How do people actually dumpster dive to get free food? Are there any other cheap/free ways like this to get food?

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

electric_nan ,

Search for a "Food not Bombs" group in your area. They can help you out with meals and tips for sourcing free food.

Furbag ,

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.

meekah ,
@meekah@lemmy.world avatar

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.

Furbag ,

There's definitely some variance out there. Some managers care about their employees and have a conscience, which would make them more likely to sympathize with a hungry dude who can't pay. Others are the typical Scrooge McDuck caricature and go out of their way to be cruel to others.

I think generally in my experience chain restaurant managers tend to get promoted from within the company and start at the lowest position, so they have more perspective on what it's like to be at the bottom rung of society and have a bit more empathy for those who have unfortunately sunk even lower than that. Private business managers on the other hand, it depends. Some are guided by their own morality, while others have a chip on their shoulder about how they made it without help and so can everyone else (which is total nonsense, in order for there to be winners in capitalism, there must also necessarily be losers, so not everybody is going to make a success of themselves in that way no matter how much effort they expend).

Buddahriffic ,

If you have a little Caesars near you that does hot n readies, they generally throw out a lot of expired ones. They sit in the warmer for like 30 minutes and then would be moved to the top of the oven until someone brought them out to the dumpster. It was my job at one time, but if anyone asked me for any of the pizzas on the way, I'd give them the full stack if they wanted that much. YMMV. I wasn't supposed to according to the owner but fuck him, he wasn't even in the same town 98% of the time and the closing managers didn't care (one of them even had me bring it out to someone's trunk that they wanted to help out).

I hated that food waste.

WamGams ,

Unfortunately, all the edible food at grocery stores gets taken to the food bank.

Large grocers have Garbage's that are not accessible from the outside, but the only food they throw in there is from the hot bars.

Your best bet is trying at a local health food store, if they have a hot bar or deli counter. Their dump times are between 2-3 and around 7:30-8 (food must be dumped after sitting in hot plates for four hours, assume the hot bar opens at 10 and closes at 7).

Crack0n7uesday ,

I wouldn't trust food in a dumpster, I think the goal of most dumpster divers is to find something of value and sell it. You can try restaurants and stuff when they're closing if food is all your looking for.

guyrocket ,
@guyrocket@kbin.social avatar

Here is a free book about it: https://archive.org/details/the-art-and-science-of-dumpster-diving-paladin-press

Many excellent tips and tricks.

Best wishes.

Nemo ,

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

shani66 ,

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.

retrospectology ,
@retrospectology@lemmy.world avatar

If you're in the US you might want to look into applying for EBT/food stamps at your local social security office if you haven't. It's not a ton of money for food, but it helps in combination with food banks and such. They'll give you a card you can use at grocery stores and such.

As for dumpster diving, back when I was homeless I would dumpster dive sometimes, Aldi was a good source because they do this stupid thing where they package all their produce in cellophane wrap, but they'll do six tomatos to a package or whatever, and when one gets mold or damage they chuck the whole thing. So a lot of times we'd find perfectly good, wrapped produce just hanging out.

Bakeries are also good for day-olds. Though they also often donate their day olds to food banks and soup kitchens and stuff. If so, they might be able to tell you where.

I would just be careful as some store owners will spray bleach or other poisons into their foid dumpster to stop people getting the food. I never saw it myself, and I believe it is illegal, but it was something other homeless folks I ran across talked about.

Sorry that you're struggling to meet your basic needs.

DessertStorms ,
@DessertStorms@kbin.social avatar

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.

DessertStorms ,
@DessertStorms@kbin.social avatar

Just to add, give Approved Food a look, they sell food that is past it's 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/

xmunk ,

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.

lemmefixdat4u ,

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.

Carrolade ,

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.

Apytele ,

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.

willya ,
@willya@lemmyf.uk avatar

Here’s some recipes and methods.

Steve ,

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)

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