Special Report: Dinner from the dumpster

Good enough to eat? But... would you want to if you knew they all came from the trash? Some people say why not...

Dylan, Boston Freegan
"I like to get all of my food out of the dumpster when I can."

This guys not alone....from the streets of Boston,

Boston Freegan
"Oh here we go cabbage!!"

To the big apple...

New York Freegan
"We got cheese danishes over here!"

All over the world, working professionals are digging deep for their next meal...taking trash to their tables.

Boston Freegan
"I see another carrot in there dude."

They call themselves freegans. That's a combination of the word vegan (meaning they don't eat meat or dairy projects) and free...as in ... they don't pay for their food.

Micah Lee, Boston Freegan
"For the most part, the only things that me or my roommates really buy are condiments."

Most freegans know what grocery store and restaurant dumpsters to dive into.

They can tell you the best dumpster to look in for vegetables, where to find fresh fruit and even where the best baked goods may be laying around...

New York Freegan
"Oh it is still warm."

Boston Freegan
"Anyone want little tomatoes?"

At times there's so much food they can't take it all.

Boston Freegan
"Do you want the buns?"

"Nahh"

So they leave it for who else...other freegans...

New York Freegan
"This is fresh salad, its not sticky, its not bad."

They don't do this out of necessity, most have jobs and collect pay checks - why do it then? They say it just doesn't make sense to let this food go to waste.

Adam Weissman, New York Freegan
"The solution to world hunger can be found in the waste bins of the United States."

Micah Lee, Boston Freegan
"A lot of people just don't believe there is this much food out there."

And they're not worried about getting sick either...they say most of the food they find comes pre packaged, and what's not, they take home and clean.

So what may look like a dumpster full of trash to some people, could actually be a dumpster full of dinner.

Phil Lipof 7News Night Team

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