Wasteful Stores....

I am just wondering if anybody else ever notices how wasteful stores are?So we occasionally go to town and yes we randomly check the dumpsters of a few different places.The Dollar General in particular is a top waster, we often get good, clean,useable things.Just got a case of dawn dish soap (1 bottle was busted), 3 boxes of baby diapers that had been torn into, each case was perfect minus 1 diaper, multiple jugs of tidy cats, and the list goes on.That was 1 time from 1 dollar general!! Don't get me started on big grocery stores or pet super stores.Just saying....I'm a stay at home mom who grew up extremely poor and remember dumpster diving since a child. No shame in this game...Granted we do buy our food, but I have also gotten and given TONS of still cold produce to the homeless.I am honest about it also get lots of canned pet food (always Google to make sure its not recalled). Just a shame how wasteful Americans are.

Happens here in Australia too, so wasteful. Glad you get some benefit from it.

It's like 'use by dates/ best before dates'  I grew up without them, was never sick. You looked at the product and smelt it to see if it was off.

Stores used to sell products with damaged packaging at a reduced price but they don't do that anymore.  I don't know if that is because of increased regulation or they just don't do it anymore.  It could be because of product tampering that they don't do it anymore.

The supermarket that I go to sells dairy that is getting very close to the sell by date at a vastly reduced price.  When the kids were still at home I would pick up a gallon of milk when it was reduced like that.  Now that it is just me I don't because there is no way I can use it up before it goes bad.  Of course they also have the day old shelves in the bakery dept.

Yes I grew up eating lots of the grocery tossouts and I'm alive and well!! I think a lot of people aren't aware of the waste, and others have too much pride, my boys enjoy dumpster diving!! They get all sorts of toys and didn't have to touch their piggy banks!! My oldest son retrieved a beautiful bed set of Nemo from bed bath and beyond he was so proud!! On his own he started making his bed daily!!

In a lot of places dumpster diving is illegal. It all depends how observant and cranky (or how bored, lol) the local police are . For those who can get away with it, great! I've heard Petco has a lot of good stuff (the one here has a sign on the dumpster saying that they have a camera and anyone who "steals" from the dumpster will be prosecuted. Not sure if all Petcos do that). I'm not proud; I'd go dumpster diving if I could find litter and canned/packaged food! Not sure how I feel about non-packaged food though.

If there's a local salvage grocery they might get a lot of the stuff. But not everywhere has a salvage grocery.

ShelbynKatie said:

I am just wondering if anybody else ever notices how wasteful stores are?So we occasionally go to town and yes we randomly check the dumpsters of a few different places.The Dollar General in particular is a top waster, we often get good, clean,useable things.Just got a case of dawn dish soap (1 bottle was busted), 3 boxes of baby diapers that had been torn into, each case was perfect minus 1 diaper, multiple jugs of tidy cats, and the list goes on.That was 1 time from 1 dollar general!! Don't get me started on big grocery stores or pet super stores.Just saying....I'm a stay at home mom who grew up extremely poor and remember dumpster diving since a child. No shame in this game...Granted we do buy our food, but I have also gotten and given TONS of still cold produce to the homeless.I am honest about it also get lots of canned pet food (always Google to make sure its not recalled). Just a shame how wasteful Americans are.

Click to expand...

Most stores here donate.

@Denice, if the gallon of milk is whole milk, homogenized, pasteurized - but not ultra-pasteurized - you can make your own fresh acid-set cheese. Very easy. It's very good and the whey you drain off makes a nice summer drink, use when baking bread, as a soup base.

Here are the simple steps to making farmer’s cheese. One gallon of milk will yield approximately one pound of cheese.

Heat the milk in a heavy-bottomed pot, using a low setting on the stove to avoid scalding the milk. Stir the milk occasionally as it heats.

Turn off the stove when the temperature reaches approximately 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slowly add the curdling agent (lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid) and watch for the milk to curdle.

Stir very gently as you add the curdling agent and white clumps (the curds) will soon form, leaving a cloudy, yellowish fluid in the pot, known as whey. Many cheese recipes call for a specific amount of curdling agent—the juice of one large lemon, a quarter cup of vinegar, or one teaspoon of citric acid per gallon of milk is typical for farmer’s cheese—but the exact amount needed varies considerably based on the unique properties of each batch of milk. Let the pot sit for about 20 minutes for a complete separation between the curds and whey.

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth and pour the curds and whey through it over a sink.

Whey has multiple uses from baking bread, making soup, and more so place a bowl beneath the colander to save it. For a refreshing cold summer drink just chill the whey and add fresh mint.

At this point, the curds will be soft and spreadable—perfect for mixing with salt and herbs and spreading on crackers. For a drier, firmer cheese, tie the cheesecloth with the curds inside it to a wooden spoon suspended on the edges of a large pot or pitcher to continue draining the whey. After a couple hours, the curds will have the crumbly texture of queso fresco. If you want a really firm farmer’s cheese, like paneer, leave the cheesecloth full of curds in the colander and place them in the refrigerator overnight with a weight on top (like a large can of tomato sauce) and a bowl beneath to catch the whey as it seeps out. Because farmer’s cheese is not aged, it is best consumed when fresh. It may be stored in a refrigerator for a week to 10 days.

Here in Australia the supermarkets reduce most products close to their use by and there are some real bargains to be had. The meat department is a good example, you can freeze the meat for later use and it is still in date. Late afternoons are the best time to shop for these 'bargains'. One of our major stores also had a 'fill a bag for $2' on fruit and veg that was slightly marked. I'm not too sure if they still do it but I used to get enough to make a wonderful soup or fruit salad.

I used to work as a grocery rep and it disgusted me what was written off and simply dumped. 

I have heard that the produce dept is the hardest dept to manage because it is so hard to get the quantities right.

ShelbynKatie said:

I am just wondering if anybody else ever notices how wasteful stores are?So we occasionally go to town and yes we randomly check the dumpsters of a few different places.The Dollar General in particular is a top waster, we often get good, clean,useable things.Just got a case of dawn dish soap (1 bottle was busted), 3 boxes of baby diapers that had been torn into, each case was perfect minus 1 diaper, multiple jugs of tidy cats, and the list goes on.That was 1 time from 1 dollar general!! Don't get me started on big grocery stores or pet super stores.Just saying....I'm a stay at home mom who grew up extremely poor and remember dumpster diving since a child. No shame in this game...Granted we do buy our food, but I have also gotten and given TONS of still cold produce to the homeless.I am honest about it also get lots of canned pet food (always Google to make sure its not recalled). Just a shame how wasteful Americans are.

Click to expand...

  I could have easily typed those same words, except that I am not near 100 miles of a big pet store or a Dollar General. You are so right - the waste is incredible. My adult daughter lives in SoCal and knows which towns don't forbid dumpster diving (it's a trespass in some areas). Most towns have ordinances against dumping INTO a dumpster or trash can. My sis lives in another state and goes "shopping" in the college areas - and has found many brand-new, in the box, cool gadgets plus she hasn't bought hair products, laundry soap, and bathing products for 3 years!!! She won't use toothpaste & definitely not mouthwash, but she knows some desperately poor folks who will, so nothing gets wasted. I have had to go diving in the supermarket dumpsters just so I could get food out for people who are, shall we say, in "transitional housing"...i.e. living along the canal or in their car.  There is no shame in doing a kindness - in fact, it takes great courage to risk doing something that uppity people would find distasteful, in order that someone less fortunate can benefit. In fact, although human eyes will see the actions as vulgar, GOD sees them as the RIGHT THING TO DO!!! Personally, I think it is MORE VULGAR to allow the waste of food - farm workers toil so hard, through horrible working conditions, without adequate labor laws (that protect almost all other jobs, but exempt farmer employers and farm contractors), valuable water & resources are used....just so good food can go to the landfill 

French law forbids food waste by supermarkets

France has become the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities and food banks.

Under a law passed unanimously by the French senate, as of Wednesday large shops will no longer bin good quality food approaching its best-before date. Charities will be able to give out millions more free meals each year to people struggling to afford to eat.

The law follows a grassroots campaign in France by shoppers, anti-poverty campaigners and those opposed to food waste.

Click to expand...

Write to your legislators.

I used to work for a produce place and if a banana was slightly brown they throw them out by the box full- everyone knows bananas aren't bad when they're bruised. Same with a bruised apple or tomato or any veggie/fruit. Our baked goods would go out of date, now mind you they were individually wrapped, and we would throw them out. They even made us throw out plants that were damaged.
My bosses reasons were that the raccoons needed feeding, now I'm all for feeding animals and what not, but raccoons shouldn't be fed table scraps and there are starving families in our community that would be more than thrilled with a barely out of date loaf of bread and some bananas.
People are so entirely wasteful. We would have an entire trash bin full of donate worthy food.

@catsknowme boy you couldn't have said it any better!! AMEN!! My hubby and I are 'religious' in life and with the dumpster diving. Just tonight we got 3 cases of aqua Fina water.What a shame this wasn't donated by the clerks, it won't be wasted now.By the way, I haven't had to purchase dog or cat food yet this year, we had a couple massive finds of dry dog food and we mix it all and store it in large coolers.This also is feeding an elderly neighbors dogs who is struggling with her pets. My kids ask to check out the dumpster at every store we go to. I do believe that God above does send me to the places where my work is needed, as I most often find EXACTLY what I am in need of such as a box of k9 advantix that my neighbor so desperately needed. She was in tears as I explained how it works. I couldn't have afforded that, but I have no problem doing the dirty work. Any day!!!