Author Topic: Dumpster Diving for Groceries  (Read 78657 times)

economista

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #150 on: September 26, 2019, 06:02:03 PM »
@iris lily - I wasn’t intending to attack anyone, I was just pointing out what I’ve seen and the thoughts that this discussion sparked in my head. I was simply pointing out a different point of view, which I hadn’t seen mentioned yet. In regards to businesses being anti-homeless, there are a lot of things they do to try and discourage homeless people from loitering near them, some of which were pointed out by mm1970. They also install benches that are on a slope so its uncomfortable to sit on them for long and flat surfaces have spikes installed so you can’t sit at all. There has also been a concerted effort in my area to pass legislation that makes it illegal to be homeless. I have a few friends who work with the local homeless population and some of the stories they tell are heartbreaking.

I have also seen lots of homeless people digging through dumpsters. There are a few alleys I use on my regular routes to avoid stoplights and any time of the day I see homeless people going through the trash cans and dumpsters that are in those alleys. I was actually surprised the other night - now that it is getting dark earlier I drove through when it was already dark out and there were at least 10 of them in one alley where I usually see one or two during the day. This particular alley is behind a mix of residential homes and businesses, one of which is a carry-out but not a grocery store.

That being said - I have no idea if the dumpsters behind grocery stores in my area are locked. To be honest, a lot of them probably are because we occasionally have bears in the area.

iris lily

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #151 on: September 26, 2019, 07:24:02 PM »

...

"Business community" being hostile to homeless folks can include using security guards to drive them away, calling the police on them, posting signs at the parking lots to discourage people from donating.  I see all of these things in my town.  (To be honest, we have a lot of services for the homeless here, so it's a blessing and a curse).

...

I have rarely seen homeless people HERE looking for food in dumpsters, but the majority of our local grocery stores currently donate their extra food/ almost expired food/ etc. to the homeless shelter and other local charities.  (Some of them used to sell it at a deep discount - I enjoyed those deep discounts!  They don't anymore...

Do you think “the business community “is right to not want members of the homeless community hanging out in front of their doors? Do you think that affects their customers?

I sure do.


Roadrunner53

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #152 on: September 27, 2019, 05:14:26 AM »
Earlier I mentioned that I worked for a food research company. We were always ordering samples of food to try new recipes and sometimes the samples were in 50 lb. boxes. We needed industrial ingredients that would be used in a factory so once we determined we wanted to try something on a bigger scale than the kitchen mixer, we would get these ingredients for batches made in industrial machines. Sometimes our work was just a one time thing and we had these ingredients on hand that eventually would get tossed due to expiration. We had several 50 lb. boxes of peanut butter. We offered it to a local soup kitchen and they refused it. The boxes were unopened and would have been good for several months. I have no idea why they wouldn't accept it. Back then, people didn't really seemed concerned about peanut allergies and most soup kitchens cater to adults. So, I took the peanut butter home and fed it to the squirrels and birds. They were very happy!

Companies lock their dumpsters for many reasons and one being liable if someone dumpster dives and eats something that makes them sick and they get sued. I also have raccoons that have been invading my garbage lately and they are dragging crap out of the cans making a huge mess, so we now have a bungee cord on the can.

We have a local grocery store here where homeless linger around. I think they live close to the store in an encampment. They come to the grocery store and use the bathrooms as their personal bathroom washing their bodies. A bit of a turn off for shoppers needing to use the bathrooms. The store used to have a bench outside at one of the remote entrances where the homeless would congregate. Shoppers felt uncomfortable so they took that bench away.

I don't know what the answer is for the homeless. But washing their bodies in a grocery store bathroom isn't acceptable to subject the shoppers to or the grocery store that is trying to cater to customers. Towns should have a place where homeless people can shower and wash their clothes.

economista

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #153 on: September 27, 2019, 07:38:28 AM »
I won’t derail this thread any further with discussions about the homeless because I personally don’t have a really solidified point of view. On one hand I don’t feel safe around the homeless, I personally don’t ever give them money directly, and I agree that they shouldn’t be allowed to loiter around businesses. But on the other hand I know that a lot of them are in dire need of mental health care, I donate to organizations that help them, and I understand that they have a basic human dignity and a right to live how they see fit simply be being human beings on God’s earth. This is one topic that still battles within my brain.

In my city it has been highly publicized that there are more than enough beds and services for the entire homeless population, but most of them simply won’t agree to the rules to participate (mostly no drugs). I get especially annoyed when I see pregnant women or mothers standing on the corner with their children holding signs that say “homeless and no food.” We have plenty of social services to help them  and they are either lying or are choosing not to partake in the services available. So this is all hard.

I just wanted to explain my wishy-washy feelings about all of this so no one thinks I am a hard liner on one side or the other. I have spent years of my life extensively studying children in poverty and social mobility, but the homeless population and homelessness in general is something that I just haven’t studied enough to feel really strongly about.

Jenny Wren

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #154 on: September 27, 2019, 08:26:04 AM »
If you are concerned about food waste and the hunger issues for the homeless and at risk, but don't want to dumpster dive yourself, please see if there is a "food not bombs" group in your area. Each area group runs things a bit differently, but often food destined for the dumpster is used to create the big community meals.


mm1970

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #155 on: September 27, 2019, 01:46:03 PM »
Quote
Do you think “the business community “is right to not want members of the homeless community hanging out in front of their doors? Do you think that affects their customers?

I sure do.
Absolutely, which is why I mentioned "blessing and a curse".  (Having a lot of support/ facilities/ programs for the homeless in my area - in addition to great weather and expensive housing - means we have more homeless.)  We get people here from all over the state and country, because if you are going to sleep outside, why not in great weather?  Also, having access to food, nights at the shelter during cold and rain, and sympathetic people giving you $$ at freeway exits, is a bonus.  A lot of the panhandlers aren't actually homeless, but I digress.

I'm not a fan of being accosted (verbally or however else) by the homeless when I am shopping at stores.  I will avoid particular stores for this reason.  OTOH, I don't necessarily want the homeless to just "go away" as many do.  We need actual solutions.  People need a place to sleep, eat, poop, shower, do laundry.

mm1970

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #156 on: September 27, 2019, 01:53:25 PM »
I won’t derail this thread any further with discussions about the homeless because I personally don’t have a really solidified point of view. On one hand I don’t feel safe around the homeless, I personally don’t ever give them money directly, and I agree that they shouldn’t be allowed to loiter around businesses. But on the other hand I know that a lot of them are in dire need of mental health care, I donate to organizations that help them, and I understand that they have a basic human dignity and a right to live how they see fit simply be being human beings on God’s earth. This is one topic that still battles within my brain.

In my city it has been highly publicized that there are more than enough beds and services for the entire homeless population, but most of them simply won’t agree to the rules to participate (mostly no drugs). I get especially annoyed when I see pregnant women or mothers standing on the corner with their children holding signs that say “homeless and no food.” We have plenty of social services to help them  and they are either lying or are choosing not to partake in the services available. So this is all hard.

I just wanted to explain my wishy-washy feelings about all of this so no one thinks I am a hard liner on one side or the other. I have spent years of my life extensively studying children in poverty and social mobility, but the homeless population and homelessness in general is something that I just haven’t studied enough to feel really strongly about.

Totally agree.  I think I said something similar on a thread about someone whose parent or brother kept asking for money.  The reason why this happens is that government entities, and many if not most charities - can provide a LOT of help to people who need it.  But the help comes with strings or rules that they don't like.  I had the occasion to discuss it with a friend this summer in Copenhagen.

There were some (maybe one or two) people that looked homeless (sleeping on benches) while I was running around The Lakes in Copenhagen.  My friend pointed out that it is true - they do have homeless - a lot fewer than we do.  Part of it is because they have far more services and housing options.  She said often, when you see someone who is homeless - it's because they don't like the "rules".  As in - the government will offer someone a flat or a room to live in, but it is in neighborhood "X", and they don't want to live in that area.  They want to live in "Y" because it's familiar/ more fun/ grew up there/ friends there/ whatever.  So the person is choosing to sleep outdoors.

It's a tricky bit - I am tired of the tent cities, the parking garages that smell like pee, the homeless who defecate on the streets.  But they need to go somewhere!  On the flip side, one of my "hobbies", per se, is to follow folks who are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which is basically 5-6 straight months of being homeless/ living outdoors/ sleeping in a tent...

iris lily

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #157 on: September 27, 2019, 04:16:47 PM »
I won’t derail this thread any further with discussions about the homeless because I personally don’t have a really solidified point of view. On one hand I don’t feel safe around the homeless, I personally don’t ever give them money directly, and I agree that they shouldn’t be allowed to loiter around businesses. But on the other hand I know that a lot of them are in dire need of mental health care, I donate to organizations that help them, and I understand that they have a basic human dignity and a right to live how they see fit simply be being human beings on God’s earth. This is one topic that still battles within my brain.

In my city it has been highly publicized that there are more than enough beds and services for the entire homeless population, but most of them simply won’t agree to the rules to participate (mostly no drugs). I get especially annoyed when I see pregnant women or mothers standing on the corner with their children holding signs that say “homeless and no food.” We have plenty of social services to help them  and they are either lying or are choosing not to partake in the services available. So this is all hard.

I just wanted to explain my wishy-washy feelings about all of this so no one thinks I am a hard liner on one side or the other. I have spent years of my life extensively studying children in poverty and social mobility, but the homeless population and homelessness in general is something that I just haven’t studied enough to feel really strongly about.

I think that is all reasonable. I guess we should all appear “wishy-washy”  about many human problems because there are no easy solutions, there is no one-size-fits-all to fix it. And some things  just aren’t fixable.

FunkyChopstick

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #158 on: October 06, 2019, 09:59:21 PM »
You are my hero. The farthest I have gotten is casing a few stores. Driving around them, checking types of dumpsters- some are extremely secure, but I haven't actually done it.

Hubs refused to be an accomplice. My mom is a free spirit with a light dusting of mental illness so she is on board. I have balked solo driving bc 1. I am chubby and feel someone  is necessary incase I'm stuck 2. A lookout just seems less shady.

I want to dive in trader Joe's or whole foods so bad. So, so bad I can taste it. But I won't pay retail for it.
I realize most people draw the line here, probably most way before this point. But I am all in. Plus cold dumpster diving doesn't interfere with refrigeration or freezing.

Dicey

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #159 on: October 07, 2019, 12:26:16 AM »
You are my hero. The farthest I have gotten is casing a few stores. Driving around them, checking types of dumpsters- some are extremely secure, but I haven't actually done it.

Hubs refused to be an accomplice. My mom is a free spirit with a light dusting of mental illness so she is on board. I have balked solo driving bc 1. I am chubby and feel someone  is necessary incase I'm stuck 2. A lookout just seems less shady.

I want to dive in trader Joe's or whole foods so bad. So, so bad I can taste it. But I won't pay retail for it.
I realize most people draw the line here, probably most way before this point. But I am all in. Plus cold dumpster diving doesn't interfere with refrigeration or freezing.
If you lived closer, I'd totally go dumpster diving with you.

BECABECA

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #160 on: October 07, 2019, 09:25:20 AM »
I did dumpster diving back when I was a college student. It made it so I didn’t have to choose between eating and paying tuition. I had a lot of friends who were in a similar boat and we would all be generous with our hauls, so we got a pretty good variety. Winter was good because things would stay frozen so food safety wasn’t much of a concern. But most grocery stores had trash compactors even then, and that was nearly 20 years ago. We frequented the dumpster of a bakery and we had two packaged food producing factories near us that were good for checking their dumpsters, as if a label was misprinted then the entire run would be thrown away. We would also check the dumpsters of retail stores like Target and get stuff that got returned but wasn’t able to be resold. I once found 50 CDs in on of those dumpsters and sold them to a used CD store and turned it into close to $100. That paid for half a month of rent.

Later, when my wife was in grad school and we stayed in married student housing on campus at her much more affluent university, and the dumpsters outside of those buildings were a treasure trove. We got lots of our furniture from those, and we once found a brand new pair of fancy waterproof hiking boots still in the box.

FunkyChopstick

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #161 on: October 07, 2019, 09:13:00 PM »
You are my hero. The farthest I have gotten is casing a few stores. Driving around them, checking types of dumpsters- some are extremely secure, but I haven't actually done it.

Hubs refused to be an accomplice. My mom is a free spirit with a light dusting of mental illness so she is on board. I have balked solo driving bc 1. I am chubby and feel someone  is necessary incase I'm stuck 2. A lookout just seems less shady.

I want to dive in trader Joe's or whole foods so bad. So, so bad I can taste it. But I won't pay retail for it.
I realize most people draw the line here, probably most way before this point. But I am all in. Plus cold dumpster diving doesn't interfere with refrigeration or freezing.
If you lived closer, I'd totally go dumpster diving with you.

We will meet in the middle and make a deal lol. But any Philly peeps that want to troll the allies and raid the refuse of the city- let me know!

AdventureGirl!

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #162 on: October 30, 2019, 08:58:39 AM »
I think Dumpster Diving is awesome!

Yes it is illegal and you should be stealth about it. But we are so wasteful in this world that I think you are doing more good than harm.

In Minnesota they have started to be really strict and lock up dumpsters and have closed compartment dumpsters now so it is really hard to find places to dive these days.

Score while you can!

insufFIcientfunds

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #163 on: October 30, 2019, 11:22:04 AM »
Shit, I bought some cheese inside a grocery store and got home and realized it had mold. Meanwhile, people are getting perfectly good cheese outside the store, with no mold? Free? I feel dumb now!

maisymouser

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #164 on: November 20, 2019, 07:39:54 PM »
Dumpster diving is not illegal everywhere. In my state it is only illegal if you are breaking into a locked dumpster.

So glad I found this thread- it seems like the MMM forum isn't very active in its dumpster diving awesomeness.

This week my SO got a full case of olive oil that just needed washed off (one bottle must have broken and they tossed the entire case). We often get our staples from dumpsters- bread, milk, even coffee. I've joked that I'm going to make an ironic fancy-looking coffee table book one day with artsy pictures of his dumpster finds.

Davnasty

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #165 on: November 20, 2019, 08:22:13 PM »
Dumpster diving is not illegal everywhere. In my state it is only illegal if you are breaking into a locked dumpster.

So glad I found this thread- it seems like the MMM forum isn't very active in its dumpster diving awesomeness.

This week my SO got a full case of olive oil that just needed washed off (one bottle must have broken and they tossed the entire case). We often get our staples from dumpsters- bread, milk, even coffee. I've joked that I'm going to make an ironic fancy-looking coffee table book one day with artsy pictures of his dumpster finds.

Either not many people on the forum do it or not many will admit to it :) I found 16lbs of onions and a bag of apples this weekend. French onion soup or stir fry with extra onions every night this week.

I don't look very often and I only take what's sitting on top. I don't dive very far unless I see something good like a case of beer. Same situation, one bottle breaks and they toss the case.

I used to do more digging but sometimes I brought too much home. It was a lot of work to process/can it all before it went bad. A chest freezer would have helped.

Car Jack

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #166 on: November 21, 2019, 06:56:15 AM »
IMO, the best dumpsters are behind Guitar Center and Game Stop.  I've never found a guitar, but have found dented mixers, guitar hard cases that had an external skin ripped away.  My son's found various electronic games that are easily sold at the local vintage gamer store.

Buffaloski Boris

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #167 on: November 23, 2019, 08:38:07 PM »
DDing is a bridge too far for me, my spouse would almost certainly veto it. The waste is a shame.

I’m hoping that some grocery store chains will do what Aldi on the UK did/does. They sell a box full of day old produce for one pound. It was a surprise as to what you would get, but perfectly serviceable.

happyuk

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #168 on: November 27, 2019, 11:45:49 PM »
In the UK there's a number of supermarkets and outlets that have a customer app specifically for selling food very cheaply that will otherwise go to waste.  One example is Morrison's with their app called 'Too Good To Go'. My other half uses these apps quite regularly and I'm always impressed with the amount, cheapness and quality

Buffaloski Boris

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #169 on: November 30, 2019, 04:21:59 PM »
In the UK there's a number of supermarkets and outlets that have a customer app specifically for selling food very cheaply that will otherwise go to waste.  One example is Morrison's with their app called 'Too Good To Go'. My other half uses these apps quite regularly and I'm always impressed with the amount, cheapness and quality

Back in the day, stores in the US sold day old veg and other foods at a steep discount. You still see it with meats and nonperishables. Now it’s a rarity for fruit, veg, bread, and dairy. I think it’s a cost/benefit thing. Probably cheaper to toss it than to reprice and repackage it and there is no grassroots pressure to avoid the waste.

Missy B

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #170 on: December 12, 2019, 10:04:00 PM »
You are my hero. The farthest I have gotten is casing a few stores. Driving around them, checking types of dumpsters- some are extremely secure, but I haven't actually done it.

Hubs refused to be an accomplice. My mom is a free spirit with a light dusting of mental illness so she is on board. I have balked solo driving bc 1. I am chubby and feel someone  is necessary incase I'm stuck 2. A lookout just seems less shady.

I want to dive in trader Joe's or whole foods so bad. So, so bad I can taste it. But I won't pay retail for it.
I realize most people draw the line here, probably most way before this point. But I am all in. Plus cold dumpster diving doesn't interfere with refrigeration or freezing.

I never thought of diving Trader Joe's. That would be extra interesting because that involves a border crossing. My SO would  not be happy if I suggested it. He would barf if I fed him something out of a dumpster, even if it was sealed in a box. I once found - it was thrilling - a few groceries that had been left under a bridge, I think after a theft of boxes from a local grocery delivery truck.
All the store dumpsters near my home are locked - we have a very high population of binners here, and there would be people in them constantly if they weren't secure. Maybe a little further out of the core.

fuzzy math

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #171 on: November 15, 2020, 10:51:39 AM »
Was out late at night the other night with DH and decided to cruise by Aldi (which I've been told is legendary). Arrived at 9:30 pm and promptly had 2 other cars show up. Met some locals who do the route daily. One of the people has a youtube channel for her finds.
Got 3 boxes of somewhat moldy cantaloupes (for our chickens), a half dozen roses, and they got a Halloween decoration.
Went to the other Aldi and got 2 bags of tiny sweet peppers, a container of mushrooms and a kitchen scale. Left behind multiple other bags of peppers, and some dented cans. It was raining, which made the "ick" factor less... the containers were already rinsed! I did thoroughly rinse everything off again upon arriving home.

I can see this becoming a game... how much food can be rescued? At the same time, I'm not going to go out of my way to be out driving and burning gas just to look for food.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #172 on: November 15, 2020, 11:49:08 AM »
I am really surprised that companies would just toss stuff in dumpsters that could be so easily retrieved! I worked for a research and development food company and there were strict orders to slash and trash everything. All containers were slashed if plastic. We had a crusher machine for certain things that would puncture containers. Even a simple knife could slash the packages. Companies do not want to get sued if someone comes back and says they got sick from the food. Even if it was picked out of a dumpster, they could be liable.

yachi

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #173 on: November 16, 2020, 09:46:36 AM »
I am really surprised that companies would just toss stuff in dumpsters that could be so easily retrieved! I worked for a research and development food company and there were strict orders to slash and trash everything. All containers were slashed if plastic. We had a crusher machine for certain things that would puncture containers. Even a simple knife could slash the packages. Companies do not want to get sued if someone comes back and says they got sick from the food. Even if it was picked out of a dumpster, they could be liable.
I thought you were going to finish the bold part with composted, donated, eaten or something similar.  It went a totally different direction.  I understand the surprise. 


Roadrunner53

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #174 on: November 16, 2020, 10:52:31 AM »
At a R&D company it is understandable that they don't want certain things to be consumed by dumpster divers because storage studies are conducted and at different storage temps over long periods of time. Some foods can go bad during the process. Of course donating or composting for stores would be ideal, but there are very few communities that have something set up to pick up the food and give it away or compost it. Everything costs money to set up.

GuitarStv

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #175 on: November 16, 2020, 11:59:05 AM »
Companies do not want to get sued if someone comes back and says they got sick from the food. Even if it was picked out of a dumpster, they could be liable.

There's something terribly flawed with the legal system if you're legally liable for the health of a person who picks food you've thrown away out of a dumpster, eats it, and gets sick.

maisymouser

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #176 on: November 16, 2020, 12:09:41 PM »
We are regular divers (OK, DH is and I reap the rewards). Yesterday was our regular ~1x/month trip to Aldi. We do certainly purchase groceries there- we prefer to be loyal patrons of the stores that don't go out of their way to destroy food and lock dumpsters- but it really is astounding the quantity of fresh fruits and veggies they throw out. It's literally enough to feed several families for over a week typically.

Yesterday he happened upon a brand new play yard worth $50+, new in the box. Also a brand new grill in the box probably worth at least $60. We will be posting these on CL. Not bad for a 20-minute haul.

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #177 on: November 16, 2020, 01:18:44 PM »
Companies do not want to get sued if someone comes back and says they got sick from the food. Even if it was picked out of a dumpster, they could be liable.

There's something terribly flawed with the legal system if you're legally liable for the health of a person who picks food you've thrown away out of a dumpster, eats it, and gets sick.

I don't think this is the case. It's difficult to find specifics in the legal code as these things generally aren't clearly spelled out, but my understanding is that once something is in the dumpster it's public property so they aren't responsible for what happens to it.

I can imagine certain cases where a retailer might be found negligent for example if they threw away alcohol and children were able to access it or threw away food that was intentionally/knowingly contaminated rather than just spoiled, but I would hope in cases like that a judge could use good sense and only assign blame if they were truly negligent.

I think it's much more likely that store managers don't want to take any chances, even if the risk is imagined.

Then there's the Good Samaritan law which protects food donator's from that kind of liability. Not sure if it would apply to discarded food, but assuming what I said above about it being public property is accurate, it wouldn't need to.



Roadrunner53

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #178 on: November 16, 2020, 01:32:18 PM »
How can it be public property if the dumpster is located on private property of the company? The person would first of all be trespassing, uninvited onto private property. I would think the garbage in a dumpster still belongs to the company until the garbage company who is allowed to come onto the property, by contract, to empty the garbage. It is kind of the same as if you had a pile of firewood on your property and someone just decided to come and take it because it is outside. Or if your kids bikes are outside and leaning against the garage door and someone decides to take them because they are outside.

Davnasty

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #179 on: November 16, 2020, 02:36:55 PM »
Maybe calling it public property is oversimplifying it. like you said it matters where the dumpster is located and also who owns it, is it locked, is there a no trespassing sign, etc. I'm not an expert and the laws vary by location so maybe I should stay away from that discussion. Too much gray area.

But then if it's not public property, it's private property and the dumpster diver would be stealing it, right? If someone steals your food and gets sick, could you be held responsible? Seems unlikely except in cases where you gave someone access to something they shouldn't have like alcohol taken by kids.

A better way to look at it might be that they could plausibly be held liable but unless they did something negligent, they almost certainly wouldn't. Like a lot of laws it would come down to what is a reasonable expectation. Expecting a grocery store to not throw expired food into a dumpster seems pretty unreasonable.

Goldielocks

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #180 on: November 16, 2020, 08:05:07 PM »
Companies do not want to get sued if someone comes back and says they got sick from the food. Even if it was picked out of a dumpster, they could be liable.

There's something terribly flawed with the legal system if you're legally liable for the health of a person who picks food you've thrown away out of a dumpster, eats it, and gets sick.

The issue is a bit different. 

A person picks store-brand items out of trash.  Eats and gets sick (from the dented can, or whatever), and then there is a news story about how someone got sick eating Aldi-brand beans

That's the issue.... that and the mess left behind / the issue with young female retail clerks feeling fear when taking out the trash at night because there are three cars of people waiting to pounce and not all of them seem to be well-balanced....  etc.

maisymouser

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #181 on: November 17, 2020, 08:39:24 AM »
Could you please provide an example? Haven't heard of many of those stories.


Most divers aren't ballsy enough to walk up to employees throwing away food. You are really stereotyping here. On the rare occasions when we personally have been diving and an employee comes out with a load of trash, the reaction is often one of "yup this happens regularly", not one of fear.

Goldielocks

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #182 on: November 17, 2020, 06:12:20 PM »
Could you please provide an example? Haven't heard of many of those stories.


Most divers aren't ballsy enough to walk up to employees throwing away food. You are really stereotyping here. On the rare occasions when we personally have been diving and an employee comes out with a load of trash, the reaction is often one of "yup this happens regularly", not one of fear.
I used to work for a major retail chain, so this is VERY location specific.  It is also specific to the individual clerk's perception, and I must say that 16 and 17 y.o. female clerks can read a lot into a situation, that does not exist, and just refuse to do the trash run.    That was the most common, but a few people were approached by high street people, too.

  What is an assistant night manager to do in this case?  Force the clerk to keep doing the task that they feel intimidated in?  Refuse to hire women for evening work?  Hire an extra person just to provide a sense of security, a person you don't need?  Or lock the bins /rear yard or encourage head office to purchase the through-wall compactors so this becomes a non-issue.

Note, The actual problems that arose were more around the female clerks being verbally harassed (oogled, or what have you) by loitering men under 30.    The solution to this as well was to put a locked fence around the dumpsters and rear door.

fuzzy math

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #183 on: May 04, 2022, 07:10:27 PM »
Bumping this up!

Have made a renewed effort to try to urban forage / food rescue additional groceries in the fuzzy household. Work recently has caused me to be driving home late at night after stores are closed and I've hit the jackpot.

Aldi - 2 stores in town the larger town where I work, one is preferred due to having a side slide opening dumpster where its easier to grab things. Have foraged many tomatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, onions etc. Another Aldi in a remote town has a consistently full dumpster with questionable produce. Their dumpster is in a really out of the way place where I have no qualms about daytime rescue. Anything super gross becomes compost for the chickens.

Natural grocers - this place is amazing! Nearly everything is organic. None of the food is wrapped in plastic or ever placed in garbage bags. It all goes into cardboard banana boxes, which keeps things from suffocating and prolongs their lifespan. The employees seem to trim individual leaves etc off of lettuces when they're soft so there are lots of loose scraps. Found at least 20 bunches of collard greens (excellent food for my kid's lizard), a couple pounds of brussels sprouts, lots more tomatoes, cucumber, celery and bell peppers. By far tomatoes and bell peppers seem to be the items that get a bit weird looking / slightly soft and then get thrown out.

Panera - 3 local restaurants in town, I checked one at night and either they regularly put food out on a cart for people to take (lots of food rescuers locally), or they just forgot to wheel it to the dumpster that night. Filled my compact hatchback with about 70 loaves of bread, 50 bagels and a ton of sliced stuff that they use to make sandwiches from. Also found 8 food service pouches of mac n cheese (it appears they boil or microwave individual servings in the bag). Unfortunately I'm gluten free but the fam is not. Everyone ate bagels for days, bread bowls and sandwiches. About 90% of it went to the local free store where lots of nearly homeless and food insecure people come to get food on the daily. I donate extra eggs from my brood there too.

This week I've eaten mainly free food - made a cucumber/tomato/onion salad, broiled some sweet potato fries, made chili (only added meat and beans), roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup(not free), and salvaged onions.

Tools:
I've been meaning to get a grabber for when I can't reach items.
Also wanting to find our laser gun thermometer to verify whether things are safe or not.
Bring plastic bags or bins, things get soggy. Sometimes a whole bag of tomatoes are thrown out simply because one is crushed.
Exam gloves... bare hands in slime is not my style, and reusable gloves would get gross fast
Produce rinse - I liberally squirt and soak all my produce. Anything too funky goes right to the chicken coop or just gets thrown away.

Stores that suck - Nearly all major chains have large dumpsters with inside the store access and crushers. I do not actually climb inside dumpsters. Walmart, Hyvee, Sams club, target etc. Walmarts also have ones that are smaller but are always padlocked.

fuzzy math

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #184 on: May 28, 2022, 06:48:49 PM »
Another day, another giant banana box full of perfectly good produce. This was about 20% of it, the rest was beet greens and other various loose leafy greens that went straight to the chickens


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« Last Edit: May 28, 2022, 06:50:53 PM by fuzzy math »

Missy B

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #185 on: May 28, 2022, 11:36:51 PM »
Nice! Fun to see your hauls.

Wolfpack Mustachian

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #186 on: May 29, 2022, 05:31:17 AM »
Indeed! Great to hear things are not going to waste.

Shane

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #187 on: May 29, 2022, 06:13:37 AM »
The amount of food that gets wasted in our country is sickening. It's great that dumpster divers are recovering at least some of it.

iris lily

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #188 on: May 29, 2022, 08:21:08 AM »
Fuzzy math, I enjoy reading about your forays into dumpster diving for food. I can see where it’s great for your chickens!

LovinPSDs

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #189 on: June 01, 2022, 09:05:28 AM »
I feel like chickens really are the key to all this!

Eat what you can, if not feed it to the animal that makes food to eat, it's a beautiful thing.

Really is crazy how much waste there is huh?  I mean I'm sure a local farmer (hobbies or not) would LOVE scraps for pigs, chickens, etc.

getsorted

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Re: Dumpster Diving for Groceries
« Reply #190 on: June 01, 2022, 12:11:01 PM »
We have a local organization that collects pallets of food from grocery stores and repackages it in boxes to be distributed to people in need. They supply a huge number of food banks and soup kitchens in the area, as well as putting together food backpacks for students at risk, baskets for seniors, etc. It is an incredible charity with a lot of local support. They have a massive warehouse where volunteers sort through to get rid of bad produce, for example, with what isn't suitable for humans going to pig farmers or a compost facility. They also take in damaged pallets of food that are rejected by distribution centers and stores, overage from farmers, etc. They have made partnerships with local supermarkets so that their weekly pull of less-than-perfect items before restocking goes straight to them. It's the reason my local grocery stores never have anything good in the dumpster!