I read about a study once that I found very interesting. I can't find a link right now but it went something like this: The participants were asked if they considered themselves a lucky person or an unlucky person. Then they were given a task: count all the photos in today's newspaper. But the newspapers supplied were specially prepared and had a full-page "ad" on page 3 that said in huge letters, "Stop counting now. There are 45 photos." For the most part, people who identified themselves as having "good luck" spotted this and stopped counting, while the people who identified themselves as having "bad luck" didn't. The conclusion was that "good luck" has a lot to do with always watching for opportunities that come your way.
That's OK :) I appreciate your comments and I agree: the phenomenal popularity of some of the current best-selling books, CDs, DVDs and eBooks says something about the current zeitgeist, addressing what many people seem to think is important: making more money with less effort. But how will they attain it, when do they know they have enough and what will they do after they spend it?
Money and material gain only have meaning that people assign to it; it's not necessarily a measure of success. Real success is more about finding out what's important to you and going for it. Money can buy some things, but it isn't really a substitute for a sense of self-worth.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I'd feel too embarrassed to dumpster dive and that some I know might see me. I do find the concept fascinating though. For the price of food nowadays, you certainly would save a pretty penny and helping not contribute so much to the tons of waste we make every day is a pretty fine idea.
I used to work in a convenience store where we would throw out several good sandwiches and stuff every day. I used to beg them to at least let the employees take it home, but they couldn't allow that. I always felt so bad seeing all that perfectly good food go to the trash every day. Many people in the world are starving and we're throwing it away. What a shame.
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
This is a really useful post, and relates well to a friend of mine who has recently set up a real estate business in the UK - Timing couldn't have been worse!
I relate to so much of what you say and perhaps your readers might like to read my post Management buyouts which talks about my general experience as a member of a team who emabarked on a $50m buyout because it gives a real life example.
There were several jackpot lawsuits in the US that scared most places from giving food away.
Many restaurants make popular items for the lunch rush before people order them. Many used to give away extras after the lunch rush. I'm talking full meals not stuff out of the trash. But some lawyers ruined that for everyone.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
If you use manufacturer's coupons on free after rebate items, you will pay less out of pocket, but they still send your rebate for the full price. It's another fun way to grow your gift card...
I go dumpster diving all the time and find great stuff! A place down the street always has bags of premium loaves of bread they throw out because they only sell stuff that was made that day. I'll tell you what - one day old bread is good stuff.
As for "why don't the stores donate it?" - they're lazy, that's why. And lot's of places actually won't take it. A friend tried to take bread from his deli to a shelter and they turned him away. They didn't want bread, they wanted sandwiches. Ridiculous.
And really, places throw out perfectly good stuff all the time because it would take more time and effort to do something else with it, not because there was ever anything wrong with it.
I know stores cannot donate their food b/c of idiots who are sue happy etc. and it is a shame. Maybe there should be a program where the food is collected and inspected before being tossed and then sent to a food bank. I just think that there are too many people who are hungry and could really use the food if it is ok like some people say who do dumpster dive.
As I am now finding out. I did plan well enough and took my time in the pre-acquisition stage to cover all the bases (that I could think off) but there are somethings that surprised me as well.
- The monthly ups and downs in the business can strain any amount of working capital you may have in the business, even if overall the business is profitable over the year. Great planning and strong cash management skills are needed
- Family thinks now that I don't have a job and work for myself, my time is very flexible. It couldn't be further from the truth (Family fully supports, just they have not fully adapted to this yet)
- Finding capital is difficult in current environment, even if acquiring an existing profitable company with history is less risky than a startup. This can be more difficult for someone like me who is hell bent on keeping 100% equity in the business and so will only consider debt funding
Its very simple why the stores don't donate. It is liablility. Some lovely people in this country have chosen to sue companies/stores/individuals that have donated food to a good cause.
I learned this tidbit from a local food pantry that helped out a friend. I inquired why they didn't get more food from restaurants and such. Their reply was liability to themselves and the store that donates the food. That is why they only accept packaged non-perishable food that is NOT expired.
i have been living of dumpster diving for the past three years, its in denmark but still, same deal, dirrerent corporations, and i have never gotten sick. The worst i have ever tried, was when i found 3 boxes of chocolate milk that still had months to go by the date, i brought them home and without thinking about opened one. took a big zip. and suddenly remembered the taste of infected pus from a dental problem i had years before. as it turns out the milk used was from a cow that had an udder infection. i waited for three hours to get sick, but nothing happened.
as for mold. you can ALWAYS smell it with just a minimum of training. most times. stuff is trown out because of the date on the package. a date that is required by law, but has nothing to do with the quality of the food.
or maybe a jar of jam cracked and the content got on other products, the law says that a supermarket cannot just clean off products and put them on the shelves. they have to throw it out. the winter, atleast here in denmark, is the best time to dumpster dive. they take stuff from the fridge inside the supermarket and place them in the big dumpster fridge outside.
You're probably safer eating your dinner off of the floor of a truck stop mens room. Here's an idea, if wasting the food bothers you that much, why don't you just use what you find in the dumpster to make nutrient rich compost and grow your own food?
Well, I was one of those people who were starving, not just missing a meal here or there, more like eating once or twice a week if I was lucky and that consisted of 1 can of soup and maybe a peanut butter sandwich. I had to chose either having a roof over my head and paying the rent-note: had no electricity or phone b/c I couldn't pay for it-or going without food. This lasted for 6 months until I could get myself back on my feet. I was lucky I didn't have any children to take care of, but I do know plenty of people now who are in the same situation I was in a long time ago. They either go without food for a couple of days, or go to the food bank. That's why I think the grocery stores should donate the food if it's not bad. They could feed alot of people. Just a little FYI-I live in SoFl and as of right now, there are 68,000 children who go hungry every day, this number does not even include their parents/guardian. These people aren't even the homeless you see out on the streets, this is just the "regualr joes" who just can't make ends meet. They work hard, but are financially strapped. So do you think those 68,000 children should be dumpster diving for their dinner or do you think that maybe the government should take a good look at the hunger problem in our country b/c it's all over the US and do something about it.
PS-I still wouldn't dumpster dive for food, I would go get help and in return since I could not financialy support the food bank, then I would volunteer my time in return.
I work at one of the mentioned Natural Food Retailers and have a friend that routinely dumpster dives at the regional distribution center. I just spent a night at his place and ate a great breakfast of organic bread, juice, milk and cookies.
The store that I work at has a compactor that I would not enter into, but the distribution center has overflow dumpsters that you wont get squished in. these centers are prime dumpster diving locations because they discard products well before their expiration date because retail stores will not accept a product that doesnt have at least 7 days shelf life.
My friend retrieves products out of dumpsters that are 2 to 10 days away from thier sell date and most are sealed.
I have no problem eating these foods and would feed them to my child if I were in a financial bind.
Also, the fact that there is so much time and energy used to produce and transport these high quality products, only to have them dumped, makes diving a moral bonus. Its a pity so much good stuff is tossed and I'm happy people can nourish themselves for free.
I read about a study once that I found very interesting. I can't find a link right now but it went something like this: The participants were asked if they considered themselves a lucky person or an unlucky person. Then they were given a task: count all the photos in today's newspaper. But the newspapers supplied were specially prepared and had a full-page "ad" on page 3 that said in huge letters, "Stop counting now. There are 45 photos." For the most part, people who identified themselves as having "good luck" spotted this and stopped counting, while the people who identified themselves as having "bad luck" didn't. The conclusion was that "good luck" has a lot to do with always watching for opportunities that come your way.
That's OK :) I appreciate your comments and I agree: the phenomenal popularity of some of the current best-selling books, CDs, DVDs and eBooks says something about the current zeitgeist, addressing what many people seem to think is important: making more money with less effort. But how will they attain it, when do they know they have enough and what will they do after they spend it?
Money and material gain only have meaning that people assign to it; it's not necessarily a measure of success. Real success is more about finding out what's important to you and going for it. Money can buy some things, but it isn't really a substitute for a sense of self-worth.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I'd feel too embarrassed to dumpster dive and that some I know might see me. I do find the concept fascinating though. For the price of food nowadays, you certainly would save a pretty penny and helping not contribute so much to the tons of waste we make every day is a pretty fine idea.
I used to work in a convenience store where we would throw out several good sandwiches and stuff every day. I used to beg them to at least let the employees take it home, but they couldn't allow that. I always felt so bad seeing all that perfectly good food go to the trash every day. Many people in the world are starving and we're throwing it away. What a shame.
Oops, I didn't mean to comment 3 times. I was having problems with the captcha. Sometimes it shows up and sometimes it doesn't. Sorry guys!
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
I've been reading several things about the Law of Attraction lately and am working my way through Think and Grow Rich right now. While they are both mainly focused on material gains, I think a lot can be applied to success in life in general once you look past the hype. In love, relationships, having a fulfilling career, etc.
Anyhow, what I really think it all boils down to is attitude. Some people just stay stuck and other people look for new opportunities and take risks without giving up. So many people say, "Oh, I'm so unhappy with my job" or whatever it is, but don't do anything to change it because they feel scared or unmotivated, or whatever. Of course you get stuck in the same situation with that kind of attitude.
You never know what may happen unless you take the plunge. You just might be successful. And if the worst thing that happens is failure, it's not the worst thing in the world. You just learn from it and try something else.
This is a really useful post, and relates well to a friend of mine who has recently set up a real estate business in the UK - Timing couldn't have been worse!
I relate to so much of what you say and perhaps your readers might like to read my post Management buyouts which talks about my general experience as a member of a team who emabarked on a $50m buyout because it gives a real life example.
You wouldn't take free food to feed your starving children? I am glad you're not my mother.
There were several jackpot lawsuits in the US that scared most places from giving food away.
Many restaurants make popular items for the lunch rush before people order them. Many used to give away extras after the lunch rush. I'm talking full meals not stuff out of the trash. But some lawyers ruined that for everyone.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
I used to work at a Trader Joe's and we had mountains of perfectly good food thrown out all the time because it got close to the "sell by" date, at which point the food was still perfectly good.
We had someone who came by sometimes and picked up food for the food banks, but most of the time it was thrown out.
There was a very large amount of perfectly good food thrown out pretty much every day so that the customers would only have the freshest, most perfect looking food every day.
I think the dumpster-diving guy was getting really good food at a great price (free).
For the guy who had the "dirty hippies" comment -- hippies haven't been seen since 1972. The guy was getting the same stuff you get in the store.
If you use manufacturer's coupons on free after rebate items, you will pay less out of pocket, but they still send your rebate for the full price. It's another fun way to grow your gift card...
Perhaps the store could be sued for food poisoning or something?
I go dumpster diving all the time and find great stuff! A place down the street always has bags of premium loaves of bread they throw out because they only sell stuff that was made that day. I'll tell you what - one day old bread is good stuff.
As for "why don't the stores donate it?" - they're lazy, that's why. And lot's of places actually won't take it. A friend tried to take bread from his deli to a shelter and they turned him away. They didn't want bread, they wanted sandwiches. Ridiculous.
And really, places throw out perfectly good stuff all the time because it would take more time and effort to do something else with it, not because there was ever anything wrong with it.
I admire their lifestyle. A lot of freegans live that way based on principle... i.e. anti-capitalism, anti-corporatism, etc.
I know stores cannot donate their food b/c of idiots who are sue happy etc. and it is a shame. Maybe there should be a program where the food is collected and inspected before being tossed and then sent to a food bank. I just think that there are too many people who are hungry and could really use the food if it is ok like some people say who do dumpster dive.
As I am now finding out. I did plan well enough and took my time in the pre-acquisition stage to cover all the bases (that I could think off) but there are somethings that surprised me as well.
- The monthly ups and downs in the business can strain any amount of working capital you may have in the business, even if overall the business is profitable over the year. Great planning and strong cash management skills are needed
- Family thinks now that I don't have a job and work for myself, my time is very flexible. It couldn't be further from the truth (Family fully supports, just they have not fully adapted to this yet)
- Finding capital is difficult in current environment, even if acquiring an existing profitable company with history is less risky than a startup. This can be more difficult for someone like me who is hell bent on keeping 100% equity in the business and so will only consider debt funding
- Those pesky taxes!
Arohan
http://arohanvalue.blogspot.com
I find it counter-intuitive that entrepreneurs become more process oriented than results oriented.
Its very simple why the stores don't donate. It is liablility. Some lovely people in this country have chosen to sue companies/stores/individuals that have donated food to a good cause.
I learned this tidbit from a local food pantry that helped out a friend. I inquired why they didn't get more food from restaurants and such. Their reply was liability to themselves and the store that donates the food. That is why they only accept packaged non-perishable food that is NOT expired.
So sad, but true. :(
i have been living of dumpster diving for the past three years, its in denmark but still, same deal, dirrerent corporations, and i have never gotten sick. The worst i have ever tried, was when i found 3 boxes of chocolate milk that still had months to go by the date, i brought them home and without thinking about opened one. took a big zip. and suddenly remembered the taste of infected pus from a dental problem i had years before. as it turns out the milk used was from a cow that had an udder infection. i waited for three hours to get sick, but nothing happened.
as for mold. you can ALWAYS smell it with just a minimum of training. most times. stuff is trown out because of the date on the package. a date that is required by law, but has nothing to do with the quality of the food.
or maybe a jar of jam cracked and the content got on other products, the law says that a supermarket cannot just clean off products and put them on the shelves. they have to throw it out. the winter, atleast here in denmark, is the best time to dumpster dive. they take stuff from the fridge inside the supermarket and place them in the big dumpster fridge outside.
You're probably safer eating your dinner off of the floor of a truck stop mens room. Here's an idea, if wasting the food bothers you that much, why don't you just use what you find in the dumpster to make nutrient rich compost and grow your own food?
Well, I was one of those people who were starving, not just missing a meal here or there, more like eating once or twice a week if I was lucky and that consisted of 1 can of soup and maybe a peanut butter sandwich. I had to chose either having a roof over my head and paying the rent-note: had no electricity or phone b/c I couldn't pay for it-or going without food. This lasted for 6 months until I could get myself back on my feet. I was lucky I didn't have any children to take care of, but I do know plenty of people now who are in the same situation I was in a long time ago. They either go without food for a couple of days, or go to the food bank. That's why I think the grocery stores should donate the food if it's not bad. They could feed alot of people. Just a little FYI-I live in SoFl and as of right now, there are 68,000 children who go hungry every day, this number does not even include their parents/guardian. These people aren't even the homeless you see out on the streets, this is just the "regualr joes" who just can't make ends meet. They work hard, but are financially strapped. So do you think those 68,000 children should be dumpster diving for their dinner or do you think that maybe the government should take a good look at the hunger problem in our country b/c it's all over the US and do something about it.
PS-I still wouldn't dumpster dive for food, I would go get help and in return since I could not financialy support the food bank, then I would volunteer my time in return.
That sounds like a great advice to double your capital because things happen and you gotta' be prepared. Good advice.
--
Money-Lessons.com
I work at one of the mentioned Natural Food Retailers and have a friend that routinely dumpster dives at the regional distribution center. I just spent a night at his place and ate a great breakfast of organic bread, juice, milk and cookies.
The store that I work at has a compactor that I would not enter into, but the distribution center has overflow dumpsters that you wont get squished in. these centers are prime dumpster diving locations because they discard products well before their expiration date because retail stores will not accept a product that doesnt have at least 7 days shelf life.
My friend retrieves products out of dumpsters that are 2 to 10 days away from thier sell date and most are sealed.
I have no problem eating these foods and would feed them to my child if I were in a financial bind.
Also, the fact that there is so much time and energy used to produce and transport these high quality products, only to have them dumped, makes diving a moral bonus. Its a pity so much good stuff is tossed and I'm happy people can nourish themselves for free.