The three rules of dumpster diving:
1. Never take more than you need… unless you find it a good home
2. First ones to the dumpster have first dibs… but you always gotta share
3. Leave it cleaner than you found it
These rules were developed by the makers of Dive!; a documentary that follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles’ supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food. But after a while of feeding his own family, Jeremy begins to question why this food isn’t finding room on the plates of more people that need it. He underscores this important question with an overwhelming statistic: “Every year in America we throw away 96 billion pounds of food. Which means we’re feeding our landfills as much we’re feeding our country”.
Since releasing the film, Jeremy and crew have been on a grassroots crusade to fix the problem. Their message is simple: Take the food we throw out – give it to people who can’t afford it. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to do that.
Just about every grocery store in America is required by law to take food off the shelf after a certain amount of time. That doesn’t mean the food is rotten, though, or that grocery stores have to toss good food in the garbage bin. Many retailers, in fact, have developed great programs to get this food to nearby food banks. But they can’t do it every day. To do so would be a massive undertaking requiring the support of all stakeholders: food companies, retailers, non-profits, consumers and government.
As a food company, we know we play an important role in creating a solution, which is why last week we invited the makers of Dive! and Congressman Jared Polis (who’s doing some great things in the realm of ending childhood hunger) to screen the film and discuss ideas around finding a solution. Some great ideas were presented, a healthy discussion ensued, and moving forward we’ve all committed to keep the dialogue going not just among the Dive! folks, WhiteWave and Congressman Polis, but with all our contacts across government, the retailers we work with and consumers who buy our products.
Stay tuned to TGM for more updates on how this project progresses, and in the meantime you should definitely check out Dive!. You should probably “Like” their Facebook page too…
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