Still Waters Posted May 2, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 2, 2013 As the saying goes - waste not, want not. But Kelly Athena's obsession with scavenging for all of her food in bins and skips is driving her husband to the point of distraction. For the past four years, Mrs Athena, from Phoenix, Arizona, has been 'dumpster diving' to find ingredients for all of her meals. http://www.dailymail...amily-BINS.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted May 2, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Not really new, when I was young we used to call those clochards or hobos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules99 Posted May 2, 2013 #3 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Her husband doesnt want to know about it Seriously though, the 1st time she or her kids get sick from food poisoning..... She would have to be very careful, but 4 years assumed incident free seems OK, personally Ive suffered more often from off the shelf food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted May 2, 2013 #4 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Her husband doesnt want to know about it Seriously though, the 1st time she or her kids get sick from food poisoning..... She would have to be very careful, but 4 years assumed incident free seems OK, personally Ive suffered more often from off the shelf food. The dirty little secret is that most food is good way past the expiration date on the package, the companies just don't want to risk getting sued. And every package that is near or over ends in a dumpster at the supermarket. If you happen to know the most inept supermarket manager in the county chances are good you never would have to pay for your food again. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted May 2, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 2, 2013 This isn't the first time I've heard of people doing this. I wouldn't do it, be too afraid some hobo relieved himself on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted May 2, 2013 #6 Share Posted May 2, 2013 (edited) She learned about the practice - which sees people pick through commercial bins outside shops, restaurants and supermarkets, for out of date food - in a documentary. Since then she's salvaged close of $125,000 worth of food from bins, even serving a meal made from supermarket spoils to friends at a dinner party. Her husband, who refused to be named or have his face shown on TV, said he is embarrassed by her actions. As pointed out by questionmark, a lot of the food thrown out is still ok. I do not see why they do not give it to the homeless on the understanding that it is out of date and they can not be sued as who ever takes it will do so at their own risk? It is the H&S laws and the greedy lawyers who are letting all this food go to waste when it could feed many in hardship. As for the husband, although embarrassed by her actions, it did not stop him eating it. Edited May 2, 2013 by freetoroam 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Serenity Posted May 2, 2013 #7 Share Posted May 2, 2013 No thank you. Yuck. Dx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted May 2, 2013 #8 Share Posted May 2, 2013 A lot of ordinary people do this,it got so bad that the Supermarkets put a guard on the bins after disposing of Bread and other such short shelf life items.In fact if you go to a Waitrose store 15 mins before closing you can get bread for 10p a loaf,which has been baked that morning and been selling for £1.40 all day,and is binned after the store closes,so I'm told by the person working there who bins it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_dreamer Posted May 2, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Grocery prices keep rising here but I'm still not quite ready to try this myself. Maybe people who work at the store have the insider information on what is OK to eat from the trash bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted May 2, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted May 2, 2013 The expiry date shown on some food is supposed to be a farce. I'm sure I read somewhere that they're planning to abolish these dates on packaging to try and cut down on the amount of wasted/thrown out food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer95446 Posted May 2, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Around here, grocery store dumpsters have locks on them, to keep the hungry homeless people out of them. Bakeries throw away all of the bread and donuts. that are left at the end of the day!!! I had worked in one, and had asked the manager, why couldn't we put these "left over" bread and donuts in a box, outside for the homeless. I was told, because they're not going to give away free food, if they can't sell it, then, it goes in the trash.(this was 20 years ago)!! IMO, instead of throwing it out, give it to homeless, hungry people!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplos Posted May 3, 2013 #12 Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) I've done this before. It's not gross at all, really. I've never come across rotted or spoiled food in the dumpster. Grocery stores don't keep food around till it spoils on the shelves and then throw it out. They throw it out before it goes bad. Isn't that stupid? Like freetoroam and archer said... why not let people eat it? There are hungry people everywhere, and even more people who would be thrilled to get a can of soup with a torn label to eat, or whatever, at a discount. I had a great haul once of generic soda cans that came in cases. Were they spoiled? Of course not. Why were they thrown out then? One can had ruptured and soaked the cardboard on 4 cases of soda. They chucked them all in the bin. 95 free cans of soda with nothing wrong with them at all that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. Good for this woman for being thrifty and environmentally conscious. Maybe not the best idea to tell the news about it... but hey, whatever. lol Edited May 3, 2013 by Purplos 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightly Posted May 3, 2013 #13 Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) I can see why the stores wouldn't want herds of hungry people around their 'trash' bins... so.. uh, would it be too much effort to load it into trucks (instead of the bins) which could then take it to shelters and food banks etc. ??? * probly against the law to even GIVE it away after the expiration date huh? Edited May 3, 2013 by lightly 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xYlvax Posted May 3, 2013 #14 Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) Reminds me of when I worked for Little Caesars pizza.. (cheap bake for a low price). I tried to give it a fair go, and only really lasted for a few months. I didn't care for the gossipers that told me how I "worked slow" when they were too busy talking to notice anything at all. I got more done than 3 of them! Anyhow.. I tended to get upset at how many pizzas they threw away.. Some of them fresh out of the oven! They threw the pizzas away after 30 min. "because they're not fresh anymore", even though they are kept in warming drawers. If someone as so placed a bit of wrong bit of topping on the pizza, it was thrown away. They were also thrown away if the pepperoni wasn't placed properly. -scoff- I can't eat pepperoni after having this job..It makes me want to vomit. I can't believe all the food they wasted in one night alone. It would've fed all the homeless in this town; It probably does, but they aren't allowed to eat with dignity and the belief that some may care for them. Edited May 3, 2013 by AliveInDeath7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted May 3, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I can see why the stores wouldn't want herds of hungry people around their 'trash' bins... so.. uh, would it be too much effort to load it into trucks (instead of the bins) which could then take it to shelters and food banks etc. ??? * probly against the law to even GIVE it away after the expiration date huh? Doubt there is a law against it as in the Armed Forces Commissaries expired products are still sold after a food safety inspection of them, and at a reduced- price. And yes, in several countries that is exactly what supermarkets do, instead of throwing the stuff about to go out of date, or the produce that is unsellable the next day, into the trash bin, they donate it to a soup kitchen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 3, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 3, 2013 And yes, in several countries that is exactly what supermarkets do, instead of throwing the stuff about to go out of date, or the produce that is unsellable the next day, into the trash bin, they donate it to a soup kitchen. It doesn't really have anything to do with countries. Chain stores or restaurants have policies and procedures they have to adhere to. Individually owned places will often donate or give away expired food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted May 3, 2013 #17 Share Posted May 3, 2013 It doesn't really have anything to do with countries. Chain stores or restaurants have policies and procedures they have to adhere to. Individually owned places will often donate or give away expired food. The chain stores and restaurants have policies which are set out by the countries laws, we in England have many food laws set out by the EU, so even if someone wants to have its own policies, they can`t unless it is within the laws given. I hope individually owned places do donate or give food away, but here it would be illegal and the individual owner could get done for giving away food with out of date sell by dates on them. The law is not on the side of those who wish to help the needy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 3, 2013 #18 Share Posted May 3, 2013 "With the exception of infant formula, the laws that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers do not preclude the sale of food that is past the expiration date indicated on the label. FDA does not require food firms to place "expired by", "use by" or "best before" dates on food products. This information is entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer." This is from the FDA website. We have budget stores that buy nearly expired food from larger supermarket chains and sell it at discount prices. Some of it, like canned goods, is good for years after the expiration date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted May 3, 2013 #19 Share Posted May 3, 2013 "With the exception of infant formula, the laws that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers do not preclude the sale of food that is past the expiration date indicated on the label. FDA does not require food firms to place "expired by", "use by" or "best before" dates on food products. This information is entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer." This is from the FDA website. We have budget stores that buy nearly expired food from larger supermarket chains and sell it at discount prices. Some of it, like canned goods, is good for years after the expiration date. This is a U.S article, slightly different here. Here is a link to how it works, too long to copy and paste. http://www.charitybags.org.uk/date-labelling-of-food-and-drink.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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