I bumped into one of my friends a few days a ago and she said she had a blog so I checked it out.
Her name is Caney and her blog is You Trash It, I Eat It. In her blog she records/shows off all of her finds from the trash room in the Residential Hall that she lives in. She was so shocked about what people were throwing away that she had to blog about it. After reading her blog I have to agree, people throw away a lot of perfectly good food. In this post I am going to talk about her finds and my thoughts on thrown away food.
Luckily I have never been one to search the trash for food, however Caney does not search because she is hungry or financially insecure but because she is not wasteful and why throw away food that is perfectly good. I wonder, is that food perfectly good? She describes what makes an item safe and packaged foods are a gold-rush for trash hunters, many times the products are unopened. Another thing to note about dorm trash rooms is they are almost emptied every day, so nothing will have been sitting in there for too long.
Packaged Foods: They are often found unopened, so...why did one buy it in the first place just to throw it out? Or people will often eat part of a box of food, whether this is cereal, cookies, or crackers, and throw out the rest of it. Rarely these items are found to be stale, outdated, or inedible, people just wanted to get rid of them.
I do have one major point to consider in taking food from the trash: The nutritional content of this food. After reading most of her blog, most of the food thrown away is junk food that is mostly empty calories. This food is what Jillian Michael's, celebrity trainer, would classify as poison. I don't go that harsh, I say everything in moderation. One must consider they cannot live a complete diet off of this food and function at their highest ability, however it can be a good way to find one's guilty pleasure. (Luckily Caney also has a meal plan.) It can also be a good little snack to bring to a study party or some other gathering, just be sure to tell them that you did not take it from the trash. (make sure you clean off the outside of the box or food as necessary)
HOWEVER, there are some brilliant finds thrown into the trash that are packaged. For example: some cereals are healthy, and the main find: Granola Bars. Granola bars are mostly a solid form of energy, generally whole grains, and are in general a great snack. I love to eat one before I am going to do something active such as going for a run or going to the gym. I was most shocked to see she found an unopened Cliff Bar in the trash, those are healthy and expensive. They are almost a dollar and piece and this one was not outdated or opened. Sometimes I just don't understand people.
Reasoning for trashing edible food? I don't know. One would think there is a reason why people throw out food, however judging by Caney's finds there is very little reason. Maybe weird diets or other habits? however, that does not give one the right to trash that food; the least they can do is give it to someone else. Maybe residential halls could have an unwanted food box where one leaves the food he or she does not want.
I believe my thoughts on this matter are rather jumbled and that post was all over the place, however these are my thoughts for now. Be careful what you eat and always proceed with caution. Also, unless it's healthy don't rely on this as your main source of food unless you have to.
Have great day,
and
Stay Strong!
-Trevor
