I have a confession to make.

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24

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  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Friend of mine started a non profit where she organizes and furnishes apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness in our city. One of the people on the board drives 5 to 6 nights a week to predetermined businesses. A staff member from those businesses loads up "the hope" truck with food that is otherwise discarded just as you describe. Each person or family transitioning has been clean of drugs, sober and has committed to remaining so and to working to afford being on their own and no longer requiring major government assistance. The food is offered and distributed each day to these families at the beginning of their transition. My friend says the same as the OP that the food is perfectly good but cannot be donated directly because of fear of being sued. So instead, this is all done in a hush hush way.
  • _Timmeh_
    _Timmeh_ Posts: 2,096 Member
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    I just threw up in my mouth a little.
  • madamepsychosis
    madamepsychosis Posts: 472 Member
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    A guy my friend was seeing was a freegan, but he wasn't cautious and once got terrible stomach cramps for days from some dodgy food. I think as long as you're careful (as you are), it's fine. I can't stand waste. I grew up poor and even when people throw half their dinner in the bin instead of in some tupperware for another day, I get pretty antsy about it.
  • Sumo813
    Sumo813 Posts: 566 Member
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    Actually saw something on food network where they weren't allowed to prepare meals with "fresh" foods... and they had a guy who is a professional dumpster diver in NYC... it is absolutely sad and maddening to see what gets thrown out nightly. My mom taught me to never throw things away if at all possible. The professional said it's his dream to one day be able to walk down the street and not see anything tossed out and wasted.
  • Jazzmagic
    Jazzmagic Posts: 91 Member
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    My bf and I called in at Greggs onces just as they were closing and the guy in there was throwing all the baguettes, sandwiches, etc.. into a black bin liner, there was literally a bag full! We asked what they were doing with it and he said it would go in the rubbish out back. When asked why they didnt give it to charity/homeless, they told us they weren't aloud. HOW RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!! Makes me so angry! People are starving and we are just throwing away perfectly good food! AAAARRRGGHHH!
  • bdwier
    bdwier Posts: 13
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    They had a show on Food Network where the celebrity chefs had to make a banquet with food that was going to be thrown away... They had a guy at the kitchen to make sure none of the food was spoiled, but it was such a great idea and it showed how much food is wasted on a daily basis. It also showcased how great meals can be made out of "garbage" food :)
  • Capt_Chev
    Capt_Chev Posts: 93 Member
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    I think its great and inspiring, anything done to help reduce the amount of waste we accumulate as a society is awesome!
  • jazzie2421
    jazzie2421 Posts: 45
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    I wish more restaurants would just place good food seperately from the actual garbage so that homeless people, or people less fortunate - or even stray animals - can safely consume it. I don't have the stomach to do it, but I have picked up stuff from dumpsters/by the side of the road that I have used, and placed stuff at the side of the road (including putting a bunch of clothes I no longer needed/wanted in my driveway with a big "free" sign next to it. About an hour later it was gone. :)
  • allegedglobalconspiracy
    allegedglobalconspiracy Posts: 65 Member
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    Yep that rocks! I hate waste. Added to friend list immediately! :):glasses:
  • pinkhu13
    pinkhu13 Posts: 133
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    If I was in the same boat to be able to do this I would. Call me el cheapo but I'd definately do that. No shame!
  • Faseret
    Faseret Posts: 20
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    I used to work at a Starbuck's where they also tossed perfectly fine food. It would drive me mad that they said they couldn't donate it because of "liability" issues. A co-worker of mine used to take it home with him and leave them by the dumpsters in his downtown neighbourhood where he regularly saw homeless people.

    I think what you're doing is awesome. If everyone did it, or at least took it to a shelter, there would be so much less waste in the world!
  • Sumo813
    Sumo813 Posts: 566 Member
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    I started double bagging the bread in massive clear garbage bags and leaving them outside our store at the end of the night, and sure enough every morning when I returned the whole bag would be gone. Heck, I would have brought it home myself, but figured they'd probably appreciate it a lot more than I would.

    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

    THIS!!! More people and places should be like this.

    One of the Publix stores in the part of town I grew up in will donate all of their "out-of-date" baked goods to a church right down the road that my mom would go to. Man... I loved the cheese bread and the garlic bread she would bring home when she went (it actually had cloves of garlic baked in... amazing when sliced thin and toasted up with butter!)
  • dont_u_mean_carrots
    dont_u_mean_carrots Posts: 58
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    I've never grabbed food but we would jump into dumpsters behind computer stores and electronic shops and pull out a great deal of usable parts and pieces. Could put together a couple working computers every night we went out and sell them to class mates.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    I used to work at a bakery that sold primarily specialty loaves of bread. Each night we were to take count of how many of what kind was left, presumably to give the bakers some idea of what bread is selling most and how to adjust quantities accordingly. I am not sure if they just weren't good at figuring how much to make, or if they always purposfully made too much just in case, but we always had a ton leftover.

    Our boss always had us pick maybe 6 loaves to put out the next day in the "day old bread" section, but other than that they all got tossed out (aside from the loaf or two I would take home each night, we could eat whatever we wanted). On an ordinary night we would throw out 2-3 garbage bags full of bread, and on the night before Thanksgiving we threw out 8!! That's insane to me. I once had a customer ask me what we do with leftover bread, and I did as my manager had told me, I told him we donated it to a soup kitchen but we didn't. I heard my boss didn't donate it because he would have to transport it himself. I don't know much about soup kitchens, but I find that hard to believe a kitchen would turn down an average of 21 garbage bags full of bread a week because they don't want to come get it.

    I think my boss was just a lazy jerk that didn't care. I worked there for two months and he bounced every single one of my paychecks and about a year after I quit they went out of business. I don't care how busy I am, if I were a business owner and if it's true a soup kitchen wouldn't come get it, I would take it there myself. Maybe not everyday or week, but there is no way I would stand to see all that perfectly good food go to waste when there are hungry people that would gladly take it.
  • theginnyray
    theginnyray Posts: 208 Member
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    That is awesome! I hate seeing food go to waste, especially with so many hungry bodies. I'm glad even a small amount of wasted food is being put to good use.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    My initial gut reaction is to be grossed out, but honestly, I've worked in restaurants and watched the perfectly good food being thrown out. I wish there were less liability issues and more ways to help this wasted food make it to people that can use it. The whole system is frucked, really, and that's really sad.
  • rbeatty63
    rbeatty63 Posts: 132
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    Many large cities, Washington DC to name but one, have programs that co-operate with many restaurants to co-ordinate the daily left overs and get them to the area shelters. I think every town could benefit from that kind of graciousness. On the note that each of us waste over half of what we prepare or buy, as the cook in our home I have been making a real effort to prepare only as much as we will eat in one or two sittings. I grew up in a very large southern family where there were always visitors dropping in at odd hours; it is/was de rigueur to invite them to partake of the meal. So we always made enough to share, but now it is just me and my parents at home on a regular basis and since my parents are in their 80's and I am watching what I eat these days, we don't consume as much in any given meal as we used to do. It is a real challenge to cook well in tiny amounts! LOL Thank you for a thought-provoking post!
  • kayleen_longworth
    kayleen_longworth Posts: 147 Member
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    If you can trust that its safe to eat, and bagged properly so that it is safe, go for it!
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    When I worked in a deli for two years, we threw out a TON of food at the end of the day, simply because regulations required it. Chicken, bread, salads, sandwiches, vegetables, etc. It all had to go, and it was such a waste! Now, I never dug it out of the trash, but if I knew it was going to be thrown out, I would just take it home. Which was perfect, since I was in college, living alone, and working part-time just to make ends meet. That "trash" kept me going for a few semesters, haha.
  • Nerple
    Nerple Posts: 1,291 Member
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    Yeah, I am glad I wasn't eating lunch yet when I read this...

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