Freegans, those who find their sustenance in the food left in dumpsters by restaurants and grocery stores around the city, have been in the news regularly for years now—but don't tell that to the New York Post. The Murdoch tabloid today has a story on the "trend," which they blame on "Brooklyn hipsters." Can you believe that people use any means necessary to feed themselves in New York City during a time of record poverty and seemingly hopeless economic inequality? Oh look: a slideshow with Heidi Klum AND Amanda Kerr!
The freegans the Post finds live in Brooklyn (which isn't even news) don't really add much you didn't already know. For various reasons, grocery stores throw out a whole lot of packaged foods that are totally safe to eat—and some clever scavengers have gotten quite good at sniffing them out. After all, a saran-wrapped sandwich is a saran-wrapped sandwich. But amazingly, they aren't all writhing in the street, groaning from tapeworms. Can you imagine that "while the average New Yorker might shell out $7 for a large salad at Starbucks during the day, just hours later...a growing population of educated and working hipsters are getting the same, although leftover, salads for free."
Still, don't call them (all) freegans! "I’m not a freegan," the Post's guide to the city's dining underbelly tells them. "It’s just a really easy way to save money on groceries. All that money is going into my pocket, and I’m actually eating pretty well. This generation isn’t homeless, filthy or even impoverished—just thrifty with an iron stomach."
Anyway, if you want free food that doesn't come from a dumpster, just take the NYPD's friendly advice and head on down to Zuccotti Park!
