Living Car Free - It was just gonna get thrown away anyhow...

(Figured I'd post this here, since all the dirtbags from the dumpster diving thread will understand.
)


So, I'm a student, and I eat on a meal plan. Today, after I went climbing with some friends who don't have a meal plan (one of whom is "homeless") I decided that I'd swipe them into a dining hall on my card, since we were all three pretty hungry. Well, to offset the two lost meals that I gave to my friends, I grabbed a few bagels to put in my bag for the rest of the week. I was completely out of meals for the week, so I needed the bagels to help get me through the weekend. I didn't feel bad, because it was the end of the day, and they would probably have to throw the bagels away soon after closing.

Well, somebody, it seems, tipped off the management that I was getting a little extra, God forbid. So this chef that looked like the guy from Popeye that gets paid in hamburgers came up, and demanded that I turn over the bagels.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave with those, I need to throw them away"

I explained that I was out of meals, and on the brink of debt, and I needed them. He wouldn't hear of it. Incredulously, I ask "Would you really rather see those leave in the trash than in my backpack?"

"Yes."

Easy for him to say, he could easily go for a week without eating, and still be the hugest guy I've seen for months.

Would it kill him to let me leave with them? They would've been in the trash in about 20 min. anyhow. And besides, it's not like I'm robbing them of profit; half the students here don't even use all their meals in a week.

Fortunately, my non-homeless friend drove me to X-mart and gave me five dollars to get bread, summer sausage, bread, and a small block of cheese. Otherwise, I'd be screwed (I have exactly zero dollars)

End rant

Anyone else get caught and scolded for this sort of thing? Frankly, I'm embarrassed, I'm normally in rather good graces amoungst the servers there, but now, I think I'll avoid that hall for a week.

Not even really related, but the first thing that popped into my mind after reading this was the 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' episode where Larry David is walking along on a street eating an apple and nonchalantly throws the core into some random trashcan that happens to be out on the sidewalk, and the person who owns it comes out and starts a row with Larry over having the gall to use his trashcan.

People can be amazingly capricious.

I'm glad you're able to eat this week. If you were anywhere near here I'd give you some food. Hope your situation improves.

You could go hit up the dumpster after they leave;) :p but you might end up arrested for trespassing:eek: The amount of food that gets wasted in this country really irks me sometimes. I suspect they have the rules for a reason, but that doesn't make it right.

Aaron:)

I bus at a restaurant and throw away tons of food.
If meals are becoming costly, and you need lots of carbs to fuel your bike, hit up jimmy john's. They'll sell you day old bread for $0.50.

not that i agree w/ it, but the reason for throwing it all away is 'health code'. there are a few areas in the country where food scraps at day's end can be collected for the homeless shelters (atlanta was one, last i heard), but most of them are worried about lawsuits from people getting sick off their trash (sick idea, isn't it? -- but it happens)

basic training at ft Knox, ky; k.p. duty, working 10-12 hours in the mess hall doing dishes, etc., we would fill several 35-gallon trash cans w/ food scraps that would go to the local pig farmers; the upside was, we never went hungry those days, 'cause we'd intercept just about anything we wanted.

I am completely not shy about it, I getmore than bikes from dumpsters. STarbucks and bagel shops are excellent :)

The two bagels? Well, on the one hand, it's a scam- they COUNT on students not using all their meals, remember, above al things, they are not there for you, they are their for profit. On the other hand, you were in this dude's territory, challenging his sh*t, and he's gonna fling poo at you. remember, we're *partially* domesticated primates.

If you'd started with sompliments, explained that you love the placeand just needed to tide over for a coupple days, and made him feel bigger and more powerful, then you might (maybe) have gotten away with it.

*partially* domesticated.

Thirty years ago this never would have happened....sick...

Our standard of living is not what is was in our parents era....

kjohnnytarr, that's one of the sickest stories about wasted food I've heard. Not surprising, but I'm always shocked to hear about stuff like this. I was so fortunate to go to a school with a wonderful student housing cooperative system. Our monthly fees included board, and there was always plenty of "guff" food to spare in between meals - even coffee. The dorms were such a scam, and I always marvelled at how wasteful the dining hall was with food, yet how anal they were about not letting anyone take any with them. Ridiculous, and yes, "sinful".

Go back with a sign a beg for food. Bring along someone with a video camera.

Tell the drop-out chef to get bent and that your dads an attorney.
Let him try to stop you. If he touches you, you file an assault charge.

Tell the drop-out chef to get bent and that your dads an attorney.
Let him try to stop you. If he touches you, you file an assault charge.

eh, my dad's not an attorney, and even if he was, that would make me sound like a 12 y/o.

Every place that has anything to do with food tosses huge amounts away. In supermarket bakeries(due to cookie cutter methods) 80% of the food get tossed in slow stores. You don't just give stuff away, even the people who feed the winos don't want it all.

When I was running the local mens shelter, the local Panera would drop off a couple of industrial sized garbage bags of bread and bagels every day...most of the fellas would only eat white bread so we'd end up tossing it. So much waste!


BTW - I think you were treated shamefully, if you ever really get hungry and can't afford food head over to the shelter, there's some pretty decent meals there.

Reminds me of the woman in the superdome who spit out the MRE on camera. I could tell she was starving.

BTW - I think you were treated shamefully, if you ever really get hungry and can't afford food head over to the shelter, there's some pretty decent meals there.

+1....Don't be ashamed to head to a shelter and get a meal. Everybody needs a hand now and then.

+1....Don't be ashamed to head to a shelter and get a meal. Everybody needs a hand now and then.

Except the shelters are in the bad parts of town, people with money don't want those sorts hanging around.

Well, I can't speak for where you live, but what some people call "the bad parts of town" are where I would want to live. In Saskatoon, anyway, people tend to be more cultured (being from many cultures...), and having less money, they aren't nearly so snooty. Chances are, you may find people more friendly and eager to talk in these parts of town. If I were to ever buy a place in Saskatoon, I would certainly live in the "bad parts of town", as opposed to the richer end where people tend to be more stuck up.

But, like I said, I don't know the place where you live, so I can't judge. But just because there are homeless folks and people who do drugs to be found around every corner doesn't mean that it is more dangerous than any other parts. Heck, some of these people who look shady may be of better character than those people with money. I would suggest taking a look and Judging for yourself (if you have not already done so) rather than taking societies word for it that this end of town is the "bad part

Just my 2 cent (CDN) worth.

Edit:
"people with money don't want those sorts hanging around."
-Huh, oh... I just realized that you were being factitious...

learn how to steal bagels better..this is a better solution

The topic of this thread really drives me up a wall. :mad: So much wasted... I wish you were in school here in Portland, you'd have Sunday dinner in exchange for doing the dishes whenever you needed it. <sigh> When I was younger and poorer, I had an older friend who'd invite me for meals, ostensibly because she needed "someone to critique" her "recipe experimentation". She never seemed to like what she cooked, so she had me take home the leftovers. (Everything was delicious.) I realize now she was mainly cooking for my benefit, sweetheart that she is.

It looks like you have a decent food bank (http://www.centralmofoodbank.org/) in your area, kjohnnytarr, there's no shame in using it. Promise yourself that someday you'll help them out, and it's all good.

I've been caught taking food out of the cafeteria at my school: the second half of a sandwich I couldn't finish. They said I had to throw it out, rather than save it for later. I turned around, walked 50 feet back in to the dining room, stuffed it into the pocket of my hoodie, and walked back out. Everyone was happy.

The topic of this thread really drives me up a wall. :mad:
I was wondering, like good buddy Jeff S., what this topic was doing on this list?

But to answer my own question, apparently food waste, dumpster diving, and techniques for sneaking food out of the dining facility is a subject of interest for this forum.

Carry on.

I was wondering, like good buddy Jeff S., what this topic was doing on this list?

But to answer my own question, apparently food waste, dumpster diving, and techniques for sneaking food out of the dining facility is a subject of interest for this forum.

Carry on.
I don't see it being any less appropriate than the "Are you carrying?" thread. I thought that was a troll, but to my horror...

I don't see it being any less appropriate than the "Are you carrying?" thread. I thought that was a troll, but to my horror...
Its about the same in trollworthyness. And just as relevant to car free living/bicycling as most of the "cultural" and "social" observation/generalization threads posted on this list.

Its about the same in trollworthyness. And just as relevant to car free living/bicycling as most of the "cultural" and "social" observation/generalization threads posted on this list.
I guess you're one of those interested in topics like this, to judge by your own posting record. You've already posted on this thread twice, and I bet you a dozen stale bagels you'll post on it some more before it goes away.

One time in the early 1980s I was in Eugene, OR. We stopped overnight at a surviving hippie commune. They threw a feast in our honor. About 40 people ate, sitting in a circle in the backyard. There were more than a dozen sumptuous dishes served, and food left over at the end of the meal. I asked our hosts how they managed to afford to serve such an elegant feast to so many people. The chef, named Freddie IIRC, explained, "We only spent about $4 on the meal. Most of the food came from the dumpsters behind a couple health food stores. It's all organic!" I almost urped, but recovered quickly and complimented him on the great meal.

I guess you're one of those interested in topics like this, to judge by your own posting record. You've already posted on this thread twice, and I bet you a dozen stale bagels you'll post on it some more before it goes away.
And do you have a problem wit dat?

I thought it was standard for college students to take extra food away from the dining room. I worked in the dining halls for a bit when I was a freshman, and seriously, you're doing a service to take it away. Everything not eaten gets thrown out. It's horribly wasteful.

BTW - I think you were treated shamefully, if you ever really get hungry and can't afford food head over to the shelter, there's some pretty decent meals there.
He's a college student. Poor somewhat by choice. That and most college students seem to relish the idea of being poor and a "dirtbag". If worst comes to worst, he could always call mommy and daddy to spot him $100.

Soup kitchens and homeless shelters should be reserved for the truly homeless, not "slumming" college students.

He's a college student. Poor somewhat by choice. That and most college students seem to relish the idea of being poor and a "dirtbag". If worst comes to worst, he could always call mommy and daddy to spot him $100.

Soup kitchens and homeless shelters should be reserved for the truly homeless, not "slumming" college students.

I'm not one to get offended man, but some of that is a bit off.

My folks aren't paying for my college; I am paying for it myself, by student loans and two jobs. That means that I'm spending money I don't have everyday. Also, even if I decided that college wasn't worth the money or time, I'm pretty much stuck here since if I drop or flunk out I'll lose both of my University jobs and have to pay all the loans to date back to the bank in six months.

I'm not trying to say that I'm dirt-poor, or that I need sympathy; I just posted this as a way to relive stress via a rant, and to call attention to a particular waste of resources.

Reviving my own dead thread for an update:

I'm back on top again. I still steal the damn bagels, just to spite them/save cash. I've got a homeless friend, and I'm helping him out with meals when he needs them, because you really should pass good luck on. To those who threw in encouragement, and even offered of help in one case, I couldn't be more grateful.

Fortunately, my College is pretty good with food consumption. If we don't eat it all the first time around, we get a second chance during the "Variety of Entree's meal" once or twice a week. And also, I have gone into the kitchen after meals, and our cooks have welcomed me to make of with some leftovers. I suppose it helps that it's a Christian college.

He's a college student. Poor somewhat by choice. That and most college students seem to relish the idea of being poor and a "dirtbag". If worst comes to worst, he could always call mommy and daddy to spot him $100.

Soup kitchens and homeless shelters should be reserved for the truly homeless, not "slumming" college students.

sometimes mommy and daddy don't have $100. some students go to school on work, scholarships, and/or debt.

people throw away good stuff all the time. in austin the college kids throw away vcr's, computer's, good furniture, money, cassett tapes of girls doing ecstacy and having orgasms. all sorts of stuff. i stock my kitchen once a week, then stock a few friends houses, then feed the homeless with the food i get from dumpsters. it's sad on one level. but i don't mind diggin' through the trash, i think it's fun. if your really broke and can't get food. ride your bike around and look for a grocery store without a compacter, go at night, don't leave a mess, and bathe in all the tasty food you get. i love trash.

This just astounds me. I know back in college (back...ok it was 2005) I saw students walking out of our cafe with cafeteria property drink glasses at least once every lunch session, not to mention you could basically walk out with any single piece of food in your hands (some people left with handfulls of cookies going right past the attendants who scan your card) and nobody'd say a thing. to be fair though, this was in Lexington, where a LOT of restaurants and cafeterias do the leftover donation thing.

I worked in the cafeteria when I was in college. The student employees took home way more food than the students would ever be able to sneak out, but we generally only took food that would have been thrown out (except for granola bars - there were a few people who LOVED granola bars). The residents, otoh, would try to take anything they could get their hands on: plates, silverware, furniture, ... (One time a seven-foot-tall plant in a heavy planter went missing, and we found it a month later in one of the student lounges in the dorm. Never did figure out how they got it past us.) The policy was that no food could be taken from the cafeteria (a health dept. regulation). As students ourselves, we'd generally let people walk out with whatever food they wanted to take as long as they bothered trying to hide it somewhat, unless it was blatant, like an entire box of ice cream sandwiches or something. If you have a dorm where the food service employs students, you might have better luck there.

This just astounds me. I know back in college (back...ok it was 2005) I saw students walking out of our cafe with cafeteria property drink glasses at least once every lunch session, not to mention you could basically walk out with any single piece of food in your hands (some people left with handfulls of cookies going right past the attendants who scan your card) and nobody'd say a thing. to be fair though, this was in Lexington, where a LOT of restaurants and cafeterias do the leftover donation thing.
I used to hang out at a pub/bar on your campus called the Tolly Ho. I bounced at a strip club on on Lexington Ave. called Thumpers and after the girls were thru dancing we'd all go to the 'Ho to eat and chill out. It was my duty after all to take care of "my" girls. Ever morning when they closed the cooks, barmaids, etc would bad up individula meals using all the leftover stuff and take it to the homeless people that would be waiting in front of the headshop up the road, The Paisley Peacock I think it was called. Granted this was in the wee early morning hours. I think they had to stop because the management of that McDonalds there started *****ing.
Man I miss that job...

that is terrible but not at all surprising. i worked in the dorm cafeteria when i was in college and it's amazing how much gets thrown out. i got caught taking a sandwich from the cafeteria one morning because i was going to be in class, working and studying for the rest of the day. one of my bosses caught me and made me throw it out. it was infuriating. that same boss one day came up to me while i was frying eggs and decided that they weren't up to her standards. without saying a word, she took a spatula and threw them in the trash one by one. i was floored. that lady clearly had some emotional problems but we all hated the hell out of her anyway.

sorry you had to experience that. i'm glad you ended up getting some food.

edit: instead of having a rule about taking food out, the cafeteria should simply ask the students to eat everything they choose to put on their plates. that would probably cut down the amount of food they purchase by 25% at least. then students could take some things here and there on their way out to eat later. but geez....that would just be too logical.