The first time I ever did it myself was 2013, when I spent a few weeks living at the runneymede diggers eco village. They get the majority of their food from supermarket skips and where happy to show me the best places in the area. I was amazed by some of the perfectly healthy produce you can find. Some of the best things I found whilst staying there included, a 4 pack of beers, thrown out because one was pierced, the entire Waitrose cheese counter which had obviously been replaced that day, and a whole duck, which we roasted on an open fire and easily fed a large group of people.
Needless to say, these few times gave me the bug, and even now, the prospect of going out to skip my local waitrose is exciting to me. Every time I go, I manage to fill my backpack with a variety of different things.
Everything in this photo came from two dumpsters at my local waitrose, this was the first time I went on my own. A bit creepy jumping a 10 foot fence, but totally worth it. I didn't even need a skip key. There's a pack of sausage meat, some quorn, bacon, a whole chicken, eggs, quinces and more.
It's been a long time since this night, and I've done a fair amount of travelling, but wherever I am I always try to familiarize myself with the best places to get free food. It's always easier when you're settled somewhere for a while, as you can find out the best places to go, and the times to go there. But it's a great way to save money on the road too. If you're broke in a new city, don't forget to check http://trashwiki.org/en/Main_Page here you can type in the name of practically any city, and find out the best places to go, but there are some easy rules to remember.
Markets are great, most stalls won't mind you checking their bins in the middle of the day while they're still trading, and they'll throw out things stat, whilst hard to sell, wouldn't look out of place in the fruit bowl. they tend to throw out things like apples and pares with very small bruises, or peppers that have gone a little but wrinkly. A classic find is bananas, they go brown and unattractive really easily, yet lat for a really long time, and can often be thrown away in their hundreds. Recently in Winchester, after Boomtown fair, I found a treasure trove of bananas along with a load of mangoes, clementines and apples, in the bins behind a small fruit stall. The owners where even encouraging us to take what they'd thrown away.
Anywhere that makes boasts such as pastries and bread 'baked fresh daily' are perfect, and when your in countries like france, famous for the patisseries, it can be easy to find for free in the evening, what you'd pay a small fortune for in the morning. Most of this stuff doesn't last a long time, but for a quick evenings dumpster diving you can find yourself eating like a king come breakfast time.
Ask around; if you speak the local language, find out when the bin day is in the local area, some places will have their bins locked away, and only bring them out on bin day, but if you know when this is, you can get a really good haul, just beware of locals who already have a claim on the area, because it can become nasty very quickly.
There's probably more I could think of, but It's 10.40 and and I'm leaving for Paris in the morning, I still haven't packed, and I'm heavily procrastinating right now. It's to late to record a song to go with this article, people are in bed, so I guess you'll have to do without. Maybe I'll add one later...
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