This Meal Was Garbage

If you were to look for me shortly after midnight last Saturday, you would have found me boot-deep in loaves of bread, fishing through produce boxes and expired lettuce with a headlamp.  After mining through a cavernous trash compacter at a local grocery, I found a weeks worth of fresh produce, including remarkably intact greens, tomatoes, peppers, apples, strawberries, basil and the aforementioned bread.  It was my first go at dumpster-diving, and though I worried for feelings of fear or shame, it was a surprisingly meditative activity, even empowering.

After the relative ease of the first few weeks of this challenge, I wanted to shake things up a little, so I had a friend over for dinner.  From my dumpster bounty I made a deep dish of enchiladas and a green salad with croutons.  We ate well.  Furthermore, not only was the food in good condition in the dumpster, it still looks healthy almost a week later in my fridge.

I’m not sure by what criteria this food was evaluated as spoilage, but I’m fairly confident little thought was given to its disposal.  Having overspent my budget this week by a few bucks, I’ll be returning to see what the compacter might have in store for me soon.  Maybe I’ll be able to spare a bit more sustenance from the landfill.


-S