My local food bank can only provide 8 packages with referrals every time before you run out, and I have, but my situation hasn’t improved financially due to various set backs and I’m struggling to feed myself. I’ve heard that supermarkets throw out massive amounts, but have never been in a position where dumpster diving seemed feasible. People who do it, what time of day do you do it and how do you find good spots? UK resident for ref
Talk to a local restaurant if you’ve got any and ask for help - if they’re not an ass they might be able to hook you up with food that’s reasonably safe to eat.
Good dumpster diving usually involves getting it before its in a dumpster.
I had a friend that was very good at it.
Get in and get out. Dont hang around. Don’t hesitate.
He said he thought it was like fishing in that you just didn’t know what you were going to get.
If you don’t have any luck dumpster diving it might be worth checking if any of your local supermarkets (or even bakeries) are using Too Good to Go. They decide how much to put in the package, but a generous place will give you a bunch of food for very little money.
In the UK there is the “Too good to go” app.
I save a lot of money on groceries this way and provide others as well. You pay a third of the original price.
Probably even better for OP if they have no money is the Olio app, where people give away free food (and non-food). It depends on activity in your local area, but in many areas there are people who regularly collect food from supermarkets at the end of the day to give away. I’ve given away portions of meals before when I’ve cooked too much to freeze it all.
There’s a couple of YouTube channels of Dumpster Diving in the Uk
I used to find good stuff behind all kinds of stores. Anywhere that sells food and doesnt have a trash compactor. Gas stations etc for expired packaged food. (USA)
https://archive.org/details/TheArtScienceOfDumpsterDiving
This is the definitive text on the subject.
A lot of restaurants end up throwing out food that would otherwise be perfectly edible.
If you’re a polite and patient individual, you might be able to build up some rapport with the owner or the workers. When my friend was in college, he could barely afford to feed himself most of the time. He was friendly with the cashier at a local fast food place and asked if they could set aside any orders that get sent back (due to being wrong) and give them to him instead of tossing them in the garbage. Not everybody will do this for you, but it’s worth asking. I think generally store employees and managers are sympathetic enough to not care about what happens to product that was destined for the garbage anyway so they typically agree.
I’m sure there are some managers that would do this but in my experience that would be the exception rather than the norm. From what I’ve seen, managers tend to be bootlickers who support the status quo and believe in pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and think handouts make people weak and dependant (newsflash: barely any human is truly self sufficient).
Workers usually don’t give a single shit, though. Unless you get super unlucky and get one of those “by the rules” type.
Jesus. Nobody should ever go hungry. Have you tried asking the manager/owner of the local grocery if you can have food destined for the dumpster? Talk to some of the employees too. While I’m not hard up for food, i got friendly with the folks running the deli section. If I show up when they close the deli, they’ll give me everything left in the hot deli case for the price of one serving, because otherwise they’re going to throw it away.
I’ll second this. I’ve never tried dumpster diving, but I have been an employee that helped out before.
If there is no store policy against it, it’s not much trouble to sort the still-decent stuff into a particular bag, and leave that one bag outside the dumpster instead of throwing it in.
Just go in when its slow, buy something preferably, and while you’re there ask an employee if it’s okay with the store if you do some diving and that you won’t make a mess. If they seem friendly, you can ask when/how would be the best time to do it. Probably works better with a smaller, locally-owned place than a big corporate chain. I’d recommend a small coffeeshop or bakery.
I would start by observing the places around you that serve food. Stop by 30 minutes to an hour before close and see when and where they typically throw things out and what condition the food is still in.
Search for a “Food not Bombs” group in your area. They can help you out with meals and tips for sourcing free food.
fallingfruit.org used to list a few dumpsters that reliably held good food; bakeries especially toss a lot of product at the end of the day
as for tips, check for rat poison first
Some good tips here already (look for another food bank/pantry/church in your area that could help, follow dumpster diving youtube channels for advice), you could also try some of these, or look for similar sites (I’ve only skimmed these, not vouching for the content):
https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/dumster-diving-for-dummies
https://wheeliebinsolutions.co.uk/blogs/advice/a-guide-to-bin-diving
https://www.woodfordrecycling.co.uk/news/skip-diving-junk-hunting-and-freeganism-the-need-to-know/
But more importantly, please have a look at/chat to turn2us, you are almost certainly entitled to some benefits, they will help you figure out which you are entitled to, and there are then benefits advisers in almost every town who can help you through the process if you find it too daunting and/or difficult.
Solidarity.
Just to add, give Approved Food a look, they sell food that is past its best by date, but still good to eat, at much lower prices.
There are also places, I can’t think of what they’re called right now, but it’s basically a communal grocery shop where you take what you need, and pay what you can. Maybe ask your local foodbank if they know of anything like that?
Lastly, when I was looking for an example of that last one, I found this page that might be helpful:
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/food-no-money-food-banks/
Never done it myself, but wouldn’t dive anywhere that serves cooked food, it can go off real quick (and they’re probably trashing the stuff that has already gone off) and could contaminate other stuff or get you sick. If you’re looking for help fuck managers; get to know the lowest rung, we’re usually spiteful to whatever hellhole we’re working at and will gladly give you stuff if we know how to get away with it.
