DUMPSTER DIVING, SILLY.
My friend Ayzsha started going a few weeks ago. She basically tried poking a garbage bag with her toe at F-Line Bagels by the Smith and 9th Station. She was astounded to discover that several sealed bags full of old bagels were just waiting for her on the curb. She now has a freezer full of bagels, which will definitely go a long way for an EBT-toting Americorps volunteer.
The other night, Ayzsha and I were leaving a work function and decided to hit up my favorite gluten-free bakery. I'm not going to tell you which one it is for the sake of anonymity, but let's just say it's the one that pretty much has the corner on the market with gluten free baked goods in New York (and in my heart). They weren't even closed yet and we found a trash bag full of pastry waste, including cupcakes that had been thrown out- I still have no idea why. They had a little bit of raspberry filling on them, but other than that they have fulfilled my gluten-free food hankerings for the time being.
We were pretty jazzed at that point, so we decided to hit up Trader Joe's. My roommates came along for the adventure too. Unfortunately for us, a lot of "freegans" frequent TJ's. It's so interesting to see the demographics of people that go digging through dumpsters. While there are some who are truly destitute, the majority of people are just thrifty/hipster/intellectual types. We met a guy who was an artist in Brooklyn and not only got most of his food from dumpster diving, but also lived with people in exchange for artistic projects he would create for them. We're talking hard-core freegan.
The problem with Trader Joe's is that the store has started to bring out their trash cans right when the garbage truck arrives, which I'm sure is in anticipation of freeloaders like myself. It was a brutal snubbing. OH! the despair I felt watching perfectly good food being thrown into that trash truck!
Upon the recommendation of the freegan artist, we moved on to a smaller market down the street where I ended up unearthing a trash bag full of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and a recently expired container of sealed cottage cheese. I just ate the cottage cheese for breakfast and I've gotten three sizable salads out of the lettuce. I'm not supposed to eat tomatoes, and Jess treats tomatoes like the bubonic plague, so I've gifted them to Meg.
Now this must be said in case a very important woman in my life reads this blog. Mom, don't worry about me. I'm NOT starving to death.
Here's why I believe in this form of thrift, whether or not I continually practice it in all stages of my life- simply put, it's less wasteful. Sure, it also saves me money and is a means of thumbing one's nose at greedy Capitalism (somewhere in a city called Sammamish, my father is groaning as he reads this). But what matters most to me is that I waste less.
Benjamin Franklin said, "Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich." I want to learn to be more generous and giving, and I see that this is even more possible if I learn how to be frugal with my own habits.
