How to get Free Food Archives - One Hundred Dollars a Month

Food Waste in America Round Up

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By Mavis Butterfield on July 2, 2013 · 10 Comments

It still blows my mind that all of this food I collect every week for my chickens and my family would otherwise be headed for the dumpster. We’ve been picking up free “scraps” from Mr. Produce Guy for over a year now and week after week I am shocked at what’s headed for the trash. So much of it is completely edible, but just not as pretty as we’re used to seeing in the produce aisles. I am really grateful for it, but it’s also frustrating to know so many people go hungry when perfectly good food is going to waste.

Check out some pictures of my biggest “free food” hauls over the past year. I bet I’ve rescued over $1,000 worth of produce since I started. It was really one of the most profitable and beneficial questions I’ve ever asked. Have you asked your local grocer if you can take their throwaways home? Has it worked? What have you been doing with your haul? Anyone tried asking bakeries, restaurants, etc. for their day old, bound-for-the-trash leftovers? I wonder what you’d see in their dumpsters?

And that was just a fraction of what I’ve brought home. Does it frustrate you just as much as it frustrates me that we waste SO MUCH in this country? Or do you think they are justified in getting rid of produce that’s a little wilty & a little moldy? Do you think I’m crazy for feeding my family produce bound for the trash? Or do you feel like I do that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?!

If you have just stumbled upon this series and are wondering how I got all this food for free, you’ll want to read this story first.

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

How to Get Free Food Week # 19 – Reclaimed Food Show and Tell

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By Mavis Butterfield on September 4, 2012 · 14 Comments

This past week I hit the jackpot in the reclaimed food department. Melons, lettuce, strawberries, corn and grapes. This whole idea of asking your local grocer for their chicken scraps isn’t a bad gig. Some weeks we make out like bandits, and some weeks the chickens get all the loot. What we obtain, and what we are actually able to reclaim varies, and I think it’s what keeps me going back for more.

Life’s like a box of scraps… You never know what you’re gonna get. ~Mavis Gump

Now if this were the depression era, I’d probably just cut away the bad parts, but I have chickens, and they sure do love corn. So when they see The Girl and I with a big box of golden goodness, they make a run for the gate and stand there silently, waiting for it to drop on the ground. And then it’s a free for all.

I wonder what people in other countries would think of our produce standards here in the US. 3 “bad” leaves of lettuce ruin the whole bag? Fine by me. I can pick out 3 pieces of lettuce in a bag that’s not set to expire for another 5 days. No problem.

Hardly a week goes by we don’t get free strawberries We have so many in the freezer right now it’s ridiculous. I wonder if the amount of free berries will slow down in the winter months or stay the same.

Free grapes? Heck ya I’ll take them. I don’t mine sorting.

I had to peel back 1 leaf to get it to look like this. How much does a head of lettuce cost these days anyway?

I’m thinking we must have salvaged at least $50 worth of produce. How crazy is that?

6 watermelon quarters
2 bags of salad mix
3 heads of lettuce
4+ pounds of grapes
4 ears of corn
20+ pounds of strawberries

Go Forth and Salvage!

~ Mavis

Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past 5 months?

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

Forrest Gump {Two-Disc Special Collector’s Edition} $9.47 ~ Amazon.com

*Amazon prices can change at anytime

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

How to Get Free Food Week # 18 – Reclaimed Food Show and Tell

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By Mavis Butterfield on August 28, 2012 · 9 Comments

The pickin’s were a little slim this week. But I’m not complaining. With the kids getting ready to head back to school, the garden, the chickens, and having to get ready for a quick trip to Boise, I was a bit relieved to see only 3 boxes when I picked up our “chicken scraps” this week at the local produce stand.

Some weeks I love having a bunch of free produce to sift through, and some weeks it’s a chore. But I’m in it to win it, and I just have to remind myself that I am getting FREE FOOD, and no one should ever complain about free food. Ever.

This week I was able to reclaim-

7 Ears of corn – I made grilled corn salad again
1 Head of lettuce
1 Bell pepper
Spinach – enough for a strawberry and spinach salad
2+ Pounds of strawberries – perfect for strawberry bruschetta
Bulk carrots, shredded carrots and bagged baby carrots
2 Asparagus
1 Bunch of radishes
1 Head of cauliflower – I’m planning on making cauliflower hummus later today
1 Jalapeno pepper and a cucumber {The Girl started eating it before I could get a picture}

Over the past few months I received emails from people who have been both successful and unsuccessful in getting their local grocers to allow them to pick up free “scraps” from stores.

In the end, I think it boils down to what the individual store policy is. Some are afraid of giving away produce because of lawsuits, some stores already have a program in place for local charities to pick up the “old” fruits and veggies, and others are just happy to give it to someone so it doesn’t go to waste.

So if you’ve already asked all your local grocery stores for their seconds and have been turned down, maybe try a local farm, fruit stand or CSA and see if they are willing to give your their blemished produce {or let you purchase it for ultra cheap}. The worst thing anyone can ever tell you is no. And if you don’t ask, you won’t know for sure.

Peace Out Girl Scouts, I’m headed out to the garden to pick some veggies!

♥ Mavis

Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past 4 1/2 months?

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

Have you read the The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn? This was the first book I ever read on frugality. Not only is it a great read, but a huge eye opener. Amazon has it on sale right now for $15.61 and it’s worth every penny.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

How to Get Free Food Week # 16 – Reclaimed Food Show and Tell

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By Mavis Butterfield on August 14, 2012 · 4 Comments

This week when I went to pick up the “chicken scraps” I was a bit relieved. For the first time in a long while the boxes were not stuffed with mounds and mounds of lettuce leaves. There were a few heads of iceberg lettuce this time around, but they were not salvageable.

However, there was an ample supply of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and strawberries to fill our refrigerator with. Plus, I was able to divide up the remaining scraps in to 3 boxes to feed not only our chickens, but Girly Girls and another friends as well.

This whole picking up free scraps gig is pretty sweet. I only wish more stores would let people pick up their discards. From reading your comments over the past few months, finding a local store that will give you their scraps seems to be pretty hit an miss.

All I can say is this, keep trying.

If you’ve asked the grocery stores and had no luck, try a local farm stand or the local farmer’s market at closing. Who knows. You may just get lucky.

Peace Out Girl Scouts,

I’m headed outside to get a little work done in the garden before it starts to heat up. It’s suppose to be 80 degrees here in the Seattle area. I hope I don’t get heatstroke.

♥ Mavis

Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past few months?

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

Keep fruits and veggies fresh longer with the Progressive International Lettuce Keeper. Amazon currently has it on sale for $13.98.

See more Fruit and Vegetable Keepers

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.