Who we are, what we do, and the answers to everything (sort of)

Did you know?
Almost half of the food Americans produce is wasted, before it ever reaches the table. You can read about it here, here and here. It's a drain on our energy, a contributer to the rising cost of food, the overworking of the soil, and the pollution of the air (we burn around 300 million barrels of oil every year, just to get rid of wasted food). Despite all this overproduction of food, 33 million adults and 17.2 million children in the United States live in food insecure households (households that can't regularly afford enough food). We don't think this is right. If we begin to be responsible for the food we produce, we can produce less, and so stop overworking our tired farmlands. If we produce less, we will waste less oil and other resources, cutting back on pollution, and, most importantly for the hungry, reducing the cost of food for the producers, buyers and consumers.

What is a Freegan?
"Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed." (www.freegan.net)

While we can't claim to be quite as hardcore as that description would indicate, we are beginning an adventure in reclaiming some of the wasted food thrown away by stores in our area.

A beautiful dumpster bouquet

What we do: 

Late Sunday night a group of 4-6 people (mostly college students) goes dumpster diving in the Clarksville area. We search through dumpsters overflowing with tossed food, taking only what is still safe and good to eat, and only as much as we think we can give away or use over the following week. While not the cleanest job in the world, we are not simply sifting through bins of peelings and rotten food. Much of what we find is perfectly good, but not saleable for some reason. If a bag of apples has one bruised one in it, often the store will throw away the whole bag. When other food expires, the store is obligated to throw it out, but most food is good for a week beyond the sell by date.

We post a list of what we find on late Sunday night/early Monday morning on this blog. On Monday nights, 5:30-7pm, and during the day through Thursday (if we have anything left), anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to stop by the Church of Christ Student Center, which allows us to store the food in their fridge and freezer, and pick up whatever is marked free (ask someone for help first. Other things are stored in the fridge and freezer which belong to other people). We are located at 524 College Street, at the corner of College and University, across from Austin Peay State University.

Some of the perfectly good food from just one dumpster

What we take:

We take vegetables, fruits and non-perishables all year 'round. During the season when the weather stays at or below freezing, we will take yogurt, cheese and cured meats, as long as they were thrown out the night that we go diving. 

What we will not take:

For safety's sake, we do not take packages that have been opened or contaminated in some way, packages more than a day past their expiration date, raw meat, milk or anything containing mayonnaise or egg products.

Is this safe?

We contest that after all your produce goes through getting to the store, the germs it picks up the dumpster hardly make a difference. All produce should be washed thoroughly, regardless of where it came from. We wash absolutely everything, from produce to packages, in either a white vinegar mixture or bleach. This means that it probably ends up cleaner than the lettuce you toss in the salad bowl after a quick rinse. We never take meat that has been left through a warm day, or that is not cured for preservation (so we take cured bacon, ham and hotdogs, but no sirloin steaks). We only take perishables that have the expiration date clearly marked, so that you can see how old it is and make a judgement call. Most food is fine up to a week past the expiration date. That being said, we dive at our own risk, and you take at your own risk. It is up to you to take the appropriate precautions with whatever food you take, and you assume liability for all risk. Many freegans only take non-animal products from the dumpster, and that is a great way to add an extra measure of safety.

Is this legal? 

Dumpster diving is generally regulated by each city or county, and despite the common perception that it is illegal, is surprisingly legal in many areas. Clarksville has no regulations limiting dumpster diving, other than the normal laws that prevent trespassing and vandalism. We want to be part of a solution, and not create more problems, so we only dive in unlocked, publicly accessible bins. We leave everything as clean or cleaner than we found it, and don't take anything that hasn't clearly been thrown away. Towards this end, we do not disclose our dumpster diving locations publicly, and do not take large amounts of people on dives with us. This brings is to the last topic...

Can I come with you?

Dumpster diving can be fun and exciting (as well as cold, smelly and tiring), so we understand why you might be curious about coming along. So can you come? The answer is probably. In order to limit disruption for the stores that we dive at (noise, accidentally dropping trash, etc), and in order to keep everyone safe, we dive in groups no larger than 6, and preferably limited to about 4. We generally travel in one vehicle, and try to be in and out as quickly as possible, so that no one has to stay up later than they have to. If you're interested in coming on a dive, first come to an open Dive pantry day, get some food, talk to some people, and let us know you want to help out. We'll get your contact info and let you know when we need another diver.  Meanwhile we could really use help sanitizing vegetables and sorting more scrupulously through food on Mondays (sometimes food looks okay in the dark, but needs to be tossed once we see it in the daylight).