A Free Movement

So, I haven't blogged in a while. Been busy feeding my gaming addiction. I've known exactly what I was going to blog about, infact I have a few ideas piling up in my mind. So, it's finally time to get back to the grind.

I'm sure everyone who has ever been outside has seen them, the homeless person digging in the trash. Maybe for hidden treasures, more likely for food. Now imagine yourself digging in the trash, not out of necessity but as part of a new movement. It's called Freeganism and it seems to be gaining popularity. While at it's core it is an anti consumerism movement, I think it could become something more.

So, you may be asking yourself, what is this Freeganism? It sounds like vegan....but has the word free, so it has to be good, right? Because really, when is free ever not good? Well here it is, freegans get food, clothes, gifts, and well anything they find from the trash.

Now I'm not talking about walking through your neighborhood and digging around for scraps or things people tossed. I'm talking about going to a grocery store dumpster and diving. Stores throw away food that is nearing its sell by date. This isn't a eat by this date or else, this is just a little warning to the store that much longer and the food won't be its best quality. Especially if it goes and sits in someones pantry for a week or more. You can get things that are meant to be kept cold. Milk, cheese, I doubt you'll find any eggs intact, but who knows! While dumpster diving be sure you shop just as you would in a store. If a tomato is bruised, you don't want it. If the broccoli you found is brown, you don't want it. If your cheese is warm, you don't want it, same with milk.

Freeganism is more than just food though! Clothes, jewelry....really the list is endless. A woman I worked with in Chico was a big fan of dumpster diving. Especially at the end of the semester at the local college. She would go dumpster diving for her entire wardrobe! And a lot of the things she owned were things she had found. Many college students will throw away anything, especially when time is short and you have to move out of your dorm in a hurry. You can take this on to stores as well. Many treasures are just waiting to be discovered.

If you do decide to take on this sort of an adventure here are a few tips I've gathered from around the internet:

Go out at night or very early morning
Bring thick gloves
Bring a pocket knife
Bring bags to put your treasures in. (I suggest cloth bags)
Wash veggies, fruits and anything not packaged very well before eating
Be respectful, don't leave trash scattered around the area, clean up after yourself.

I would love to hear if any does decide to go out for a dumpster dive. This is a fascinating idea to me and I'd like to hear more personal experiences.