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| items found. |
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| being washed. |
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| laid out to dry. |
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| our picks: grapefruit, tangelos, limes, green onions, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, peppers ,cheese, yogurt, carton of oj & roses. |
let's talk about dumpster diving.
if jeremiah and i were to make a list of our favorite things to do together, it would definitely be one of them.
were an odd couple.
when winter rolls around, our minds return to happy thoughts of all the goodies we can find in our local grocer's trash.
for some reason, we hadn't thought of diving here in amelia until just the other day.
unfortunately there is no trader joe's nearby (which is the cream of the crop) but food lion works just fine.
after a successful dive, i decided to mark the occasion by doing this post.
most people are skeptical (and disgusted) by the thought of dumpster diving.
rightly so.
i decided i wanted to make a list of "jeremiah & meg's do's & don'ts of dumpster diving" to maybe clarify some misconceptions and thoughts about the whole eating out of a dumpster thing.
1. we only dive in the winter when the temperatures are cold. summer is not the time to dive unless you know the food was just thrown out.
2. we leave the dumpster cleaner than we found it. we think it is inconsiderate and just stupid to make a mess or to vandalize anything when diving. we try to be respectful of what is someone else's property.
3. if we know other people are diving in the area, we take only what we need.
4. we collect fruits, veggies, packaged items and flowers. no meat for us. surprisingly, most dumpsters are somewhat organized...it's not just one giant heap of rotting food. usually, there are individual cardboard boxes full of items. one may be full of veggies or fruits that got tossed that day because they aren't at their peak or one piece of fruit is rotten in the bag. other boxes may have items that are expired or close to their expiration date (i find that they often throw things out a day or two before their expiration).
5. here is my routine for processing what we find:
a) everything is inspected on site and then again when brought home. i definitely do not play around with anything that looks questionable.
b) once it passes inspection, everything is thoroughly washed with hot water (even items that are packaged unless it is cardboard).
c) most vegetables i will peel the outer layer before cooking. fruit is usually good to go because of the rind. packaged items are the same way. for example, jeremiah found boxes of cookies the other night. within the box, each cookie was individually wrapped. they were as good as new.
diving can be a lot of fun and really satisfying.
it's amazing how much is thrown out and wasted.
sometimes it's just shocking.
jeremiah and i are not nasty people or so dirt poor we have to pick through the trash (but it does help with the grocery bill).
dumpster diving is just one more way for us to be resourceful with what would have just ended up rotting in a landfill somewhere.
and just for the record, i have never actually climbed in a dumpster (at least i don't remember).
it's usually the husband who does that job and i just take what he hands me. sometimes i just stay in the car.
and that reminds me...
6. wear appropriate attire. put on some gloves. bring a headlamp or flashlight.
p.s. I am not sure why certain words are highlighted in this post. I am troubleshooting that to see if I can get rid of the links. Please disregard them.
