Urgent Evoke

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supermarkets throw away massive loads of perfectly good food everyday, simply due to overbuying and the resultant lack of space. this is food that can and should be used.

bin diving involves retrieving the usable food from the trash bins used by supermarkets for this purpose. a lot of supermarkets frown on this, because a) they don't want to be liable for sicknesses and injury and b) they aren't making any money from this.


i have done this both in groups and on my own. i have a few pointers about being CAREFUL and SAFE:

1) know the laws; they can differ from area to area. food (and trash in general) in city-provided bins is considered public property in many places but not in others. also, if the bin itself is on private property, such as deep in a lot instead of an alley, it can be considered trespassing. some bins are served by private companies as well, so different rules may apply.

2) don't run out there blind; do some location scouting and research first. questions to ask: are the foods put into individual sacks (best) or just thrown all together? are there guards/cameras, and do they care? when do they put it out (best to get 'freshly' dumped food)?

3) check that 'expiration' or 'sell by' date, but you don't have to be paranoid about it. in truth, they give a worst case date because they don't want food spoiling in the stores and being liable for it. different foods have different lengths of leniency; you can typically eat many foods up to a week or so after the date. just do a spot and smell check. to be extra safe, it is fine to collect only foods within the dates and non-perishables.

4) i recommend going in small groups of 2 or 3; enough to provide some safety, not so much that it will draw attention.

i know that this is not the best solution; the root of the problem being our overconsumption. however, teaching bin diving to someone will definitely ensure their food security for quite a while.

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Comment by Dr Pete on April 14, 2010 at 12:18am
In some box in storage somewhere, I have a book on this called The Art & Science of Dumpster Diving, which actually makes it seem somewhat palatable, though I've never done it myself. What kinds of things did you find?
Comment by nomadHAR on April 14, 2010 at 12:50am
everything. high quality breads, frozen meals, fine cheeses, milk, fresh produce of all kinds, candy, fish, meat, sauces. a person can eat like a king if they are willing to follow a few safety guidelines and be willing to get their hands dirty.

the thing that you have to put out of your head is the idea of trash. the food in the dumpsters near supermarkets is not trash. it is unopened and undamaged. the food that they throw out is generally either overstock or food nearing the expiration date. this stuff is easy to tell from the actual garbage; there will be 10-50 identical items all in one sack or in one area of the bin.
Comment by Gabriel Martin on April 14, 2010 at 12:59am
This is madness! THIS IS DUMPSTER DIVING! (Kicks the guy into a dumpster)
Comment by Turil Cronburg on April 14, 2010 at 1:00am
A lot of places around here (the Boston area), donate their extras and about-to-expire stuff to local food pantries and programs. It's great because everyone wins. The stores get to take the donation as a tax write off, and the people get to eat food that would otherwise be wasted.

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