your produce come from? You answer, the ground. I ask is there any difference? proper cleaning is all that is required to render the things you find in a dumpster edible. Don't just pick up an apple sitting in a puddle of ooze and eat it, you wash it first. Common sense is really all that you need to eat from a dumpster. TRY IT you'll like it.
I make 6 figs. and I dumpster dive on occasion. It has nothing to do with money, though free food is of course fun. I don't need the mony - I can afford food.
But it's fun to dive! It's like a treasure hunt. It also makes me feel a lot better about my environmental impact knowing that not only did I save food from being wasted, but I also properly recycled the containers that food came in, keeping them out of the landfill. I avoided new food having to be grown, packaged, and shipped to the store for me.
My respect to those who do it out of need.
Really, I can only recomend that you try it ONCE. You will almost certainly be VERY nervous about being caught. But the first time you find something, it really will feel like you found a prize. It's like coming on a patch of raspberries growing wild in the woods.
Sanitation has never been an issue. Like others have said, just use common sense. You wash your food after brining it home from the grocery store don't you? I know I do. Same thing applies. I have never seen a rat in a dumpster.
I've heard a lot about "perfectly good food" being thrown out...
I am a current Trader Joe's employee, and if I were to say to a paying customer that an apple with a bruise on it is "perfectly good" I would be told that they will only spend their hard earned money on a perfect apple.
As a grocery store employee, am I really being blamed for being wasteful by discarding what what my customers refuse to buy? Who is really doing the wasting?
I find the concept of freeganism interesting and something I may try myself. However, my husband told me that going into store dumpsters is against the law and the stores can prosecute you for theft if you are caught. Also, they don't want to risk beig sued if you are injured crawling around in their dumpster. Is this true? Several of the wealthier communities around Chicago also have anti-foraging laws, i.e., even if it's something that's been put out at the curb as trash you aren't allowed to take it unless you are authorized (hold a license to do so) as a waste manangement company. How are freegans able to navigate these laws and stay out of jail and/or being ticketed or fined?
I have been told that going into store dumpsters is illegal and stores don't want to be liable for people's safety either. How do you navigate the laws regarding this? Also there are communities (mostly more well to-do ones like Oakbrook & Hinsdale)that have anti-scavaging laws even with trash that is put out at the curb. Your thoughts on this?
Just do it! My husband and I have been diving for a year and are eating healthier than ever. You just have to be smart about what you are taking: don't take things with mold on them, don't take things that smell too funky, don't take things with icky goo on them. After a few trips you will be able to tell what is good and what isn't; you aren't forced to take anything that you wouldn't feel comfortable eating. We always wash all of the produce (trunk loads!) and toss anything that looks bad. Once we got 15 lbs of strawberries..froze them for smoothies for a year!
If you are nervous about making the leap to food, start out small! I recommend Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Borders (esp since they are currently going out of business), and other like stores. We have gotten huge First Aid Kits with only the ibuprofen expired, an entire knife set, bathroom scale, magazines, book shelves, and trunks and trunks more for us and to give to friends.
As far as feeding your kids with it, use you best judgement regarding what you find. I would do it! I would at least try it just to see!
I recently drove behind the closest Trader Joe's location and filled my reusable bag twice trying to save what I possibly could. They had all this and more out in shopping carts:
2 bunches organic bananas
6 organic Gala apples
1 lb strawberries
2 lbs grapes
2 pkgs chicken pesto sausages (still frozen)
4 lbs sliced mushrooms
2 lbs carrots
1 lb broccoli
1 lb zucchini
1 lb yellow squash
2 bags washed mixed lettuce (not even expired or wilted)
Many packages Brie, Jarlsberg and goat cheese
1 bag organic valencia oranges
1 lb unsalted butter
3 containers basil
3 sandwich wraps (which expired that day)
1 small pie pumpkin missing its stem (i.e., not "pretty")
It was as if I had written the store a grocery list and asked them to leave it outside for me to pick up. Only, it was all free. Nothing was wilted, bruised, melted, moldy or stale. I thanked God and promised that nothing I found that day would go to waste. It's made me think about food in new and creative ways. I made grape jam and applesauce and froze some of the cheese and most of the bananas for banana "ice cream". Other than that, everything else has been consumed with absolutely no waste except for 2 grapes and 1 orange I could not save.
I can't fault the store or the chain of wasting anything. They did a responsible thing by setting the items out for people to find in the most hygienic way possible. I wish more stores would employ the same method. As long as it's during daylight hours, it's certain that most animals (other than homo sapiens) would stay away.
Also, I still shop inside, and feel the same, if not better, about the store as I did before I shopped behind it.
I did this for the first time, and definitely would and did give it to my kids. The oranges and strawberries were perfect, and everything still in its container. The organic yogurt was dented, and the avocado bag had something on a part of it, but thee were nto even at their peak yet. This food is incredible, and most was either slightly damaged, or just on the 'sell-by' date. I even took pictues of the spread because it was so overwhelming. Now I am going to get fat from all of the free pie!
While I understand freeganism, I certainly wouldn't think you'd want to have kids around the lifestyle. Children aren't as resilient as adults, and would you really want to be feeding your kids sketchy food? Even though they think the food is fine to eat, along with others' opinions I say that there's a reason it's there in the first place. If it were still edible, they'd be discounting it instead of tossing. Maybe the freegans should decide to get a job and actually buy food for their kids. If you eat it, then it's not wasted, is it? I also wonder if freeganism isn't just a tad bit laziness - it's easier to take free stuff than get a job, isn't it? After all, couldn't you work and use part of your earnings to educate people about waste? People aren't thinking you're a wonderful person while they watch you climb in and out of dumpsters.