How-to Brooklyn
by The EditorsPage 24 of 27
How to Freegan
1. Repeat this mantra until you have fully internalized it: "Just because something's in the trash doesn't mean that it is bad, dirty, or going to make me sick." If you can't believe it, try this—take a clean garbage bag, throw some of the unopened food from your fridge into it, and put it out on the street. Now, pick it up and take it back inside. Is it still good? Would you still eat it?
2. Assemble your tools. You'll need bags (totebags or Ikea bags are best) and gloves (I like inexpensive cotton gardening gloves: they protect your hands and can be washed along with the bags in case of spillage). Sensible shoes and machine-washable outerwear are useful; a wheeled shopping cart or a bicycle can be great for moving a bunch of stuff.
3. Choose your target(s). Where do you shop? Where do you wish you could shop? Are you prepared to deal with dumpsters (tall, unwieldy) or are garbage bags easier for you? Remember, anywhere that sells food also throws it out. Think drugstores, prepared-food shops, bakeries.
4. Take a friend for moral support, and to share the spoils. You will find a lot of the same thing: 40 yogurts, or 25 pounds of potatoes. Unless you're into eating the same thing for weeks, it's nice to share. If nobody will go with you, take some food to someone who needs it.
5. Pass on the energy and money you've saved by getting food for free. Donate money, or the time it would have taken you to make that money, to a worthy organization. Use it to pursue your own life-enhancing projects. Or just dive for others, either under the auspices of Food Not Bombs, or on your own.
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