Journal 5

Dive: Living off America’s Waste

            I first heard about dumpster diving about 8 years ago on a news story, I believe it was 20/20. At the time that I saw the documentary, I thought that it was something really gross and I did not pay close attention to the segment. When I think about digging in a dumpster for food, I envision homeless or destitute individuals, not middle class people. What really amazed me in this documentary is the amount of eatable food that is wasted from grocery stores. I was further surprised when none of the grocery corporations would talk on or off camera about the amount of food that their stores just throw away. There are at least one or more soup kitchens in most cities that would appreciate receiving this discarded food to help feed the needy. This fact was proven in the documentary when Jeremy Seifert made arrangements to collect and donate the food that was to be disposed of during the holidays. This prevented the food being thrown into a dumpster and the shelter was very appreciative of having extra food to provide the needy. I do not know why there is not some type of support system in place where soon to perish food is not donated to a homeless shelter. This brings a question to mind, “How often do grocery stores dispose of eatable food?”