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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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I was about to post this in Mother Nurture and then I realized--I'm talking about food!
I was just reading a blog of an acquaintance and learned that this family gets almost all their food via dumpster diving. The husband and a friend go to high-end grocery stores after closing time and carefully and neatly remove bags of food that have been tossed because they are past the sell-by date. They then take the food home and sort it out deciding what to keep, what to give away, what to compost, what to feed to the dogs, etc. They occasionally supplement at the grocery store but mostly this is their only means of getting food. One week they recovered over $700 in red meat alone.
Thoughts about this? It is legal in most states and their main store has a manager who thinks it's fine to raid the dumpster but would anyone have other ethical concerns? I'm not going out dumpster diving tonight or anything but I found it a really intriguing idea.
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folklaur
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:35pm | IP Logged
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honestly?
my first thought was, "eeeewwwww!"
it was my second thought too.
but i am a germ-o-phobe.
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Michaela
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:39pm | IP Logged
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My hubby has a family member who works for the trash co in CA. When I was told he gets food from the trash I was  and unsure about ever eating at his home.
Truth be told, I found out while there the food is mainly fruit and has absolutely nothing wrong with it (saw it with my own eyes). It was hard to imagine the store would actually trash this food! The manager actually sets it aside now for this relative instead of having it put into the trash containers.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:42pm | IP Logged
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 I wanted honest opinions, Laura!
I guess one concern would be serving this food to friends or (extended) family. The people who introduced me to the idea have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with guests which I guess means don't tell them if they don't ask. But if you were eating at my house and the food looked wonderful and tasted wonderful (as it, of course, always does at my house  ) and my family were all gobbling it down and I told you we'd gotten the food from a dumpster would you just be sick with disgust?
The food they are getting, just so you all know, is thrown out en masse into clean bags and most of it is shrink-wrapped in the store so it stays pretty clean. They'll even eat meat and fish though I'm not sure I'd do that in the warmer months. After years of this they've never been sick.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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Well it sounds like they're talking about foods being still properly in packages.. I would be worried about the meat depending on the climate.. I mean.. it's already at/past date and then it's set outside for at least some time before they get to it..
Seems like they could set it up so that they could pick it up direct from the store rather than waiting for it to go in the dumpster. Ah but then the store might not be able to write it off as a loss?
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:49pm | IP Logged
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I think there are major liability issues. Many places can't even give this food away to soup kitchens anymore if it is past the date. But as I'm sure all of us know from experimenting with food in our own refrigerators, a lot of food is perfectly fine a few days past the date--or even longer.
I read one story where the night manager will let them know if there are any gross bags in their way or will sometimes set aside a bag of trash. But they way it is carried out does seem like the food needs to be thrown out for official reason (taxes, health codes, etc.).
The pictures I saw were of huge garbage bags of shrink-wrapped broccoli. Think of how the produce and meats are packaged at Trader Joe's or Aldi's. They are so over packaged!
I am seriously tempted to give this a try but I do want more thoughts and I'm not sure dh will go for it.
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folklaur
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:53pm | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
I guess one concern would be serving this food to friends or (extended) family. The people who introduced me to the idea have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with guests which I guess means don't tell them if they don't ask. |
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well, but goodness - would you ever go to someone's house and ASK, "gee - did you get this food from a dumpster?"
unless the dumpsters themselves are clean (and in the case of meat, refrigerated) - yes, i would be totally disgusted.
now - setting aside meat/veggies BEFORE it gets to dumpsters? no biggie.
but if it has actually been IN dumpsters?
i think it's icky in the extreme.
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Michaela
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Personally, I wouldn't be ok with the meat from the trash. I've been burned more than once *buying* meat in the store that was rotten when I opened the package the next day. The family would have to know exactly when the meat is put in the trash. Imagine the rodent population running across it and what is fermenting in that trash can that isn't washed out.
A manager who sets it aside....
I think it would be better for me not to know if I were a guest in the home.
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folklaur
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SusanJ wrote:
| I think there are major liability issues. Many places can't even give this food away to soup kitchens anymore if it is past the date. But as I'm sure all of us know from experimenting with food in our own refrigerators, a lot of food is perfectly fine a few days past the date--or even longer. |
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see - not me.  i am a tosser.
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folklaur
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 12:56pm | IP Logged
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Michaela wrote:
| Imagine the rodent population running across it and what is fermenting in that trash can that isn't washed out. |
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ew ew ew ew ew ew ew.....
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 1:00pm | IP Logged
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My younger brother works at Trader Joe's and they set out the expired food in the back for all the employees to dig into during breaks. Once they had a big load of steaks that were just about to expire so they fired up the grills and the employees had an awesome lunch. 
My mother-in-law runs a soup kitchen and it is true that they refuse to take anything post-dates--it's a major liability issue. Grocery stores in her area have charity gleaners come the day or so before baked goods are set to expire and they're able to take whole pick-up beds of bread, cakes, pies, and whatnot away to serve. But they have to serve it in the next one or two days or it's "expired" and they're unable to use it. My MIL actually ends up bringing home a lot of baked goods that they just could not give away in time.
I personally would not eat food from the dumpster, but I'm a bit of a germaphobe as Laura is. I'm sure most if it is perfectly fine. Have you read the actual essay, "Dumpster Diving"? It's amazing the food he was able to recover, in perfectly good shape.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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I just looked at that article--I hadn't read it. It is concerning that he says he gets sick about once a month but I think I would be more selective. I would never take something from a restaurant dumpster. Trader Joe's--I could definitely imagine it. Or, I could imagine inspecting and later eating garbage that my husband has brought home from the dumpster. I don't think I'd personally want to dive.
ETA: I read the article super-fast and forgot when posting this that the author was homeless. Sorry if I sounded heartless when I suggested he wasn't selective enough in what he was eating.
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Michaela
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
| I could imagine inspecting and later eating garbage that my husband has brought home from the dumpster. I don't think I'd personally want to dive. |
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ROTFLOL I am not laughing *at* you, but at the visual of talking your hubby into this, but telling him he has to do it. Too cute. 
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 1:18pm | IP Logged
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Michaela wrote:
SusanJ wrote:
| I could imagine inspecting and later eating garbage that my husband has brought home from the dumpster. I don't think I'd personally want to dive. |
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ROTFLOL I am not laughing *at* you, but at the visual of talking your hubby into this, but telling him he has to do it. Too cute. |
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That's just what I'm hoping he thinks! I think he'll either be completely opposed to this idea or even more enthused than I am. But I doubt he'd let me be the one picking through the dumpster anyway.
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stefoodie
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LOL -- i love this thread!
really intriguing idea.
my brother used to be in a volunteer program where they'd pick stuff up at panera and deliver them at the local food pantry. they did this everyday for several weeks in the summer -- perfectly good stuff, baked breads, cream cheeses, bagels, etc. i would say at least $300 worth of stuff, every single day -- when he did this he'd take home a couple of loaves and Panera said they didn't mind, just make sure they're GONE. everything would have gone to the dumpster if no one had gotten them.
does anyone know more about the legal implications? i saw "loss" mentioned -- do they have to document things differently if they're "getting rid" of stuff anyway? i'm thinking i'd be willing to look through trader joe's or whole food's dumpsters but i don't know that i'd necessarily *rescue* anything unless they were separated from everything else and clearly not rotting. my culinary student would have a fit and give me a lecture about contamination and food sanitation . not that i care that much, we already stretch the "rules" much here at home.
we used to have a local secondharvest that redistributed free to-be-thrown-away food to people, but i think they've been swallowed up by feedamerica (and i don't know how efficient those people are).
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 2:07pm | IP Logged
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I'm with you, Stef. If I hadn't just seen pictures of them pulling perfectly clean looking bags of perfectly sealed food out of a dumpster I don't think I'd even be considering it. I wouldn't just reach into a disgusting mess of trash and pull out an apple or something.
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florasita
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| Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 5:25pm | IP Logged
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These people have a name they call themselves freegans . It is a way of life , living , thinking . Whole familes live this way . Many stores have policies they are not alloowed to give awqay produce or items even if they are not expired . Our boys worked for walmart at one time . whole semi truck loads of stuff just chucked out . perfectly good stuff all the time and it goes to the trash ! it is not given away employies are not allowed to call friends or keep stuff being chucked . You can check out the freegan website . Just because food is chucked does not mean it was bad or even near going bad . Have fun !
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i was just researching freeganism today, roxie. i was going to mention it here but saw that it was more politically motivated. i think we can be frugal esp when it comes to food, without it being a political statement. but yeah, very interesting concept!
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We go to 2 high end bakeries in town after closing. They throw out all the baked good that didn't sell that day. But they know people get the stuff from the trash so they wrap it it the big flour bags and set it next to the dumpsters while they are cleaning the bakery. Once they are done cleaning, the bags get tossed in the dumpster. so if you get there about 10 minutes after closing...jackpot! I used to feel guilty about it, like I was cheating the store, but I got over it
Also the grocery store we go to (a small mom and pop) puts everything that is past date or getting icky it carts in the front of the store. The carts have a sign "Please take just what you will use".
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lapazfarm
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I think it is a great idea. And as far as ethical concerns? I don't see any against it. In fact I can see many good ethical reasons FOR it, the most obvious being reducing wastefulness.It is such a shame so much food goes to waste. In a simpler society it would be so easy to let the excess go to the poor and hungry. Nowadays with all of our complex rules and threats of litigation, things just don't work as well as they could, you know?
If you can get over the squeamishness, I say go for it!
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: dumpster diving
