Craigslist Posting: "FREE FOOD FOR DUMPSTER DIVERS (Asburn, Va)"

[Hina]

I found the below post on the Northern Virginia cragislists 'Free' section:

"CORPORATE AMERICA FOR YA.

BLOOM LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF ASHBURN VILLAGE AND FARMWELL RD THREW OUT 2 DUMPSTER FULL OF GOOD FOOD.

THE POWER WENT OUT ON SATURDAY SO THEY THREW OUT JUICES, PIZZA, MEATS, AND ALMOST ALL FROZEN ITEMS. I GUESS THEY MUST DO IT DUE TO HEALTH DEPARTMENT REASONS.

SINCE THE WEATHER HAS BEEN COLD THE ITEMS ARE STILL FROZEN. I WOULDN'T TAKE THE MEATS, BUT THE CHEESE, JUICES AND PIZZAS ARE STILL GOOD!

IF YOUR UP FOR DUMPSTER DIVING, SEE THE 2 DUMPSTERS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BUILDING! "

FREE FOOD FOR DUMPSTER DIVERS

[frugalstafar]

oh my!!! I'll go for coupons but not anything that goes in my belly.
If that food was inside all night then tossed it is probably no good!!

[mrsjschultz]

I remember watching Oprah a few years back and people do this all the time. At least for non-perishables.....

What are they called?? Oh, yeah Freegans!!

[roxygirlie1021]

I have never dumpster dived for food before, but I know the exact location they are talking about (I used to live there!) VA has had TONS of snow in the past few days, so whoever posted that on Craigslist is right, all the food would still be frozen. I'm sure the food is still all good, but the stores are required to throw it all out if the power is out for more than a few hours (DF used to work at a grocery store).

I guess from a legal standpoint it makes sense, but from a common sense standpoint it doesn't. As long as the doors to the freezers all stay closed, I really don't see all the food going bad in a number of hours. How many of us have had our power go out for a few hours and all our food is fine? I've got to say, if I still lived in that area, I might be tempted to go check it out - lol. Maybe that makes me weird, but I've heard so many stories of people getting perfectly good food that grocery stores throw away, so I'd probably try it just once to see for myself. Don't judge me! lol

[Hina]

In the local news this morning they said that is if the freezer section of your fridge is half full the food is good for 24 hrs and if its filled to its capacity, the food is good for 2 days. A lot ofpeople were just putting their fridge/freezer contents in coolers outisde on their decks/front porches.