A FREE SUPPER ON OFFER IF YOU HELP YOURSELF TO “FOOD WASTE” The public, the authorities and industry all hark on about the huge amount of food we waste but not enough seems to be really changing. A third of all we produce just does not get eaten and it amazes me the questions I get asked about expiry dates or if something looks yucky is it still edible. I am horrified when I see some domestic bins and all the good food disposed of. Some canny campaigners have now realized there is a self service, no charge supply of good food out there and they happily pop out a couple of nights or early mornings a week to stock up on their provisions thereby saving hundreds of Euros a month that would have otherwise gone to the big stores. They call it dumpster diving and a lot of participants who really feel strong about this are joining the ranks. Also these are not hard up individuals but working people who feel it really is immoral that supermarkets will throw out perfectly good stock when a carton gets damaged, a tin is squashed, bananas have gone a bit spotty or its not today’s bread today. As you should know bread does not go off in a day and bananas are perfectly edible if spotty. The problem is us, we want all our food to look perfect and the shops want us to see it that way and not to have any empty shelves, heaven forbid. I was listening to one of them speak about their passion lately and she said it really has gone global now. She only ever has to buy milk but even that is sometimes found in the big wheelie bins at the back of shops on the use by date when it is still good for a day or two. Milk does not go suddenly go off at midnight. Once bins are not locked you are not doing anything illegal, just leave it closed again afterwards, help yourself to what you fancy, don’t dump any packaging on the roadside and you will soon find something to feed yourself. There will be no vermin as these bins, if closed tightly will be pest proof. Also you should be getting there as close to closing time so you beat any animals to the food even if they are overloaded and the food is ripped open. I decided to have a look late at night at a couple of shops near me and yes when I had a root around inside there was a good trolley full of food worth about fifty Euros I reckon and yes I did take some of it as my own passion for this issue raged up when I saw firsthand how good and safe the stuff actually was and where is was heading if left behind. If you were to tell someone you do this regularly though people are appalled as the campaigner I heard speak had revealed. So that stigma must be quashed to start with. Now there are apps and systems in place like Food Cloud and Olio to offload this excess food to charities etc. But it is not near enough and kudos to Tesco Ireland who are trailblazing even more with it now. It must be made illegal in the first place. We just cannot have retailers dispose of this food that takes up so much of our planet’s resources and time to produce, then willfully chuck away as if it did not matter. It does matter and this is why people are willing to forage in the so called garbage, which it really isn’t, in order to save it and put it to good use. So get your gloves on, bring a torch and shopping bag and see for yourself. #climatechange #tescoireland #olio #foodcloud #dumpsterdiving #foodwaste #helpyourself
