Mary Hunt Just Ticked Me Off!

**nancycg56** · 09-13-2007, 06:28 PM

Hmmm....the comment section has been closed. Does it always close after 60 comments?

**Geoff** · 09-13-2007, 07:39 PM

Well, what can I add to all this? Nada is right on this one, IMO.

It's not about picking the maggots out of rotten carcasses, although some on that board seemed to reduce the food scavengers, or freegans, to that level.

A lot of good food gets squandered because it is "out of code" and the law says it can't be sold. Stores and restaurants won't donate it because, in our litigious society, they are afraid of being sued if a consumer gets dispeptic.

What a sorry shame.

The thing that bothered me most was a comment at that forum about the biblical admonition about being good stewards. Did that poster really mean to suggest that discarding edible food is a form of good stewardship, and recovering that food is not? Boy, I got lost on that turn ...

I worked in a convenience store for a couple of years (a long time ago) and I lived on the expired, or "out of code" sandwiches. I'll tell ya, I ain't ashamed.

I wish we lived in a rational world of good and responsible stewardship where expired food items could be distributed to those who could use them, instead of being tossed in with the garbage, in dumpsters that have to be locked to keep out those who are in need.

Good greif ... A big THANK YOU FOR NUTHIN' goes out to our affluent lawmakers and the Trial Lawyers Association on this one! They made this situation possible.

Nada, you are dead on the money on this issue.

**Lyn5** · 09-13-2007, 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by Naderbug

Whew, just went back to check up on that board -- it's gettin' hot in there! There's a lot of snappin' and harassin'. And Sara pointed out to me last night -- Mary's original blog title was "Freegans... or Freaks?!". It's since changed to "Freegans.... or Freakish?!!!" *shakes head*

Sorry, Mary, but I think I'll stick with Amy D.'s works -- she actually looked at the ideas from both sides without judgement before she started throwing her opinion everywhere.

I agree. I have read some of Mary's work...but in the end she seemed to copy ideas from others...and now she seems more apt to sell herself and her products than truely helping people (like changing from Cheapskate to DebtProof?). I like TWG much better...she gives ideas on what her and other families do and challenges the reader to decide for themselves what is right for their family...not judging other peoples needs/choices. In fact, I thought Amy had a great article on dumpster diving in her collection.

**mikandmari** · 09-13-2007, 08:46 PM

" I wish we lived in a rational world of good and responsible stewardship where expired food items could be distributed to those who could use them, instead of being tossed in with the garbage, in dumpsters that have to be locked to keep out those who are in need. "

When reading about this practice, I got the impression that some stores intentionally made the trash bags accessible to these people, then turned a blind eye. I remember working in the food industry years ago. We hated throwing away perfectly good food, but had no choice.

**baxjul** · 09-13-2007, 09:01 PM

The comments were opened earlier, I think that she closed them.

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 09-13-2007, 10:59 PM

I agree with you! This is NUTS. As for the "bad" food, how many people get sick from "good" hamburger crawling with e.coli? How many people get food poisoning from eating at a nice restaurant?

I regularly pick up windfall apples, pears, nuts, etc. Would they be less appetizing if they came from the dumpster? No way!

That woman is a bit of a snob, or at least she comes off that way!

**peanut** · 09-13-2007, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by Lori Biever-Launder

As for the "bad" food, how many people get sick from "good" hamburger crawling with e.coli? How many people get food poisoning from eating at a nice restaurant?

I regularly pick up windfall apples, pears, nuts, etc.

This is too true! My brother lives in Vancouver. He claims it's an art to find a good restaurant you won't get food poisoning at, that you can afford to eat the food! Apparently some of the ethnic restaurants have problems that way.

As for windfall apples...isn't that what they make apple juice out of? I do!

Jean

**Judi Dial** · 09-14-2007, 10:50 AM

I probably would not eat food out of a dumpster if I had a choice. However, I have had family members get produce leavings for their guinia pigs and other pets.

Also, I disagree that we cannot do anything about how much waste is generated by a market or restaurant. You can talk to people, the local food bank, etc. and tell them the restaurant has a lot of waste. You can speak up.

I am on a supermarket's consumer panel and they have the best looking produce here abouts. When they sent me surveys and asked me if I had anything else to comment at the end of the survey, I always said something about how beautiful their produce was, but that I didn't buy it. Why? Because the food bank's stocks are so low and I'd had a produce guy at the market tell me that they just pitched everything that wasn't perfect.

The last time I was in that market, I bought a prepackaged bag of produce and the first one I grabbed seemed to have a rotten one in the middle, you could smell it, and it leaked. So I gave it back. The produce guy who took it said, "The soup kitchen will be glad to have it, we'll add it to what they're getting today."

So, was that because I kept harping about their wasting all that food? I'll never know, but I'm sure it made an impact somewhere!

Judi

**Jaded** · 09-14-2007, 10:57 AM

I used to glean fields in SC. I met a man who was a truck farmer, and had small fields all over. He would let me know when he was done, and my friends and I and several people from the local soup kitchen would go and glean, take what we wanted, and then the food bank and soup kitchen got the rest. This was all good food. Long after they harvested, they just left the fields untouched, and things still were growing. We gleaned a collard field and a cucumber field for a month after harvest!

I used to regularly get tossaways from a friend at the farmer's market, stuff that would be going into the dumpster if no one took it. One friend used to bring home truckloads of fruit, unpackaged, just piled up in the truck bed, and we would pick through, take what we wanted, and the rest went to the hogs. I ate some of it out of hand after washing, of course, and made preserves with the rest. Nobody ever got sick.

People who are afraid of germs are the ones who over-disinfect everything and get sick more because they don't build up a resistance.

**Nada.Leona** · 09-14-2007, 12:52 PM

Does anyone receive her free email? Did it say anything about this thread?

**Dancing Lotus** · 09-14-2007, 12:59 PM

odd, yesterday I posted a comment it showed up and I could read it but today its gone. It would have been number 61. I didnt think I said anything that would have been wrong.

**Lylac** · 09-16-2007, 12:43 AM

As a full subscriber of the original TWG newsletter I present the following, from the Sept. 1996 newsletter insert (Newsletter Reviews) which I doubt is in any of the TWG books. A personal view from Amy Dacyczyn herself on choosing a newsletter after the closing of hers (abbreviated for length reasons):

"Hunt is the heir-apparent to my role as the leading frugality writer. She's written three books, has more projects in the works, and claims 18,000 subscribers. She succeeds because she's a lively writer, her newsletter is slick and by giving moving testimonials on Christian programs she has cornered the Christian market."

..."Because of this newsletter's surface appeal and the complexity of its flaws, this will be the longest review, but it's the short version of the story."

..."Hunt wrote that by 1982 she had amassed over $100,000 worth of cc debt. After 10 years, repaying it was progressing at a "snail's pace." In October of 1991 she "got the wild idea" to start a newsletter as a way to make more money. In fact, I was on the cover of the Wall Street Journal that month. It was the first major article that highlighted my financial success. The article was inspirational: about 40 thrift newsletters started up in 1992. Hunt subscribed to my newsletter from Dec. of '91 until Nov. of '93. She began publishing in January of 1992." *Sidenote: Amy D. began publishing in June 1990.

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Amy goes on to say that the appearance of Mary's newsletter was often similar to hers and she contacted her with no response.
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"As for her claim of paying off a big debt, I've never seen any reference to Hunt's income. She paid it off in 1993...after she landed her first book deal in 1992. She RARELY writes of her personal frugality, has expressed disdain for thrift-shop clothing and admits she hates frugality."

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Amy goes on to discuss another negative issue that had to do with the United Grocer's Clearinghouse cereal deal (scam) which stated by the CA attorney general to be a "ponzi scheme". Amy discusses how Mary was irresponsible to her readers on several levels during this time.
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Amy's last words: "I wrote Hunt in early July detailing these and other points, and I offered to send her all of the documentation I had on UGC. Again she did not respond. Hunt's lack of responsibility in this matter is, by itself, reason enough to avoid her newsletter."

Certainly gives one the feeling that Mary Hunt not only rode in on the coat tails of Amy D., but has more than profited from it.

**Lylac** · 09-16-2007, 01:32 AM

I'd just like to add that I shared the above to inform, however, I do not know MH personally & freely understand that this is Amy D's personal opinion/experience. I think if anyone wants to be more informed about someone they are subscribing or paying money to, there is always the ability to search their credibility before one hands over their money.

There is now so much "free" frugal information out there (aka the internet), that there is no reason to pay anyone for it.