Oprah 2/27 FREEGANS

**POOTERSMOMMY** · 02-25-2008, 06:32 PM

I just saw that Wed. 2/27, Oprah's show is going to be about Freegans. They advertised Dr.s, lawyers, and people with 6 figure incomes, that live only with what they get free or dumpster dive for. This sounds very interesting. We should all watch.
I guess rich people can be frugal too!! That's how many get rich

Should be a fun watch.

**julieb** · 02-25-2008, 07:05 PM

thankyou Thats sounds really interesting.

**C@rol** · 02-25-2008, 07:21 PM

Thanks, I'll be watching.

**RABBIT** · 02-25-2008, 08:13 PM

Thanks for the heads-up. I will have to tape it, Mr. Rabbit will love that show!

**Bethany** · 02-25-2008, 08:19 PM

I'll DVR it.

**luv-my-lexi** · 02-25-2008, 09:11 PM

Sounds good...think I'll check it out!

**wulong32** · 02-25-2008, 09:35 PM

Thanks for the heads up!

**kittykatstrong** · 02-25-2008, 11:34 PM

Thanks for the heads up.

**Denvergirlie** · 02-26-2008, 08:05 AM

Awesome, I will have to tune into Oprah for once to watch this show.

Personally, I can afford pretty much anything I want to eat within reason, but I have a freezer full of freegan'ed food, so this one is close to my heart.

FYI - For those wanting to read up more before the show you can check out this link. http://freegan.info/
Youc an also search the photos over at Flickr for freegan representations, some of my pictures are in here as well. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=freegan

**StaceyS** · 02-26-2008, 09:40 AM

Thanks for the info! Sounds like a show I'd like to see!

**POOTERSMOMMY** · 02-27-2008, 05:36 PM

Did anyone watch this show todat? 1/2 of the show was about Freegans. One lady left a 6 figure job - and now works for socially conscious charities and dumpster dives for all her food. You would be amazed at the food they found in the dumpsters. Milk, eggs, and meat that had 3 more days before sell by date. One couple, he was a dentist and she a civil engineer lived the same way. They had a nice home, filled with dumpster dived furniture and groceries. They said they are paying off their mortgage and give most of their incomes away. It is amazing how much we waste in this country. Lisa Ling said the food tossed from stores in this country amounts to 30 BILLION dollars a year. That would feed entire countries. I'm so glad to see frugalism catching on. People are tired of the waste. By the way, this was in NY.

When DH and I first got married we didn't buy bread, donuts, rolls or pastries for at least 10 years. DH and coworkers had gone to school w/ the local Kroger manager. He would call and tell them when they rolled out baked goods. These guys would pickup trucks full of bakery items. One time the local high school had a freezer go out overnight. Since it had not been opened, everything was still frozen solid. They couldn't keep it according to "law". We got a 25 lb. box of xhixken a large pork roll and huge tubs of pork bar-b-que. It lasted us for months.

People in this country are to eager to throw things away. I am so glad that people are getting fed up. The people on Oprah said they were tired of the land fills getting all this waste. If they got more than they could use, they gave to others and food pantries. The young couple had 50 boxes of cereal that was not dated till this fall!!!! How unbelievable is this.

I hope you got a chance to see this. It was a real eye opener.
Cheryl

**annymoll** · 02-27-2008, 05:54 PM

It is a pity that food is not donated to a food harvest program instead of being tossed, although much of the junk food isn't going to provide any nutrition for hungry families and I personally think it is food that needs to be tossed.It is a shame that healthy wholesome foods are wasted.It is a shame that people do not donate used items instead of throwing them out.It really inspires me to think about what I waste and what goals I can set for myself to conserve.

**rachelMcK** · 02-27-2008, 06:04 PM

I watched it and it really inspired me! Consumerism is a huge problem, I've learned over the last couple years that throwing things out is really not an option at all. I used to buy so much lotions and cosmetics and then 6 months later I would throw it all out because I had bought brand new stuff. I certainly don't do that anymore. If I could dumpster dive, I would.

**Samigirl** · 02-27-2008, 06:20 PM

There's no way I could bring myself to forage in a dumpster for food...unless I had no choice. However, I found the show to be fascinating. I couldn't believe the amount of food that is being thrown out. It's shameful there isn't some sort of recycling system set up where the food can be lawfully distributed, or at the very least, set in a trash bin designated for food only. There is no excuse for that much waste. It certainly makes me stop and think of my responsibility to be more aware of the many ways I contribute to our landfills. While I found the lifestyle too extreme for me, I admire the featured guests for being so socially conscious; and selfless with their money.

**sdrjeolsen** · 02-27-2008, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie

Personally, I can afford pretty much anything I want to eat within reason, but I have a freezer full of freegan'ed food, so this one is close to my heart.

FYI - For those wanting to read up more before the show you can check out this link. http://freegan.info/
Youc an also search the photos over at Flickr for freegan representations, some of my pictures are in here as well. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=freegan

I saw your pictures, tons of nice stuff. OK, question for you. Do you go at night only? And, where do you go, ex. Grocery, retail big boxes??

Before I moved to CO our city had regulations agains it, it was supposedly illegal and most stores were required to have enclosed compactor/dumpsters, the kind that you can't get into. If you could, they were required to be fenced and locked. I figured it was that way here too, but I guess I will have to observe more closely. My mom used to d it when I lived at home, she used to get some good stuff. But I thougt those days were gone. TIA