Food liberation (Dumpster Diving)

[geocachelinda]

[font=Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]How many van dwellers etc, are also Dumpster Divers? I just recently got back into that and have liberated mostly food from them. My niece, who is also a DD, has found so much food and hygiene products that she has started dropping off supplies to our local food pantries and soup kitchens on a 2-3 day a week basis![/font]

 

[John61CT]

In areas with lots of van dwellers, watch out for bags of poo!

The semi-composted ones NBD, but apparently most are just raw

And not necessarily all well sealed. . .

 

[lenny flank]

I prefer not to eat trash.

 

[Moxadox]

I know how to eat real cheap. Day comes when it's dumpster diving or nothing, well...I actually practice fasting, just in case.

BTW please do not give things you have dug out of the trash to food pantries. It's one thing to exercise your free will and eat it yourself; giving food that might be contaminated with who knows what to an unsuspecting other is criminal.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[gypsyjoker]

Seems like there are a few DD's responding, although it's Debbie Downers instead of Dumpster Divers.
   Probably gonna catch some flack for that statement.    Anyway...    I'm with you Linda. There's nothing like a good score from a loaded treasure chest. In true "bum" fashion I hit them whenever feasible. 
    Freegans unite!

 

[RoamerRV428]

I know how to eat real cheap.  Day comes when it's dumpster diving or nothing, well...I actually practice fasting, just in case.

BTW please do not give things you have dug out of the trash to food pantries.  It's one thing to exercise your free will and eat it yourself; giving food that might be contaminated with who knows what to an unsuspecting other is criminal.

The Dire Wolfess

I have to agree with these statements.
Donating possible contaminated food is a no go for any organization accepting donations.  If they knew they would not accept it.  Wonder if the person who donates also explains where it came from, giving the organizations an option to accept or throw it back where it came  :huh:

 

[Moxadox]

Call me names if that's your thing. If you want to eat garbage, go right ahead. Just don't serve it to unsuspecting others.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[WanderingRose]

If I were truly starving, I might resort to dumpster diving, at which point I would be knowingly choosing to expose myself to possibly contaminated food.

I could see only a catastrophic event bringing me to that point, and just can’t envision ever doing this for fun and recreation.

Many responsible grocers donate food that is still good to shelters and other entities that feed the needy, but I question the wisdom of retrieving food from dumpsters and donating or feeding it to those unaware of where it has come from.

You don’t know why seemingly good food has been thrown out, and it may be that it has been contaminated in some way.

It is certainly contaminated once it has been thrown into a dumpster with who know what else.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm with Moxadox on this:

It's your decision how you source your own food, but it is not acceptable to pass dumpster food off to others without telling them the source.

If you can get at the food so can rats, flies, and other disease carriers.

 

[Dingfelder]

Sounds many steps shy, congrats! Fresh mushrooms don't last very long at all, but cheese is often good long past its expiration date. You can usually just cut the mold off, with a small safety margin. At least, I've been cutting the mold off for the last 35 years or so and haven't had any problems.

 

[Jackpine]

White mold on hard cheeses is safe to cut off, other molds aren't.

 

[Dingfelder]

I see green molds too, and green with white at the margins. So far, no harm. But I do leave a safety margin. Not a ton, though.

 

[crofter]

I could see only a catastrophic event bringing me to that point, and just can’t envision ever doing this for fun and recreation.

The Marine Corps does it for training.  But I'm with you on the EWWWWW factor.  Considering that I also throw things into the dumpster.     ~crofter

 

[Dingfelder]

The marines teach people to eat out of garbage can?

Wow, that's one way to get out of paying a living wage, I guess, but ...

 

[Moxadox]

Post-apocalyptic survival 101.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[John61CT]

Or scrounging while stuck in enemy territory.

Not to mention makes you actually appreciate MREs

 

[lenny flank]

^^ I always thought MREs get kinda a bad rep. I liked the several that I have had.

Of course, I like Big Macs and Beef'n'Cheddars, too.

 

[frater secessus]

IMO it's mainly a kneejerk disgust thing rather than rational consideration. The amount of food waste in America is astounding.

I used to work at a french bakery (vienoisserie, boulangerie) and we tossed an average of three huge trash bags of excellent food into the dumpster each night because it wouldn't be perfect by morning. Basically anything that couldn't be repurposed. The clientele had certain expectations. On the upside, that's how my journalist gf and I survived grad school.

I asked the management if I could deliver it to a local night shelter. They allowed it, but I had to do it on my own time and my own dime, and I had to do the recordkeeping for taxes. I did it until I moved away. I assume they went back to throwing the food away after that.

The best advise I've heard on DD is "don't eat it if you can't tell why they threw it out."

 

[jacqueg]

Sounds many steps shy, congrats!  Fresh mushrooms don't last very long at all, but cheese is often good long past its expiration date.  You can usually just cut the mold off, with a small safety margin.  At least, I've been cutting the mold off for the last 35 years or so and haven't had any problems.

Surplus fresh mushrooms - make sure they're dry, put them in a paper bag and then in the refer. They'll gradually dehydrate. You can eat them anytime.

 

[Moxadox]

Or scrounging while stuck in enemy territory.

Not to mention makes you actually appreciate MREs

[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

The Dire Wolfess