So, if you were to become unemployed and start to get low on money, what are your options? There is a soup kitchen, usually run by a church or homeless shelter. At a soup kitchen, the food is already prepared. There is a food bank, where you get free food that you prepare yourself. There is a garden, although that usually requires a good bit of forward planning and preparation.

And then there is dumpster diving. You go out behind a grocery store or restaurant and look for food in the dumpster. The advantage: America throws away something like $100 billion in food every year, so there is plenty to find. The disadvantage is the stigma. But for some, the stigma of a food bank or soup kitchen feels worse, so it depends.

How do you dumpster dive, and what are you likely to find if you try it? Here is an introduction:

The following video claims: “Watch us offload a slightly above average 400 dollar load of groceries without bothering to walk down the isles or wait in line at the cash register.” You can skip the first 2 minutes if you like:

Another perspective:

Dumpster diving has been formalized by a group of people who call themselves Freegans:

The previous video contains an interesting quote: “These Freegans work odd jobs to pay their $300/month rent at their co-op and find all they need to survive in the trash. They reduce their carbon footprint, use and reuse items that would be wasted and many live communally.” So, if you are living on $300/month and everything else is free, then it is costing $3,600 per year to survive.

See also: Freegan Way Of Life (CBS News)

Sometimes dumpster diving doesn’t involve food. Here, for example it involves building supplies:

See also:
- Need a new hobby? Need extra income? Want to be the ultimate locavore? Consider urban farming
- 10 Must-have Pantry Staples
- How Freegans Work

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