Any tips on Dump Diving? (discarded food from M&S & other supermarkets)?

Question

This is big in the US and maybe London. Participators are known as Freegans and many are students or people on low incomes. The understanding is that they don't take more than they can carry and they leave everything tidy. (I think it's criminal the amount of perfectyly good food the supermarkets throw out.)

Answer 1

i strongly support this feegan movement.

and i hope u dont mind me and others to repost this in a different language (not english) so that we can do out bit to reeducate ppl that its ok and not against the law...

ive been astudent b4 and knows what hunger is...........

the homeless needs food and plenty leftovers and due date foods are discarded.

lynn, pls repost this question again when it is done so that newcomers will be reminded.

the mountains of trash all over the world still has its uses (especially food)

Answer 2

Where I used to work, I regularly had to cut up clothes and shoes that were perfectly serviceable. Even if they only had a small mark on, they would go in the bin. It was the same with food- if they couldn't sell it cheap to staff at the end of the day it would go in the bin. We campaigned for them to give it away to needy people but to no avail. Our dumpsters were regularly raided for food but the management would threaten to call the police. Why couldn't they just turn a blind eye?

I think it's criminal that these giants in retail are allowed to get away with such wasteful behaviour when they could be helping people who really need these clothes and food.
And surely it would be far better to do this than to send it all to landfill??

Answer 3

Depends where you are - ive been given skip food before when i was really on my rse, someone turned up with a whole sack full! Lots of supermarkets lock their skips away these days - i asked a woman in m&s if i could buy the sandwiches she was about to throw away but she couldnt sell them to me they had to go in the skip coz it was the sell by date - their skip was behind razor wired spikey fencing with a lockable lid! One supermarket near here pours bleach and other unpleasant things on their skip to stop people from eating out of them! and the local homeless centre has tried to negotiate with the local supermarkets for left overs but have repeatedly been refused. Its disgraceful that food is thrown away, i think it should be marked to prevent return under false pretences and should be placed for people to help themselves to or given away to local charitable groups that feed people. I understand in big cities there are some supermarkets do already do this, but they certainly dont round here in somerset!

Answer 4

I had never heard of that before. Sounds like there is a risk of making yourself ill with gone-off food.
You know Pret a Manger give their left overs to the homeless?
Also, I used to work for a well known high street department store, and they used to destroy their old unsold clothes before throwing them into the skip. Shirts cut up, bottoms ripped out of shoes, just to stop people getting them for free. I thought it was obscene.

Answer 5

I used to work for a well known retail store and we had to regularly destroy perfectly good stuff it was a crime (not food) I think its a really good idea for stores to give out food as long as its not spoiled or really out of date

Answer 6

go behind outlet stores they throw away many items. We found 25 new suit cases that ehy threw out just because they didnt have room for there new shipment

Answer 7

wear a mask and goggles before diving in

Answer 8

Urban foraging, good going.

Answer 9

its illegal...dont do this...buy peanut butter...try aldis theyre cheap