Codes to Dive By

Geeky Swedes Ballard

With the cost of food going up, one group of Seattleites has figured out how to eat every meal for free. They call themselves “freegans,” more commonly known to outsiders as “dumpster divers.” As one freegan says, “People think that food that goes in the garbage is bad.” They disagree. But it’s not just about sifting through garbage, they also forage for food in urban areas.

Students from the UW Entrepreneurial Journalism class, taught by our partners at the Common Language Project, talk with these freegans who say they “eat like kings” on a daily basis.

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Geeky Swedes

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29 thoughts to “Codes to Dive By”

  7. Most Freegans are losers…  BUT… there is something to be said about stuff big grocers toss. 

    When in HS I worked for Balduccis (fancy whole foodsesque shop back in NY) in their bakery. Come 8 pm, every single item that was baked that day was chucked. Every. Single. Thing. Crossaints, bagels, fresh sourdough loaves and other treats that were 4 hours old were tossed in a bag and dumped in the trash.

    That’s insane when you think about how many people struggle for food.

  10.  I have to grudgingly admit that at least these guys are expending a bit of energy in their scrounging.  Since our population’s “food” problem has now become too much food and too little exercise, maybe they’re not quite so whacked out as it seems at first glance.

  12. I bet the only smell worse than the rotting food in the dumpsters is the smell of smug and BO from your average freegan.

    And, oh:
    Why wasn’t the salad in that photo wasn’t put into the yard waste? Why weren’t the plastic containers recycled? That would save the environment AND prevent hippie freegans from spreading!

  13. I worry about diseases/illnesses via rodents. Once I watched a local bakery discard a large box of bread into the dumpster. Temptation spoke, after the bakery employee left I opened the dumpster and took out a loaf. As I was walking away, I noticed a rat run out of a hole in the back of the dumpster. Needless to say, I immediately returned the loaf.

  18. I’m legitimately curious, Buddy — why do you object so strongly and so often to the use of the word “hipster”?

    I’m with you, in this case, that it’s nondescriptive and irrelevant, not to mention dismissive and tired.  But every time I see the word “hipster” on MyBallard, I know it’s just a matter of minutes before you chime in.  Why do you care so much?

  19. I’m an avenger for articulate thought, a defender of definitions, a slayer of sloppy slang…

    …and I’m a troll.  What can I say, other than “I like to argue?”

  25. My issue with this behavior is that it takes away food/items from people
    who REALLY do need it (homeless). There are real survivors on the
    street who need the scraps and now they’ve got competition from folks
    who are better off just trying to live on the cheap. 

  29. This is Hilarious. Although there is nothing funny about going hungry, or the fact that we as a city/country throw away tons of good food, I say if you can get past the fact it was once in the trash,…eat up !! Maybe there will be a cookbook available soon for those reluctant folks out there who don’t wanna get their clothes dirty,but like to indulge in deliciousness of all varieties.   R. Winston

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