From the "Out of Left Field" File
My Dad used to dumpster dive. Still does, although now he calls it metal detecting.
When I was in middle school we owned a sort of farm, with several animals, including goats, sheep, cows, horses, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and ducks. Feeding all of these critters was incredibly expensive so my dad figured out that on the way back from his "real job" he could swing through the back of a grocery store (I think he used to hit the Stock Market that was in Gig Harbor, and I know he was hitting an Albertson's somewhere too) and go through their dumpsters and if he hit it at about the right time, he would catch all the produce they were getting rid of for the day. So all the animals would eat well. In time he started bring back stuff like potato chips that were past their "peak of freshness" and such. We didn't particularly care, it was free food.
I think my folks had some kind of idea that when we moved from University Place to the Key Peninsula they were going to be some sort of pioneer and live off the land. We had a lot of books about "living simply" and raising your own food and stuff like that. Although, if you know my mother, you would know that the idea of her "living simply" is a bit of a joke. She is of the sort that think "camping" involves either an RV or a 4-star hotel. Although I guess dumpster diving is in a way "living off the land." Especially when Albertson's is throwing away perfectly good potato chips.
When I was in middle school we owned a sort of farm, with several animals, including goats, sheep, cows, horses, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and ducks. Feeding all of these critters was incredibly expensive so my dad figured out that on the way back from his "real job" he could swing through the back of a grocery store (I think he used to hit the Stock Market that was in Gig Harbor, and I know he was hitting an Albertson's somewhere too) and go through their dumpsters and if he hit it at about the right time, he would catch all the produce they were getting rid of for the day. So all the animals would eat well. In time he started bring back stuff like potato chips that were past their "peak of freshness" and such. We didn't particularly care, it was free food.
I think my folks had some kind of idea that when we moved from University Place to the Key Peninsula they were going to be some sort of pioneer and live off the land. We had a lot of books about "living simply" and raising your own food and stuff like that. Although, if you know my mother, you would know that the idea of her "living simply" is a bit of a joke. She is of the sort that think "camping" involves either an RV or a 4-star hotel. Although I guess dumpster diving is in a way "living off the land." Especially when Albertson's is throwing away perfectly good potato chips.