Dumpster Diving in West Oakland

This is what I found in Oakland dumpsters this morning. Well, this and a croissant which I burned already in the toaster oven.

Today’s grocery run took about an hour and cost me $0, plus I got a workout biking across town. I came home with 3 loaves of artisan bread (sour, sweet, rye) and half a loaf of sliced sourdough; a head of organic lettuce; a bunch of organic sweet baby broccoli; 3 peppers; a half cantaloupe (still shrinkwrapped); a bunch of fresh sage and parsley; and a container of mango-papaya salsa.

This is the second time I’ve gone dumpstering since I got to Oakland. The first time took much longer, as Lex & I had to bike all over town to find the good spots. That time we supplemented our booty with some ground beef from the store. When we got home, the whole house pitched in and we had some kickass burger kabobs (like hamburgers, but on a stick and roasted in the firepit. Inspired by a Christmas ornament, but that’s another story for another day).

Lots of us in this house have worked in food service, which helps when you’re trying to figure out if something could be contaminated. I won’t get into the details of dumpster-diving etiquette, but if you’re interested, you can find a lot of information here, here, and plenty other places besides.

What I can say is that it’s really not that hard, OR as messy as you might think. And if you’ve got the right kind of friends, you can find out about the really excellent secret spots. Before I skip town, I might get myself invited along with some Vulcans who’ve got a very hush-hush treasure trove.

Dumpstering is a good way to survive in the city without having to shop constantly, which is good for my wallet and just a useful skill to have. I’m still buying meat and dairy from the store, and taking my vitamins; if I were planning to stay in Oakland longer, however, I might try to make a real go of the urban-freegan thing.

As it stands, though, I’m headed North in a couple of days. Time to get back to the woods! See you there…

PS – Punks, freaks, and bums aren’t the only ones dumpster diving. Check out this article on Burt’s Bees’ $25,000 trash-unpackin.