For many, the term "dumpster diving" evokes stomach-turning images of half-moldy rolls and recently-expired tuna salad snatched from the mouths of gnawing rats. But as many sophisticated urban survivalists know, there is an extraordinary amount of perfectly good, even gourmet, food set out every night in sanitary bags outside city delis, bakeries, restaurants, and supermarkets. The video above shows just how easy and clean the process of scoring great free food can be.
Comedian and filmmaker Jeff Seal spent four nights digging through trash bags outside NYC establishments and documented the process for this video. He says, "I actually got a ton more food than what is in the final video—I had to cut out a lot because it was getting boring and repetitive watching me endlessly pull different types of perfectly good food out of the garbage."
As Seal notes in the video, "You know you're living in abundance when you can throw away food that someone else threw away." Don't call it "dumpster diving"; call it "Locally-Sourced Reclaimed Food Curation."
During his research into the statistics of food waste in America, Seal says he discovered that "I am just one in a long line of other self-satisfied white guys who have made videos/articles/art projects etc. about dumpster diving for food. I was reminded of the phrase, 'Only a rich man can afford to look poor.'"
Seal would also like to add, for the record, "I do buy Sabra hummus pretty regularly."
