Dumpster Diving
It’s just another evening. Your tummy starts growling at you for dinner. Time to hit the dumpster.
Yes, the dumpster. As in the giant green trash can. Now, don’t turn that nose of yours up just yet. It may not be as bad as you think.
The folks who have mastered the skill of “recycled” food finding, known as Dumpster Divers, are alive and well in Charleston and here to educate us on a few things.
Look around you. Anyone could be a dumpster diver. You may think the only one who would go head first into a dumpster is homeless and hungry. That’s not who we’re talking about. We’re talking about your co-worker. The one with a job and a roof over his head. Someone who sees “waste” as something expended carelessly as opposed to garbage. Someone who realizes that they can combat wasteful America if they just dig deep enough.
“The reason I first tried it wasn’t because I didn’t have money to buy food. It was more about making a statement about how much we waste,” says a local dumpster diver, who asked to remain anonymous because of his job and, well, you know, being ostracized from the community. Although he admits to the financial sense as well, saying, “But after you find some pretty awesome fresh produce for free, your motives change and economy kicks in.”
He talks about sustainable living. A responsible world. A simple future. It’s inspiring and makes so much sense that it could make anyone at least consider taking the dive.
He jokes about “eating good in the neighborhood” and gives some tips to the novice dumpster diver. First and foremost, that “good” food is in the eye of the beholder. Only you know what you’re comfortable with, so stick with your gut. Grocery stores are gold mines for produce (he’s had pineapple/strawberry smoothies for days off of them to prove it). Bagel shops are also a hot spot, tossing tons of day-old bagels. If you’re squeamish, chop them up and stick them in the oven, killing off any potential bacteria and leaving you with delicious bagel chips. Higher end places have higher end standards, so you’ll likely find the contents of their dumpsters to be higher end as well. Don’t get discouraged your first time out. Businesses get on dumping cycles and the key is figuring out their routines. And bring a friend. Safety first!
Okay, so you respect the concept but you’re not about to dig through a dumpster. Awareness is just as important.
“Socially it can be awkward. But as it’s socially awkward, it’s also socially powerful,” another diver tells us. “One person who previously was disgusted by food that was pulled from a dumpster, now calls or texts me to come get the food from her fridge that is going bad. That kind of awareness is awesome.”
The truth is that we live in a society fueled by over-consumption. And that results in waste. 30 million(ish) tons of edible food is thrown away by Americans each year. The amount that our favorite local spots have to toss is astonishing. One of our staple hotels tosses 20,000 gallons of perfectly good food each year from breakfast alone, not to mention other meals and 3x/day functions. And that sushi you get at your gourmet foods shop? Tossed to the curb every night.
This is not because these businesses are wasteful. On the contrary. Charleston does a ton to combat hunger and wastefulness, with initiatives like “Feed the Need,” supporting organizations like the Lowcountry Food Bank, and soon to be utilizing Wal-Mart’s $100K gift to our city for hunger efforts. Their hands are tied, though, due to regulations. The Food Bank, for instance, is restricted from accepting any food that’s been on a buffet or has been served from. Had a fork in it? No go.
“It is unfortunate, considering there are so many people in the world who go hungry and die from starvation,” says our first diver. “But awareness brings our culture of excess into perspective and hopefully we can work to change it, appreciate what we do have, and live more sustainably.”
It’s a new year. It’s a new you. Maybe that you belongs in a dumpster.
Story by: Caroline Nuttall
Photos by: Andrew Stephen Cebulka
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Wow… This is quite provocative and interesting…
Waste is a huge problem today. I am proud to say that at gRAWnola, we probably throw out only somewhere between 10-20 pounds of ‘garbage’every week, and we are very proud of that. Much of the food waste that does leave gRAWnolaville is composted, and all the cardboard is recycled.
So don’t go diving in our ‘trash can’ we don’t have a dumpster for our 20 lbs. per week, looking for cast off gRAWnola!
The most you might find is a lot of citrus peels!
So, do you literally have to jump into a big, dirty dumpster? Or do these places simply leave their food out on the street? I’d be all about recycling leftovers if it’s the latter…
I’m moving this weekend. I would love for these dumpster divers to come clean out my pantry and fridge!
Whenever I move I ALWAYS dumpster dive for cardboard boxes. I REFUSE to pay for a box! But THIS is a whole other level. I agree with Ken, quite provocative and interesting that health codes prevent prepared foods being donated to soup kitchens.
When my children were young & we lived in Baltimore, we always went dumpster diving for food. Grocery stores threw away whole cases of bananas because a few were bad. I made frozen banana pops coated with all sorts of goodies; my kids had nutritious snacks for months!
We once found a whole case of Welches Grape Jam thrown away because one jar had busted. All we had to do was off the other unopened jars and we had jam for a year. Yes, this is a very wasteful country and I am appalled at the wastefulness.
Once we found 5 boxes full of trinkets from Occupied Japan that someone didn’t want. Turned out to be quite a find financially.
I say yay to the dumpster divers.
I’ve dumpster-dived. Several times in fact. I had Rainbow friends (hardcore hippies) in the early 1990′s and they taught me how to do it. The best places to hit would be doughnuts shops of pizza joints. Because they would usually double bag their left over pizza and or doughnuts and leave them on top of the pile knowing that homeless people relied on these sources of free food. We did it in New Orleans, Atlanta, after a Dead show, EVEN have a photo of that somewhere. Hell yea I admit it! Proud of it in fact.
Peace!
Are we a wasteful country? Absolutely! I am always blown away when I read about people who dumpster dive, freegans, whatever you want to call yourself but I am not quite sure where to even start…
I think I’ll start with the amount of food that goes to waste each year. Your estimates aren’t even close. It is estimated that approximately 40% of food produced each year goes to waste. That equates to more than 147 billion (with a B) pounds of food, of that 267 million pounds is produce that never leaves the field.
The reason that food banks began was because a man with vision, John Van Hengel saw a child eating out of a dumpster and knew that was not any way that someone should have to live. He knew there was a more dignified way to get food to people who needed help. As stated above you are not needy but I would add that if you know of someone in need of food, they should contact a food pantry and they would be happy to help.
As far as regulations go, they are there for a reason. They are in place to protect the people who receive food from feeding organizations. If you have never taken a food safety course, you should it’s eye opening. Food that is handle improperly can make you very sick, especially if you have a compromised immune system in any way.
Here’s a thought. Rather than dumpster diving why don’t you become an advocate for feeding the hungry in a dignified manner? Instead of stealing trash from the business (yes you can be arrested) why don’t you talk to them and help them understand the benefit to donating to someone like the Lowcountry Food Bank? It’s the right thing to do but there are tax benefits to a business that donates. The food would be safer to eat and they would have less trash cost. The food bank inspects food that is donated before it is given to another organization. You may want to verify that the places that you are dumpster diving aren’t already donating to the food bank. If they are, what they are throwing away is being thrown away for good reason.
Lowcountry Food Bank distributed more than 17 million pounds of food last year but it wasn’t enough. You could become a voice for those that need a voice and not have to hide your face. .
I have never been dumpster diving and to be honest, I NEVER thought about it. I am curious now as to what I would find if I did take that ‘dive’.
To further the Dumpster Diving conversation – a documentary…..
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/dive-living-off-americas-trash.php