Phil,
Thanks to the link to the old thread. Interesting reading.
We have a magazine here called
Edible East Bay, which is part of the nationwwide
Edible Communities. The current edition, Harvest 2008, includes this article:
http://www.edibleeastbay.com/content...DiversDiet.pdf which deals with the activity of
Dumpster Diving, where people hit the trash bins behind supermarkets (mostly), bakeries, and restaurants, and salvage waste food. It is a sometimes controversial subject, and both sides offer their points of view in the article.
Regardless of how anyone may feel about the subject, it is another way of getting the needed food and nutrition, especially in urban environments.
Years ago I lived with a woman who was a teacher in a local school system here. She engaged in the practice and I got a first-hand look at the large amounts of good food that was relegated to the trash that was salvagable by the
Dumpster Divers.
I neither condem nor condone the practice, but it clearly serves a purpose. Fortunately, here in Berkeley, a number of restaurants, bakeries, and food sellers, offer free food through various venues for those who want or need it. Some of the bakeries sell their products at the bakery for deeply discounted prices.
I don't know the process, but I do know that
The Cheeseboard in Berkeley
A cheese shop grows in Berkeley / After 36 years, a venerable workers' collective is still going strong gives away sandwiches throughout the day
"Every day, the store distributes about 40 free cheese sandwiches to homeless people, and a posted sign offers a discount to the disabled and "those in need." Seniors also get discounts that rise with their age. Centenarian customers -- and the store has a few -- shop free."
The little neighborhood Italian deli feeds a few impoverished people - no formal program. The folks come in, order a sandwich, and the deli provides - no questions asked.
