Restaurants, Bakeries and Grocery Stores are notoriously wasteful and are a treasure trove of fresh food, if you know where and when to look. Admittedly, going through trash bins behind a store is not for everyone, but if done properly foraging for food can save an unbelievable amount of good food that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Freegan Tips to Save at Grocery Stores
It really is staggering the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that are discarded on a nightly basis behind grocery stores. Consumers demand perfection when purchasing fruits and vegetables, so if a piece of fruit does not look perfect on the shelves, then chances are shoppers will look past it for a better looking piece. Perfectly good produce ends up in the trash everyday.

Some stores will actually pre-emptively remove the non perfect produce before it makes it to the store front. Fruits and vegetables will move right from the truck into the garbage because there is no point putting produce onto the shop floor when the store knows it will not get purchased. If you can find a store that does this, you will get produce with small scratches or bruises that are otherwise perfect on a very regular basis.

If the produce is not individually packaged be sure to check what else is around it to make sure there is nothing that could potentially make you sick and always wash produce thoroughly before eating regardless of packaging. (For pesticides as well).

If picking produce up from behind a store doesn’t seem appetizing to you, then just ask your grocer if they have any bruised or older produce for a reduced price. Many stores have discount shelves for produce that will go to the dumpster if the products are not purchased.

If you are specifically shopping for produce try shopping late at night or early in the morning. Produce departments will make daily assessments of their stocks at the end of each day and mark down any subpar products. Just by shopping at the right time you can easily save 50% on what you would normally spend on fruits and veggies.

Grocery stores will throw out other non-produce merchandise on a regular basis, and just like the fruits and veggies there is often a surprising amount of excellent quality food tossed into the trash.

Breads and buns are cooked fresh daily and are also discarded daily to keep the store’s stock fresh. The general rule is a 1 day to sale time for breads made in the store and the breads are normally made early in the morning (although some stores may have a second run in the afternoon depending on turnover). Get to the store early in the morning for in store discounts. Much like the produce 50% discounts are very common.

Packaged products with best before dates or recommended sell dates are often discarded before the recommended date. Just be sure not to use anything where the original packaging has been opened or has ripped.

Frozen foods can be a goldmine, since they rarely go bad and will last ages if stored properly. Just be sure to not use anything that has thawed.

Be hesitant of meats and dairy products unless they have come straight from the store. Products that have been outside for a couple of hours could go bad regardless of expiration dates. If the meat is still good try to use it that night or freeze it as soon as you get home.

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