Unexpected Bounty

I wasn't expecting to find such a plentiful bounty on my walk over the hill this morning.
I've done the same walk dozens of times without noticing a scrap of edible foliage, but today I totally scored!

• a handful of fresh mint
• two sweet little meyer lemons
• a few fresh sprigs of creeping rosemary
• some raw olives
• a bunch of young wild radish greens

I'm rooting the rosemary and mint to plant on the side of my house, but the greens and lemon sound like a perfect combo for a little snack! Yum!


Check out: neighborhoodfruit.com to find the goodies in your hood.

Never Say Never

Freeganism, Scrounging, Dumpster Diving. Call it what you will.
I always said I would never do it, but that all changed last week..... I did it. I can't believe I did it and at my own job.

That's right folks a dozen lovely little tomatoes that I just couldn't let go.
(Oh and a mango, a lime, a loaf of bread and three sweet potatoes!)

Ok here's the back story:

My new job has me working as an Urban Farming and Sustainability Program Coordinator (yes!) for a midsize non-profit that has, as one part, a cafe'. Since arriving I have been focusing on evaluating which foods can be easily grown for the cafe' in containers in the parking lot as well as modifying the cafe's waste stream to be more sustainable.

For the farm, that means saving food scraps from the kitchen for compost and coffee grounds from the front for our worm bins. The cafe staff has been slowly getting acclimated to the idea of sorting non-animal based (meat & dairy) food scraps from the other waste.

Since it is still a learning process, I spend a lot of time up to my elbows sorting through bag after bag of food waste that have been collected in closed plastic bins outside the back door.

Almost everyday I find a items that I can't quite decipher why they have been tossed. I pull them out, HIDE THEM and take them home to eat.

Honestly, I'm not completely comfortable with this either, but I do have a few standards that I'm sticking with to make sure that I'm more comfortable with taking and eating the food than worried about getting accidental food poisoning.

Items were found as follows:
Tomatoes

• in sandwich boxes separate from other waste

Mango

• on top of food bin

Lime

• in food waste bag, but has a thick skin

Bread

• individual plastic bag on top of other stuff

Sweet Potatoes

• in food waste bag, but will be peeled and cooked

I feel guilty that I am taking home such lovely food when so many others have nothing to eat, but with current laws as they are, this food is illegal.

I feel guilty for taking things from a non-profit that is always struggling to make ends meet, but this stuff has been tossed out.

I feel guilty about feeling too guilty to offer my bounty to others I work with. (I also, don't want to get fired for being a weirdo.)

However, my anonymous friends, I will share my bounty with you on the page. Look for the new FREE line in the daily waste tally starting today.

Here's to a Bicycle Commute

I finally did it! I found a new job and can now ride my bike to work! Hooray! Yeah! Boohyeah!

For the last 2 years I have been living and commuting in LA without owning a car. I clarify "owning" because I have on many occasions taken use of cars belonging to generous friends.(Thanks Bear, Becca and JP)

As of November, I have a new commute. A meager 20 minutes of butt on bike time, I'm leaving my car days long gone!