My local food bank can only provide 8 packages with referrals every time before you run out, and I have, but my situation hasn’t improved financially due to various set backs and I’m struggling to feed myself. I’ve heard that supermarkets throw out massive amounts, but have never been in a position where dumpster diving seemed feasible. People who do it, what time of day do you do it and how do you find good spots? UK resident for ref
I’ve heard food banks and some eastern religion temples like Buddhist and Sikh temples will serve free food for the needy.
Unfortunately I have neither anywhere near me, and no car to travel, but good to know. I was reliant on my food bank for a while but the COL crisis means they limit the amount of aid each person can claim which sucks
In the UK there is the “Too good to go” app.
I save a lot of money on groceries this way and provide others as well. You pay a third of the original price.
Probably even better for OP if they have no money is the Olio app, where people give away free food (and non-food). It depends on activity in your local area, but in many areas there are people who regularly collect food from supermarkets at the end of the day to give away. I’ve given away portions of meals before when I’ve cooked too much to freeze it all.
This app is also in the us
I hate to refer you back there, but there’s a dumpster diving subreddit.
And I don’t know what the schedule in the UK is, but here in the States, people are moving out of their dorms for the summer. If the schedule is the same and you can get over to your local university or college or whatever, you may be able to score not just food, but other things that people just don’t have the energy/ability to drag home.
A friend of mine used to offer end-of-termers $10 for their mini-fridges, clean them up in his shed over the summer, then sell them to next year’s freshers for $40-50. Even if you don’t have a car, you might find some small stuff you can clean up and resell.
If you have a little Caesars near you that does hot n readies, they generally throw out a lot of expired ones. They sit in the warmer for like 30 minutes and then would be moved to the top of the oven until someone brought them out to the dumpster. It was my job at one time, but if anyone asked me for any of the pizzas on the way, I’d give them the full stack if they wanted that much. YMMV. I wasn’t supposed to according to the owner but fuck him, he wasn’t even in the same town 98% of the time and the closing managers didn’t care (one of them even had me bring it out to someone’s trunk that they wanted to help out).
I hated that food waste.
If you don’t have any luck dumpster diving it might be worth checking if any of your local supermarkets (or even bakeries) are using Too Good to Go. They decide how much to put in the package, but a generous place will give you a bunch of food for very little money.
Here is a free book about it: https://archive.org/details/the-art-and-science-of-dumpster-diving-paladin-press
Many excellent tips and tricks.
Best wishes.
https://archive.org/details/TheArtScienceOfDumpsterDiving
This is the definitive text on the subject.
Some good tips here already (look for another food bank/pantry/church in your area that could help, follow dumpster diving youtube channels for advice), you could also try some of these, or look for similar sites (I’ve only skimmed these, not vouching for the content):
https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/dumster-diving-for-dummies
https://wheeliebinsolutions.co.uk/blogs/advice/a-guide-to-bin-diving
https://www.woodfordrecycling.co.uk/news/skip-diving-junk-hunting-and-freeganism-the-need-to-know/
But more importantly, please have a look at/chat to turn2us, you are almost certainly entitled to some benefits, they will help you figure out which you are entitled to, and there are then benefits advisers in almost every town who can help you through the process if you find it too daunting and/or difficult.
Solidarity.
Just to add, give Approved Food a look, they sell food that is past it’s best by date, but still good to eat, at much lower prices.
There are also places, I can’t think of what they’re called right now, but it’s basically a communal grocery shop where you take what you need, and pay what you can. Maybe ask your local foodbank if they know of anything like that?
Lastly, when I was looking for an example of that last one, I found this page that might be helpful:
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/food-no-money-food-banks/
fallingfruit.org used to list a few dumpsters that reliably held good food; bakeries especially toss a lot of product at the end of the day
as for tips, check for rat poison first
Check local churches which will sometimes run food pantries
I would start by observing the places around you that serve food. Stop by 30 minutes to an hour before close and see when and where they typically throw things out and what condition the food is still in.
A lot of restaurants end up throwing out food that would otherwise be perfectly edible.
If you’re a polite and patient individual, you might be able to build up some rapport with the owner or the workers. When my friend was in college, he could barely afford to feed himself most of the time. He was friendly with the cashier at a local fast food place and asked if they could set aside any orders that get sent back (due to being wrong) and give them to him instead of tossing them in the garbage. Not everybody will do this for you, but it’s worth asking. I think generally store employees and managers are sympathetic enough to not care about what happens to product that was destined for the garbage anyway so they typically agree.
I had a friend that was very good at it.
Get in and get out. Dont hang around. Don’t hesitate.
He said he thought it was like fishing in that you just didn’t know what you were going to get.
I’ve rarely done it myself but my roommate did often and she got lots of things. Fancier grocery stores are usually the best. Depending on the neighborhood they can be locked though. Wealthier areas will have fewer people scrounging so more likely to be unlocked.
If you are a novice, start with non-perishable goods. Perishable goods can sometimes be fine too but requires more judgement.
That said, I have to believe that there must be more services available to you somewhere. Is there some office in your local government that can provide advice?
Talk to a local restaurant if you’ve got any and ask for help - if they’re not an ass they might be able to hook you up with food that’s reasonably safe to eat.
Good dumpster diving usually involves getting it before its in a dumpster.
