Initiating the Dumpster Challenge

We have supplemented our typical grocery store purchases with food found from the dumpster for almost a year now.  In this time we have discussed the possibility of subsisting entirely off so called "dumpster food," often with the realization that we are eating better (more expensive) food than we are willing to purchase anyway.  So after enough discussion and delay, the time has come to start the challenge: 30 days without purchasing any food, with our entire diet provided by the dumpster.

The prospect of eating food thrown out as garbage may be appalling to some, but this concept is nothing new; The homeless population in the US (an estimated 600,000 and possibly many more considering the recession) already resort to feeding themselves from untraditional sources.  Additionally, the group Food Not Bombs is a well established group devoted to reusing food tossed out by restaurants and grocery stores.

So what is the point of this blog?

We will start by documenting and cataloging our daily finds, and hopefully creating some inspiring dumpster recipes.  But our aspirations for the purpose of this blog are much loftier.
The reason that we have decided to take on this challenge is to shed light on the often unbelievable excess that goes to waste in the typical American grocery store.  We believe we are going to be able to eat more healthily (and possibly more abundantly) than the average American family.

What are the guidelines for this challenge?
The rules are simple.
No food will be purchased throughout the month of October, with the entirety of our caloric intake provided by food thrown out, and then retrieved from the dumpster.
Tap water, salt, and pepper will be the only non-dumpster supplements to our diet.

We began our challenge this afternoon by eating our remaining food that wasn't from the dumpster (to discourage us from cheating) and stocking up from our nearby dumpster that we frequently raid.

A fortuitous haul to start our challenge, we retrieved:

9/29/2010
14 salads
7 packages of mini bell peppers
3 packages of medjool dates
1 frozen spinach quiche
1 goat cheese pizza
2 packages sliced provolone
1/2 bag popcorn
1 package sugar plum tomatoes
1 dutch cheese
1 basil plant
1 artichoke
2 manacote with wild mushroom marinara sauce
8 large bell peppers
6 onions
3 limes
2 lemons
2 flower bouquets
1/2 bottle wine
1 smoked turkey sandwich

As you can see, plenty to eat for the next few days. Not to mention some decoration for the apartment (bouquets).

We will be posting daily updates of what we found and ate. And if we are so inclined, preach a little about the un-sustainability of the American food production system. Our hope is that some readers will be inclined enough to get past the initial stigma of rummaging around in a dumpster to try some dumpster diving of their own and live a life that is not only more sustainable but much cheaper and in many ways healthier.