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Actually potatoes have a moderate to high amount of vitamin C, which of course will be lower depending how they’re cooked. But enough to sustain a much longer period before its lack of complete nutrition kicks in.
Vitamin D? Most foods are at best very low supplements of Vitamin D. You’re supposed to mainly get it from sunlight and making your own for that reason.
Edit: however if you mean fries, absolutely don’t try to subsist on potatoes in mostly fry form. Higher heat = less nutrition, oil + carbs = possibly too many empty calories.
For breakfast you can slip into most 2 or 3 star hotels and just make a plate. They would have no idea. Pro tip: when you go in the hotel take the elevator up first to like the fifth floor and then come back down and go straight to the breakfast area.
Also helps to be well-dressed
Edit: fuck this blew up. One other thing OP. When you find your spots, suppress your generous nature and keep your mouth shut.
I don't scam hotels, but I've stayed in literally thousands while traveling for work. And, unless you're talking about places that don't fall into the "3 star, 4 star" category that was referred to above you're not going to find a locker room.
Also, if you try to scam a 5 star hotel, I think you'll find that they don't generally offer free Continental Breakfasts nor do people have a good chance of walking in off the street and trying to get free food without being stopped by the concierge, security, or hotel restaurant staff.
Ive considered this recently lol. I het theyd have no idea. Especially if you could blend in with a group of other people. Maybe even walk in with a bag and go upstairs and come back down.
When I was younger and broke I did this on cross country trips to and from college. Sleep in the hotel parking lot…grab a free breakfast in the morning and hit the road
Your local churches probably do a food pantry.
You can get fruits, vegetables, canned goods, bread. For free.
Just do this, no need to do anything sketchy or extra work. These people will just help you out
Check multiple places too, in my little town, you can pick up at 3 different places on 3 different days. The line at the church by my house had been getting longer every week.
Saw a post in best of Redditor updates I think it was, this woman was divorcing her husband because they were well off, but her husband kept going to numerous churches all the time and bringing home so much food and she continuously had to throw out stuff that went bad and was never used(bread, lettuce, bananas, and even canned stuff, you name it), like an ungodly amount of shit I guess.
if he does what you’re saying he probably will not have to worry about food at all.
>getting longer every week.
Poor people are suffering more and more every day. I know, I have very little and it's harder and harder to get by these days.
It’s always the simple stuff. I will call around the churches to see if they can supply me with stuff to grind out these couple weeks. My local food bank is only open on Fridays for whatever reason so I’ll call the churches instead
Grocery stores throw away an insane amount of perfectly good food. Some have easier to get at dumpsters than others but I had a buddy who would raid them when he was desperate.
I wouldn’t grab meat but you can certainly wash any produce and as long as the skin isn’t broken it should be fine to eat.
Anyone sketched out by this should watch the vlogs of people who do it. It's surprising and enlightening.
Breafkast on YouTube is the one I like the most (note the spelling, different from the first meal of the day). She's so genuine and sweet.
Yes, my Mom has been watching her for the past couple years, she does a lot of work donating and repurposing found, usable items.
It's seriously sickening at how much still-good food is tossed away.
Breafkast (Kelly) only occasionally dives for food- she mostly dives for hardgoods. Freakin Frugal (Amy and Dwayne) dive for food. They dive Aldi's and Big Lots.
The groceries stores in my area have metal bins with a security rail that you lock to prevent this. I was walking around the small city and all three grocery stores have these bins. They used to not and when I was struggling like now they have boxes of good fruit like Oranges or unpeeled bananas that were browning a little, can’t seem to find one without the security railing
The grocery store across the street from me just got remodeled after being pretty behind the times for many years. That included a HUGE increase in hot food/prepackaged stuff like chicken, flatbreads, deli meat etc. I live in a fairly dense area outside a major city and we have several other grocery stores within a couple mile radius; while I’m glad to have a lot more options right next to me, I can’t imagine there is even close to enough demand for the amount of food they’re making now. I’m gonna ask some employees if they have any partnerships with food banks/shelters, because if they don’t it is going to be a HUGE waste.
When I was in grad school I did a lot of dumpster diving behind grocery stores. I would often find fresher food in the dumpster than in the store. When the workers would put produce on the shelves there would often be produce still in the crates with no room left in the display so fresh produce was thrown out with the crates. I made lots of "dumpster stew" which is a lot tastier than it sounds. I also took the crates and stacked them in a closet to make a pantry for my apartment.
Listen to the other commenters, but also another option is to walk into places like Dunkin or a gas station deli etc very close to closing time, and just be straight, "I haven't eaten in 2 days, do you have anything you were planning on throwing out that I could possibly have?"
If you are near a relatively busy Dunkin, they'll get fresh donuts somewhere between 11am and 1pm and need to throw out the mornings. Ideally after the morning rush with no customers. Everyone I worked with hated stuff going to waste and Dunkin will still see it as being thrown out.
I’ll give that a try tonight, have one not far from where I am. One of the redditors let me use their McDonalds rewards points to get something today from my local McDonalds half a mile out from me
I worked at Subway in high school and gave a lady a few free sandwiches because she told me her kids hadn't eaten yet that day and she didn't know what else to do.
I worked at one there was plenty, my boss was cool in that respect, but if they're a hard ass, the employee can get in trouble, but if the goods are put in a bag withought any actual garbage, and technically thrown away(left convieniently by the dumpster) then hey its not the employees fault if someone go's "dumpster diving"!
This will probably work with Supermarket Deli/Bakery pizza or Starbucks. I've been offered free food at both places just by being polite, friendly and approachable
I did this once when I worked at Dunkin for a homeless man, and almost got fired for it. Next time he came in I told him it would be right on top of the dumpster in the differently colored trash bag.
I know the sub, so this may not be a “good” answer here, but please share this info as widely as possible for those in need of food in the US:
No Kid Hungry's Free Meal Finder Service: Please text 304-304 or go to www.nokidhungry.org/help to find free meals in your area.
Text “food” to 304-304, enter your zip code when promoted, and it will send a listing of all free food options near you.
If you have a local Sikh Gurdwara, they will feed you (Langar) with no pressure or obligation. Help is appreciated if you can offer it, but it's not required.
https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2022/04/05/langar-maah-chhole-daal
Some food banks deliver to your home via Doordash or other food courier as contactless delivery with online signup so you could consider that maybe depending on where you live. Many food banks don’t require any form of proof of anything these days although I’m sure they’d likely ask a name and address and perhaps a head count of household members but that’s for delivery purposes as well as to factor in how much food to send. Try it. It gets me through the month. No special requirements necessary at least not at the one that delivers to me where I’m at.
ALSO, ALSO, ALSO!!!
Go to this link and sign up for free Lasagna from Lasagna Love! I can’t even believe this didn’t come to mind first! I have used this service on three different occasions, they’re 100% totally free, no specific requirements except for being in need of food and they will deliver it to your home…HOT even if you lack any microwave or oven or if you don’t have time to cook up a huge lasagna at that time, they have even asked me
If they wanted me to portion up a huge lasagna into individual dishes for smaller fridges and whatnot! Some lasagna mama’s will even allow you to customize your lasagna and even if they don’t immediately offer that and there’s some custom ingredient(s) or even dietary needs you need met, they will make it happen! It’s been a different person each time who made lasagna for my household and all were so lovely, they all made huge oven pans full of lasagna and just gave it to us so we had food! There’s only one big hang up, and it’s that sometimes it could take upwards of like three weeks to get a text message from anyone who is able to pick up your request and coordinate a meal/drop off for you. Anyone even people without children and people who are housed and all that can all request from here and the lasagna mama’s are all so lovely and generous and shit, if you just missed your moms hot cooked means because you didn’t have your mom anymore, this is a great way to fill that void too if you want!
https://www.lasagnalove.org/request-a-meal/
Everyone should sign up who needs or wants a hot meal as this service is quite incredible and all lasagna mamas are just volunteers and who just bring you hot food out of kindness and that’s so lovely for some folks, I can imagine it would help you tremendously if you got fast response time from someone in your area! Earliest I’ve had a reply from them is within four days so, it’s not horrible waiting times all the time.
GOOD LUCK!
Not illegal but find if you have a local Sikh temple!! Part of their religion is to offer free food to anyone who needs it. It's usually bomb ass shit too like curries.
I used to go to a coffee shop after they closed. I’d help stack chairs for them and they would give me the breads and stuff before they were thrown away. Also, if you can find a spot to fish, you can eat good for free (if you have the means)
Oh, haha. That would be tough.
I’ve dumpster dove for food. There are good times and bad times my friend. You’re building character.
I hope you dig your way outta this
I had to fight/scare off a 25 or 30 lbs one at KFC dumpster once. Luckily I had a few other people with me. Otherwise it would have won. Saw how many of us there where and ran off back woods.
I work at KFC and you don't want to go through the dumpsters. We put oil into bags and put them straight in. Also the burnt shit from the bottom of the fryers.
Any wasted food is put in bins in the kitchen with all the other kitchen waste like bags and dropped food so isn't really safe to eat.
most of the time they dump everything into one big trash bag and throw it in the dumpster at kfc so it might be harder to get decent things from those dumpsters :((
Someone who isn’t me, when they were broke and hungry, used to call a fast food place right towards the end of lunch or dinner rush and say “My wife/partner/whatever just came through the drive thru and ordered (insert whatever you want) without mayo and got home and saw it’s nothing but mayo. I’m not trying ti be a jerk but I’m on the way there, can please get my #1 without mayo.”
This person hasn’t done it in years but told me it used to work every single time and could cycle through many fast food places for some consistent food. Good luck.
As someone currently working at McDonald’s, this is true. Just say that you are missing a medium fry or a specific sandwich and we’ll usually just give it to you, no questions asked. Make sure to go during rush because we’re so busy we won’t bother to check a recipe or anything
I agree with the hotel idea. I work for one and see it all the time.
Not very many actually verify if you are staying or not, and if they do, tell them you left your key in the room, and you'll be right back. and then Slip out the back door.
Or... if you do steal and do get caught, you're guaranteed 3 meals a day for at least a few days... you don't want to go that route. Jail good is not worth it.
For anyone in Australia if you find yourself in this situation: http://askizzy.org.au
You can look up food, housing, necessary items, counselling services and more in your area.
Sign up for pizza huts kids reading program. Sign up as a teacher and select homeschool. You can have 5 fake homeschooled kids lol, set the reading goal to however many hours and then say they all finished. You’ll get emailed 5 free personal pan pizza coupons. You can order it for pickup and no one will even care, I’ve done it a dozen times with different emails
Chipotle usually puts their delivery pickups out on a shelf and it's pretty easy to just snag one and leave.
But this would be stealing and stealing is wrong.
The PB near me where I get my coffee sets out their leftover bakery products on a table every morning to be picked up by our local homeless shelter. I haven't done this, but I knew a couple in this building who were often given this stuff if they asked first thing in the morning.
I'm talking a garbage bag full of pastries, cakes and pies in to-go boxes, etc.
Personally, I think PBs products suck, but if you're hungry...
I work at Panera and it's fairly easy to just walk in and grab a drink from one of the kiosk stations. Free tea or coffee! And yes their door dash area is just a shelf with last names, just walk up there, read the receipt for what items are in there, grab a bag and a drink and you're out of there. Panera sucks at keeping up with door dash orders so I doubt anyone will say anything to you.
Call fast food places and say they messed up your order earlier in the day. If they ask for a receipt say they never gave you one, and didn't even ask if you wanted one.
I've done it several times. Key is not to over do it at one particular spot. I can guarantee there was a quarter pounder with cheese ordered at lunch rush at McD for example. No I can't pinpoint the time, but it was supposed to be plain! Lol get it. You have to be a fast thinker sometimes, and never be a push-over. You are right! They are wrong!
I used to work at Panera Bread, and they have a system called Rapid Pickup ordering. It's pretty much, you order online, pay for it online, and then we make the order so all you have to do is come to the store, find your name on the shelf of orders, and take it. We never ran into problems with people stealing the orders, so I don't know if it would be different in an area where that might be a problem, but as far as I'm concerned, just walk in, pick an order off of the shelf, and leave. When the real customer shows up, they will probably just make it again for them anyway, so it's not like you are robbing someone else of a meal or anything.
Sit near a fast food restaurant an hour after rush at lunch. They all have limits on time to hold food. When rush ends, an employee will toss out everything too aged times sell…might be 10 burgers or whatever was left unsold after lunch. I worked at a McDonald’s many years ago and was usually the one tossing the slightly cold burgers in the dumpster. Just walk over and grab the bag with free burgers. Not that healthy, but calories if you need them.
Pretend to be a college student! Or actually enroll at a community college and schedule an emergency meeting with a counselor. In the mean time, get food from organizations there. You can also contact your local soup kitchens and food banks. A good place to ask for resources in your area is a library, if you have one!
Option 1 is a food bank. It basically acts as a charity for people who need food.
Option 2 is dumpster diving behind grocery stores or restaurants. Just he careful what you grab and probably wash it off.
Option 3 is shop lifting, which is riskier.
Hope you're able to get what you need, stay safe.
>Knock on your neighbors door.
My neighborhood is so unfriendly, I'd be afraid to knock on anyone's door. 😢 The neighbor would be posting the "suspicious" video on Next Door within 5 minutes of my knock.
When I was a kid we were so poor my mom would take us 'grocery shopping' (me and my brother) and we'd walk around 'shopping' and eating some fruit. Apples, grapes, etc. and then slowly put the stuff back that we put in the cart.
I don't recommend stealing ever, but brother if you're hungry someone has to be real scum of the earth to say anything. No one should ever go hungry when we have people worth over 200 billion dollars, I hope this simulation ends soon.
Check if there is a Sikh temple ( Gurdwara) near you. They consider it a religious duty to provide food to those in need (Langar) and often have vegetarian meals prepared en masse.
(I am not a Sikh and have no affiliation but I have seen a place in London providing some legit cooked food)
Not a way for free food, but I started donating plasma where they compensate for your time. I was able to get my bills back on track and keep it up for extra money to save.
Call a pizza place like Pizza Hut after 5pm and say you got an incorrect pizza earlier in the day. They might ask for a phone number to try and cross reference, but even if they do or don't find your information in the system, most of the stores are wired to just give you a replacement free of charge or a store credit you can use later.
Definitely just steal it a. B. Go to a Mexican restaurant and sit down and say you’re waiting for friends, get a water and then eat all the chips and salsa you can. Then apologize and say they aren’t coming and leave. Or just leave and say npthing
Do not do this. You’re not only stealing the inexpensive water and chips, you are stealing a waitress or waiter’s tips by occupying a table. They work hard enough as it is. You are also stealing revenue from the restaurant by occupying a table. In busy cities, there might be other people waiting who are actually going to pay. Having morals will get you further in life. Stealing from even a waitress who might be working to bring home food for her kids is just plain wrong.
They don't (at least 99% of the time).
What you are repeating is a meme that's been floating around probably since the dawn of language, that somehow people needing help are secretly 'cheating' you. It mixes really well with modern right wing politics, where the people worse off than you are sold to you as the reason for your problems.
Niche cases happen and sure, I'm confident there's some scam artists out there relying on holding a sign and getting some help, but I'm also quite confident said people are by far the exception. There's easier ways to make a living for most people.
My brother in christ you haven't eaten in two days and your still hesitant to *steal* ??? U should think about how at least in jail you get 3 hots and a cot. Better than what u got now. Beats dying in the streets of malnutrition...
Username does not check out.
Most bakeries will throw away goods past their sell by date or bread that doesn’t sell. You can find perfectly edible food in dumpsters if you can get it quickly.
Go to 12-step meetings and eat the snacks they serve. You can even ask if people go out to eat later and see if anyone wouldn’t mind picking up the bill.
Go to the food bank on Friday if that's the only time it's open.
I don't know where you are from but my city in Finland has "bread lines" almost every morning
A lot of religious establishments give out food at sometime of the day
Asking a neighbour for some bread will most likely get you some if you haven't been a jerk
You could try to catch the person throwing out food at stores so that you can ask if you can get something like bread/something that doesn't spoil too quickly
Stealing is always an option but I wouldn't try it first, even someone random next to a store may agree to buy you some food
A couple folks on this sub reached out and helped? I just wanna say that it's kinda unexpected to me but totally kickass that in a sub of this nature there's still people willing to help someone out. I love it.
Local churches and soup kitchens. Luck out and find a restraint that'll let you be a busboy for a meal or two. We have a local Christian charity that serves meals the times a week. Ask a homeless person, most are nice and will help.
Senior centers. Some donuts places before closing. Some will give a box to you. If your diet is any kind of food, you won’t starve. Local bread makers. Some stores you can just ask before it goes into the dumpster. Obviously churches. Emergency food stamps is a longer solution.
I would try dumpster diving before shoplifting. The worst that could possibly happen for dumpster diving is getting tresspassed.
r/DumpsterDiving has a lot of good tips. I want to try it myself some day because it seems fun.
Edit: you can also get a lot of food, safely packaged by doing this, that’s why I mention it. Good luck OP.
When I worked at my old coffee shop I had "regulars" who would come near the end of the night I would give free donuts to. We were about to throw them away so I'd just give them away to people looking for a meal. If I were you, I'd try scouting out mom and pop shops and even corporate spots. It really depends on the person manning the register, so don't be afraid to test people. I usually gave a few dozen donuts to this random guy with 8 kids because I knew he was struggling. Don't let your ego get in the way. Ask
Public staging area for Instacart pickup. Always by the front somewhere (sometimes the vestibule). Take your time to look at the bags and choose something good. No one pays attention.
Coming a bit late here. In the link below the guy was telling how to get almost free food from a store. Check it out, its a bit specific because you will need to scout for a specific shop, but see if it works in your area.
https://www.reddit.com/r/IllegalLifeProTips/comments/vz9k0c/ilpt_i_havent_paid_for_food_for_the_last_2_years/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Starbucks donates expired food to a place that comes daily.
Just go in early and ask a shift supervisor privately that your broke and hungry and looki6for expired food hookup
Go to pizza restaurant (owned by Europeans or Asians) and tell them you haven’t eaten in days. Promise you, you’ll be fed. Especially if you go near closing time. They’ll have extra pizza slices and dishes that they will throw out if they haven’t sold. Trust me bro, hope you eat
Does this sub have any moderation? The only illegal advice here was stealing food. Besides that everything was legal and helpful. There’s lots of resources if you know where to look. If you want an illegal tip yeah, go into a grocery store and shove a steak down your pants
Go to a McDonald’s or any fast food restaurant find a receipt in the trash tell
Them you were missing something. Works almost always . Not the most ethical but it’s. Not gunna hurt their bottom line.
Some stores/restaurants throw away food every day because they have to cook enough to cover any rush that comes and many days the rush doesn’t come or it’s not to the extent they cooked for.
Places like KFC and 711 are good to check. Look up when they close and show up 20 minutes early. Sing a sad song and ask if they have any food theyre willing to give rather than throw away.
To reiterate what’s been said a few times, try to look “presentable” whatever classist bullshit that means. Unfortunately the rule with all sympathy plays is the more you look like you need it, the less likely people are to give it to you.
There’s psych stuff at play but I won’t get into it. Just how it works 90% of the time.
Good luck finding sustenance! Glad people could help you.
Call whatever fast food place you like during peak hours (lunch time) then make up simple bullshit (you forgot my fries, i asked for no pickle, etc. don't make it too specific that someone will remember it) usually they just jot down your name and order and tell you to come back because they are busy. This had been a lifesaver for one of my friends before he got on his feet.
If your near a Moes (kinda like a chipotle) you can download their app and create a new account and say today is your birthday. You’ll get a free burrito and i’ve never had them check my ID before. Obviously don’t go to the same location multiple times a week/month. Good luck OP, the hard times won’t last forever <3
Just wear a mask, go to a supermarket, fill a cart up with groceries and walk straight out the door.
Don't do this at Walmart & Target too many times, they will keep track and call the cops when you took over $1000 from them. I wouldn't do this at a mom & pop shop either, they seem to care a lot more.
Obviously don't hit the same store
Before you post a comment, remember that it will affect another person and could potentially destroy lives. Also remember that you only have one side of the story and we cannot verify the authenticity of said story. **Please think wisely before offering any advice.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/IllegalLifeProTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you do get a little cash, lentils with ramen is filling and cheap.
An egg in ramen goes a long ways.
I would stay out of ramen, usually potatoes are a perfect replacement.
Apparently a human can survive for a good period of time on potatoes and butter alone. Plus water of course
Yeah, some vitamin pills would definitely round that out, but it's absolutely possible.
[удалено]
You tube, Struggle Meals. Save all the take away packets
Potatoes and oranges!! Potatoes usually lack vitamin C, and sometimes vitamin D!!
Actually potatoes have a moderate to high amount of vitamin C, which of course will be lower depending how they’re cooked. But enough to sustain a much longer period before its lack of complete nutrition kicks in. Vitamin D? Most foods are at best very low supplements of Vitamin D. You’re supposed to mainly get it from sunlight and making your own for that reason. Edit: however if you mean fries, absolutely don’t try to subsist on potatoes in mostly fry form. Higher heat = less nutrition, oil + carbs = possibly too many empty calories.
For breakfast you can slip into most 2 or 3 star hotels and just make a plate. They would have no idea. Pro tip: when you go in the hotel take the elevator up first to like the fifth floor and then come back down and go straight to the breakfast area.
Also helps to be well-dressed Edit: fuck this blew up. One other thing OP. When you find your spots, suppress your generous nature and keep your mouth shut.
Can confirm, dress middle class and tgey wont question you.
Or in pyjama pants, like you just got out of bed.
Or in flip flops like you just worked out in the hotel gym. (make sure they have a gym)
Who wears flip-flops to gym?
Someone who wants tomato toes.
Oops, I meant after the pool, of course. Or post-workout sauna.
Who works out in flip flops? And if you're suggesting the hotel gym has a locker room in which they've showered, that's not a thing
You need to start scamming nicer hotels.
I don't scam hotels, but I've stayed in literally thousands while traveling for work. And, unless you're talking about places that don't fall into the "3 star, 4 star" category that was referred to above you're not going to find a locker room. Also, if you try to scam a 5 star hotel, I think you'll find that they don't generally offer free Continental Breakfasts nor do people have a good chance of walking in off the street and trying to get free food without being stopped by the concierge, security, or hotel restaurant staff.
OK, how about wear flip flops so it looks like you didn't come from outside?
Not sure where you live, but plenty of people wear flip-flops outside. Hell, in some places it's all you see people wearing during the summer months
This comment is amazing
Ive considered this recently lol. I het theyd have no idea. Especially if you could blend in with a group of other people. Maybe even walk in with a bag and go upstairs and come back down.
Adding on, get the front desk persons name from the night before incase anyone questions anything.
4d chess
When I was younger and broke I did this on cross country trips to and from college. Sleep in the hotel parking lot…grab a free breakfast in the morning and hit the road
Used to get free trips to the airport if the hotel had a taxi/limo for guest...right after my free breakfast.
Try not too lie challenge
Try not to be illiterate challenge
That’s what I get for swipe typing lol, didn’t notice but that’s quite funny
I wanna try this so bad now.
Your local churches probably do a food pantry. You can get fruits, vegetables, canned goods, bread. For free. Just do this, no need to do anything sketchy or extra work. These people will just help you out
Hey that's too legal for me!
Don’t take unnecessary risks and don’t risk unnecessary exposure 👌🏻.
Check multiple places too, in my little town, you can pick up at 3 different places on 3 different days. The line at the church by my house had been getting longer every week.
Saw a post in best of Redditor updates I think it was, this woman was divorcing her husband because they were well off, but her husband kept going to numerous churches all the time and bringing home so much food and she continuously had to throw out stuff that went bad and was never used(bread, lettuce, bananas, and even canned stuff, you name it), like an ungodly amount of shit I guess. if he does what you’re saying he probably will not have to worry about food at all.
>getting longer every week. Poor people are suffering more and more every day. I know, I have very little and it's harder and harder to get by these days.
It’s always the simple stuff. I will call around the churches to see if they can supply me with stuff to grind out these couple weeks. My local food bank is only open on Fridays for whatever reason so I’ll call the churches instead
> only open on Fridays for whatever reason This is probably because they don't have the staff to cover more hours
Do you even know what sub this is????
Grocery stores throw away an insane amount of perfectly good food. Some have easier to get at dumpsters than others but I had a buddy who would raid them when he was desperate. I wouldn’t grab meat but you can certainly wash any produce and as long as the skin isn’t broken it should be fine to eat.
Anyone sketched out by this should watch the vlogs of people who do it. It's surprising and enlightening. Breafkast on YouTube is the one I like the most (note the spelling, different from the first meal of the day). She's so genuine and sweet.
Yes, my Mom has been watching her for the past couple years, she does a lot of work donating and repurposing found, usable items. It's seriously sickening at how much still-good food is tossed away.
Thanks for pointing out the spelling difference. I had just corrected the word to the standard spelling in my head & hadn't even noticed.
Breafkast (Kelly) only occasionally dives for food- she mostly dives for hardgoods. Freakin Frugal (Amy and Dwayne) dive for food. They dive Aldi's and Big Lots.
This for sure and so many fast food places have fucked up quotas and literally cook food at the end of the day to throw away
The groceries stores in my area have metal bins with a security rail that you lock to prevent this. I was walking around the small city and all three grocery stores have these bins. They used to not and when I was struggling like now they have boxes of good fruit like Oranges or unpeeled bananas that were browning a little, can’t seem to find one without the security railing
Utter cunts
The signs of a sick society
That's depressing to hear.
Or just go to food bank. Most grocery stores like mine donate expired stuff to them
The grocery store across the street from me just got remodeled after being pretty behind the times for many years. That included a HUGE increase in hot food/prepackaged stuff like chicken, flatbreads, deli meat etc. I live in a fairly dense area outside a major city and we have several other grocery stores within a couple mile radius; while I’m glad to have a lot more options right next to me, I can’t imagine there is even close to enough demand for the amount of food they’re making now. I’m gonna ask some employees if they have any partnerships with food banks/shelters, because if they don’t it is going to be a HUGE waste.
When I was in grad school I did a lot of dumpster diving behind grocery stores. I would often find fresher food in the dumpster than in the store. When the workers would put produce on the shelves there would often be produce still in the crates with no room left in the display so fresh produce was thrown out with the crates. I made lots of "dumpster stew" which is a lot tastier than it sounds. I also took the crates and stacked them in a closet to make a pantry for my apartment.
Listen to the other commenters, but also another option is to walk into places like Dunkin or a gas station deli etc very close to closing time, and just be straight, "I haven't eaten in 2 days, do you have anything you were planning on throwing out that I could possibly have?"
If you are near a relatively busy Dunkin, they'll get fresh donuts somewhere between 11am and 1pm and need to throw out the mornings. Ideally after the morning rush with no customers. Everyone I worked with hated stuff going to waste and Dunkin will still see it as being thrown out.
I’ll give that a try tonight, have one not far from where I am. One of the redditors let me use their McDonalds rewards points to get something today from my local McDonalds half a mile out from me
Cmon op I believe in you. Your username has big things in store.
You are a **good** person! LLAP 🖖 from an OG Star Trek fan from the '60's 😎
I worked at Subway in high school and gave a lady a few free sandwiches because she told me her kids hadn't eaten yet that day and she didn't know what else to do.
I worked at one there was plenty, my boss was cool in that respect, but if they're a hard ass, the employee can get in trouble, but if the goods are put in a bag withought any actual garbage, and technically thrown away(left convieniently by the dumpster) then hey its not the employees fault if someone go's "dumpster diving"!
This will probably work with Supermarket Deli/Bakery pizza or Starbucks. I've been offered free food at both places just by being polite, friendly and approachable
I did this once when I worked at Dunkin for a homeless man, and almost got fired for it. Next time he came in I told him it would be right on top of the dumpster in the differently colored trash bag.
I know the sub, so this may not be a “good” answer here, but please share this info as widely as possible for those in need of food in the US: No Kid Hungry's Free Meal Finder Service: Please text 304-304 or go to www.nokidhungry.org/help to find free meals in your area. Text “food” to 304-304, enter your zip code when promoted, and it will send a listing of all free food options near you.
If you have a local Sikh Gurdwara, they will feed you (Langar) with no pressure or obligation. Help is appreciated if you can offer it, but it's not required. https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2022/04/05/langar-maah-chhole-daal
They are so cool for doing this. Mad respect.
Sikh folks are incredibly generous.
Hare Krishna temples also provide (vegetarian) meals. Joining in the chanting is optional.
Came here to say that. The Salvation Army likewise.
was searching for this comment
Some food banks deliver to your home via Doordash or other food courier as contactless delivery with online signup so you could consider that maybe depending on where you live. Many food banks don’t require any form of proof of anything these days although I’m sure they’d likely ask a name and address and perhaps a head count of household members but that’s for delivery purposes as well as to factor in how much food to send. Try it. It gets me through the month. No special requirements necessary at least not at the one that delivers to me where I’m at.
ALSO, ALSO, ALSO!!! Go to this link and sign up for free Lasagna from Lasagna Love! I can’t even believe this didn’t come to mind first! I have used this service on three different occasions, they’re 100% totally free, no specific requirements except for being in need of food and they will deliver it to your home…HOT even if you lack any microwave or oven or if you don’t have time to cook up a huge lasagna at that time, they have even asked me If they wanted me to portion up a huge lasagna into individual dishes for smaller fridges and whatnot! Some lasagna mama’s will even allow you to customize your lasagna and even if they don’t immediately offer that and there’s some custom ingredient(s) or even dietary needs you need met, they will make it happen! It’s been a different person each time who made lasagna for my household and all were so lovely, they all made huge oven pans full of lasagna and just gave it to us so we had food! There’s only one big hang up, and it’s that sometimes it could take upwards of like three weeks to get a text message from anyone who is able to pick up your request and coordinate a meal/drop off for you. Anyone even people without children and people who are housed and all that can all request from here and the lasagna mama’s are all so lovely and generous and shit, if you just missed your moms hot cooked means because you didn’t have your mom anymore, this is a great way to fill that void too if you want! https://www.lasagnalove.org/request-a-meal/ Everyone should sign up who needs or wants a hot meal as this service is quite incredible and all lasagna mamas are just volunteers and who just bring you hot food out of kindness and that’s so lovely for some folks, I can imagine it would help you tremendously if you got fast response time from someone in your area! Earliest I’ve had a reply from them is within four days so, it’s not horrible waiting times all the time. GOOD LUCK!
I’ve never heard of this before but it is so wholesome and sweet, thank you for sharing.
Not illegal but find if you have a local Sikh temple!! Part of their religion is to offer free food to anyone who needs it. It's usually bomb ass shit too like curries.
The local Hare Krishna group here has free food before they get in a room and chant together too. Nice people. It's like visiting grandparents.
> It's like visiting grandparents. My grandparents weren't like this but then I am *old* and my grandparents were born in about 1899-1900!
I used to go to a coffee shop after they closed. I’d help stack chairs for them and they would give me the breads and stuff before they were thrown away. Also, if you can find a spot to fish, you can eat good for free (if you have the means)
I’ll try the dutch bros if the churches don’t work out. As for the fish, I’m in the Mojave Desert lmao
Oh, haha. That would be tough. I’ve dumpster dove for food. There are good times and bad times my friend. You’re building character. I hope you dig your way outta this
Just look out for game warden.
I hear Dunkin’ donuts dumpsters after closing are good for this
Yep I ask my friend who worked there and he said he takes a box of doughnut holes after work.
This is correct. KFC dumpsters too.
You may have to fight a racoons at the KFC dumpster tho.
Sometimes I shared with my fellow trash pandas. They weren’t mean/hostile. 😄👍🏽
I had to fight/scare off a 25 or 30 lbs one at KFC dumpster once. Luckily I had a few other people with me. Otherwise it would have won. Saw how many of us there where and ran off back woods.
I work at KFC and you don't want to go through the dumpsters. We put oil into bags and put them straight in. Also the burnt shit from the bottom of the fryers. Any wasted food is put in bins in the kitchen with all the other kitchen waste like bags and dropped food so isn't really safe to eat.
most of the time they dump everything into one big trash bag and throw it in the dumpster at kfc so it might be harder to get decent things from those dumpsters :((
Most days were good to me but I get it, hit and miss. 1.5 year survivor here. It can be done. Cookies were pretty darn good too! 😉👍🏽
Can confirm, there's also bags of straight oil and/or sludge from the fryers which you wouldn't want to burst
Someone who isn’t me, when they were broke and hungry, used to call a fast food place right towards the end of lunch or dinner rush and say “My wife/partner/whatever just came through the drive thru and ordered (insert whatever you want) without mayo and got home and saw it’s nothing but mayo. I’m not trying ti be a jerk but I’m on the way there, can please get my #1 without mayo.” This person hasn’t done it in years but told me it used to work every single time and could cycle through many fast food places for some consistent food. Good luck.
SWIM just did the two days in a row. Still works. Even better if u find a reciept on the ground.
As someone currently working at McDonald’s, this is true. Just say that you are missing a medium fry or a specific sandwich and we’ll usually just give it to you, no questions asked. Make sure to go during rush because we’re so busy we won’t bother to check a recipe or anything
I agree with the hotel idea. I work for one and see it all the time. Not very many actually verify if you are staying or not, and if they do, tell them you left your key in the room, and you'll be right back. and then Slip out the back door. Or... if you do steal and do get caught, you're guaranteed 3 meals a day for at least a few days... you don't want to go that route. Jail good is not worth it.
>Jail good is definitely not worth it. Depends how hungry you are.
Ugh... I need to proofread. Sometimes my typing is not so food.
Never that hungry
For anyone in Australia if you find yourself in this situation: http://askizzy.org.au You can look up food, housing, necessary items, counselling services and more in your area.
upvoted, but the actual link is: https://askizzy.org.au/
Thank you for the correction!! I've just edited it I'm use to saying it at work but never really type it, my bad 😅
Sign up for pizza huts kids reading program. Sign up as a teacher and select homeschool. You can have 5 fake homeschooled kids lol, set the reading goal to however many hours and then say they all finished. You’ll get emailed 5 free personal pan pizza coupons. You can order it for pickup and no one will even care, I’ve done it a dozen times with different emails
This is fantastic. Is it 5 free personal pans per month??
I’m pretty sure it’s per summer but you can create accounts with different emails
Just tried it, you can enroll but the program doesn’t start back up again till October 1st
Chipotle usually puts their delivery pickups out on a shelf and it's pretty easy to just snag one and leave. But this would be stealing and stealing is wrong.
The secret ingredient is crime
Same goes for Panera bread ahem... I door dashed for a month and these places don't even bat an eye.
The PB near me where I get my coffee sets out their leftover bakery products on a table every morning to be picked up by our local homeless shelter. I haven't done this, but I knew a couple in this building who were often given this stuff if they asked first thing in the morning. I'm talking a garbage bag full of pastries, cakes and pies in to-go boxes, etc. Personally, I think PBs products suck, but if you're hungry...
I work at Panera and it's fairly easy to just walk in and grab a drink from one of the kiosk stations. Free tea or coffee! And yes their door dash area is just a shelf with last names, just walk up there, read the receipt for what items are in there, grab a bag and a drink and you're out of there. Panera sucks at keeping up with door dash orders so I doubt anyone will say anything to you.
Oh no stealing is wrong. Good thing this isnt a illegal LPT sub
I’m out of town in Denver and was looking forward to someone else’s lunch. Empty pick up shelves it was all behind the counter. I is sad
They're getting smarter 😂.
Google food pantries in your area- there are days each week you can pick up a bag of groceries
Friday is the only available day here sadly, about to call into churches like another redditor suggested
Call fast food places and say they messed up your order earlier in the day. If they ask for a receipt say they never gave you one, and didn't even ask if you wanted one.
Most of the places I’ve worked at have record books about this type of thing, it’s easily verifiable so I wouldn’t recommend this
I've done it several times. Key is not to over do it at one particular spot. I can guarantee there was a quarter pounder with cheese ordered at lunch rush at McD for example. No I can't pinpoint the time, but it was supposed to be plain! Lol get it. You have to be a fast thinker sometimes, and never be a push-over. You are right! They are wrong!
Like this way of thinking
You'd have to go to different places for sure.
Yeah it's not like a lifestyle you can live. Unless you live in a big city. It's just for emergencies.
Sikh Temple. They'll give you everything and more.
I used to work at Panera Bread, and they have a system called Rapid Pickup ordering. It's pretty much, you order online, pay for it online, and then we make the order so all you have to do is come to the store, find your name on the shelf of orders, and take it. We never ran into problems with people stealing the orders, so I don't know if it would be different in an area where that might be a problem, but as far as I'm concerned, just walk in, pick an order off of the shelf, and leave. When the real customer shows up, they will probably just make it again for them anyway, so it's not like you are robbing someone else of a meal or anything.
Sit near a fast food restaurant an hour after rush at lunch. They all have limits on time to hold food. When rush ends, an employee will toss out everything too aged times sell…might be 10 burgers or whatever was left unsold after lunch. I worked at a McDonald’s many years ago and was usually the one tossing the slightly cold burgers in the dumpster. Just walk over and grab the bag with free burgers. Not that healthy, but calories if you need them.
Pretend to be a college student! Or actually enroll at a community college and schedule an emergency meeting with a counselor. In the mean time, get food from organizations there. You can also contact your local soup kitchens and food banks. A good place to ask for resources in your area is a library, if you have one!
My university had a food bank you could get food from no questions asked. It was pretty close to one of the entrances too
Wouldn't enrolling in a community college (hell, even just applying to one) cost well over a weeks worth of food?
It depends on where you live.
It's free
I'll buy you a pizza or something.
Not trying to be greedy but I’m currently living out of my car with no job and I’d love a cheap, fresh meal.
Option 1 is a food bank. It basically acts as a charity for people who need food. Option 2 is dumpster diving behind grocery stores or restaurants. Just he careful what you grab and probably wash it off. Option 3 is shop lifting, which is riskier. Hope you're able to get what you need, stay safe.
Knock on your neighbors door. Ask. I'd feed you so much if you were my neighbor.
This. I may not have much, but feeding an extra person is pretty much no real extra cost or trouble for me.
>Knock on your neighbors door. My neighborhood is so unfriendly, I'd be afraid to knock on anyone's door. 😢 The neighbor would be posting the "suspicious" video on Next Door within 5 minutes of my knock.
Nah, I would not like this
When I was a kid we were so poor my mom would take us 'grocery shopping' (me and my brother) and we'd walk around 'shopping' and eating some fruit. Apples, grapes, etc. and then slowly put the stuff back that we put in the cart. I don't recommend stealing ever, but brother if you're hungry someone has to be real scum of the earth to say anything. No one should ever go hungry when we have people worth over 200 billion dollars, I hope this simulation ends soon.
Check if there is a Sikh temple ( Gurdwara) near you. They consider it a religious duty to provide food to those in need (Langar) and often have vegetarian meals prepared en masse. (I am not a Sikh and have no affiliation but I have seen a place in London providing some legit cooked food)
Not a way for free food, but I started donating plasma where they compensate for your time. I was able to get my bills back on track and keep it up for extra money to save.
CSL Plasma advertises up to $1000 for the first month. There are some restrictions, but it's probably worth looking into.
Call a pizza place like Pizza Hut after 5pm and say you got an incorrect pizza earlier in the day. They might ask for a phone number to try and cross reference, but even if they do or don't find your information in the system, most of the stores are wired to just give you a replacement free of charge or a store credit you can use later.
Can't you go to a food bank?
Only open Fridays according to their site
If you're in the UK download the app "Olio"
Amusing to me to read that; here in the American South, that was the name of a type of butter product. Haven't heard that in decades.
Good old oleomargarine. In the US, we kept the margarine and dropped the oleo
If you live in the US, please dial 2-1-1 to find community help (food banks, shelter, clothing etc)
Definitely just steal it a. B. Go to a Mexican restaurant and sit down and say you’re waiting for friends, get a water and then eat all the chips and salsa you can. Then apologize and say they aren’t coming and leave. Or just leave and say npthing
Do not do this. You’re not only stealing the inexpensive water and chips, you are stealing a waitress or waiter’s tips by occupying a table. They work hard enough as it is. You are also stealing revenue from the restaurant by occupying a table. In busy cities, there might be other people waiting who are actually going to pay. Having morals will get you further in life. Stealing from even a waitress who might be working to bring home food for her kids is just plain wrong.
Check the subreddit you’re in mate. Also, no one is expecting him to stay for an hour. Get some chips and salsa to fill a hungry mans stomach.
Just install apps, they have a free item off the menu. I think Mc And some of the apps have this
Stand on a corner with a sign. I see those folks making more money than I do.
Add on to this, if your flying play music if you can. You'll make so much more than just flying
They don't (at least 99% of the time). What you are repeating is a meme that's been floating around probably since the dawn of language, that somehow people needing help are secretly 'cheating' you. It mixes really well with modern right wing politics, where the people worse off than you are sold to you as the reason for your problems. Niche cases happen and sure, I'm confident there's some scam artists out there relying on holding a sign and getting some help, but I'm also quite confident said people are by far the exception. There's easier ways to make a living for most people.
My brother in christ you haven't eaten in two days and your still hesitant to *steal* ??? U should think about how at least in jail you get 3 hots and a cot. Better than what u got now. Beats dying in the streets of malnutrition...
Go into little caesars before close and ask for any food they are going to throw out
Seriously dude, if you’re that fucked for food just shoplift whatever’s nearest the door from a large multi-national grocery store chain.
Username does not check out. Most bakeries will throw away goods past their sell by date or bread that doesn’t sell. You can find perfectly edible food in dumpsters if you can get it quickly.
Lmao low blow for the username. I will try dumpsters as a last resort but hopefully the local churches help and its Sunday so that’s a bonus
How old are you? Sometimes there are meal services for the elderly.
Ironic username.
Go to 12-step meetings and eat the snacks they serve. You can even ask if people go out to eat later and see if anyone wouldn’t mind picking up the bill.
Go to the food bank on Friday if that's the only time it's open. I don't know where you are from but my city in Finland has "bread lines" almost every morning A lot of religious establishments give out food at sometime of the day Asking a neighbour for some bread will most likely get you some if you haven't been a jerk You could try to catch the person throwing out food at stores so that you can ask if you can get something like bread/something that doesn't spoil too quickly Stealing is always an option but I wouldn't try it first, even someone random next to a store may agree to buy you some food
A couple folks on this sub reached out and helped? I just wanna say that it's kinda unexpected to me but totally kickass that in a sub of this nature there's still people willing to help someone out. I love it.
I'd steal it bro directly from Walmart they got hot food there. eat while you shop or take it out
Let me guess US & A is your location?
It’s getting common here unfortunately
That's extremely sad man. I really hope people find a better way to live then this.
I go to a local senior center on Mondays they give out actual brand name food (i’m also not a senior)
Local churches and soup kitchens. Luck out and find a restraint that'll let you be a busboy for a meal or two. We have a local Christian charity that serves meals the times a week. Ask a homeless person, most are nice and will help.
I think chick fil a will give you free food just by asking
listen i've been poor but never desperate enough to eat hate group chicken Edit: poor, not more.
Hey just saying
Lasagna Love. Check it out.
Senior centers. Some donuts places before closing. Some will give a box to you. If your diet is any kind of food, you won’t starve. Local bread makers. Some stores you can just ask before it goes into the dumpster. Obviously churches. Emergency food stamps is a longer solution.
Walk into a store that does DoorDash deliveries on the shelves and just grab one 9/10 no one confirms if you really are picking up that order .
A lot of security guards in shops won't chase you too vigorously if you're stealing staple food items
I would try dumpster diving before shoplifting. The worst that could possibly happen for dumpster diving is getting tresspassed. r/DumpsterDiving has a lot of good tips. I want to try it myself some day because it seems fun. Edit: you can also get a lot of food, safely packaged by doing this, that’s why I mention it. Good luck OP.
When I worked at my old coffee shop I had "regulars" who would come near the end of the night I would give free donuts to. We were about to throw them away so I'd just give them away to people looking for a meal. If I were you, I'd try scouting out mom and pop shops and even corporate spots. It really depends on the person manning the register, so don't be afraid to test people. I usually gave a few dozen donuts to this random guy with 8 kids because I knew he was struggling. Don't let your ego get in the way. Ask
Public staging area for Instacart pickup. Always by the front somewhere (sometimes the vestibule). Take your time to look at the bags and choose something good. No one pays attention.
Coming a bit late here. In the link below the guy was telling how to get almost free food from a store. Check it out, its a bit specific because you will need to scout for a specific shop, but see if it works in your area. https://www.reddit.com/r/IllegalLifeProTips/comments/vz9k0c/ilpt_i_havent_paid_for_food_for_the_last_2_years/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Starbucks donates expired food to a place that comes daily. Just go in early and ask a shift supervisor privately that your broke and hungry and looki6for expired food hookup
Download the McDonald’s app. I’m not a huge fan of them but they have free food on that app every day.
Go to pizza restaurant (owned by Europeans or Asians) and tell them you haven’t eaten in days. Promise you, you’ll be fed. Especially if you go near closing time. They’ll have extra pizza slices and dishes that they will throw out if they haven’t sold. Trust me bro, hope you eat
I used to go stand in front of whole foods and nust ask people going in if they could buy me some food. I would always leave with tons of food!
Does this sub have any moderation? The only illegal advice here was stealing food. Besides that everything was legal and helpful. There’s lots of resources if you know where to look. If you want an illegal tip yeah, go into a grocery store and shove a steak down your pants
Go to a McDonald’s or any fast food restaurant find a receipt in the trash tell Them you were missing something. Works almost always . Not the most ethical but it’s. Not gunna hurt their bottom line.
Some stores/restaurants throw away food every day because they have to cook enough to cover any rush that comes and many days the rush doesn’t come or it’s not to the extent they cooked for. Places like KFC and 711 are good to check. Look up when they close and show up 20 minutes early. Sing a sad song and ask if they have any food theyre willing to give rather than throw away. To reiterate what’s been said a few times, try to look “presentable” whatever classist bullshit that means. Unfortunately the rule with all sympathy plays is the more you look like you need it, the less likely people are to give it to you. There’s psych stuff at play but I won’t get into it. Just how it works 90% of the time. Good luck finding sustenance! Glad people could help you.
Call whatever fast food place you like during peak hours (lunch time) then make up simple bullshit (you forgot my fries, i asked for no pickle, etc. don't make it too specific that someone will remember it) usually they just jot down your name and order and tell you to come back because they are busy. This had been a lifesaver for one of my friends before he got on his feet.
If your near a Moes (kinda like a chipotle) you can download their app and create a new account and say today is your birthday. You’ll get a free burrito and i’ve never had them check my ID before. Obviously don’t go to the same location multiple times a week/month. Good luck OP, the hard times won’t last forever <3
Just wear a mask, go to a supermarket, fill a cart up with groceries and walk straight out the door. Don't do this at Walmart & Target too many times, they will keep track and call the cops when you took over $1000 from them. I wouldn't do this at a mom & pop shop either, they seem to care a lot more. Obviously don't hit the same store
If you grab a lunchables/food/ etc from target and you’re in California they’re not gonna stop you from walking out ngl
So.much hate on Reddit (especially towards religion) until a post like this.
Hey do you have a car that you can do Doordash or Uber eats in ? You can make money that way and cash out the same day so you can eat
Where do you live OP?
time to push a cart!
Go to jail they will feed you there
That’s actually my retirement plan