I came across a great comment in another blog:
by Honie Briggs
Lady with a truck | December 14, 2011 at 11:22 AM
“This is a topic I can get pretty hot about. As someone who went from owning a 2800 sq ft home to being homeless in a matter of about 6 years. Long story, won’t get into details here. But it was free trade that caused the business I worked for to close their doors.
I “thought” I was a charitable person, adopted a family at Xmas, gave to charity yada yada yada and I passed judgment on people I knew nothing about. I have heard my own voice echoing in my ears as I replayed my judgments back on myself.
The thing about prejudice and judging others is that it comes from lack of education and fear. If people accept that they are only a pay cheque or two away from homelessness themselves and under the right “wrong” circumstances they could lose it all they might feel obliged to help those in need. If they can convince themselves that a person is homeless or living in poverty because of an addiction, mental disability, laziness, apathy, whatever, they can tell themselves it could never happen to me.
As for the stuff in dumpsters, businesses in Canada do have a choice and I know of some locally who handle it in such a way as to give the needy some respect.
A grocery store puts all their past date items on a trolly and wheels it out to the dumpster at the same time every day. I personally have never gone to get food (I have always worked and had money even if I was homeless so never went to the food bank, soup kitchens etc because I felt I didn’t need it) but I was heard it is bagged up and the trolly is left outside for an hour and then what’s left is thrown in the dumpster. That way the store doesn’t have the mess of people digging in the dumpster and the people keep their self respect by not having to go in the dumpster.
A restaurant/deli premakes their sandwiches at lunch time and found that poor people would come and ask for the left over sandwiches after the lunch rush was over. The owner decided to make extra sandwiches every day and put them in one corner of the cooler. He told a couple of the homeless people where they were and to help themselves and spread the word. He now feeds about a dozen sandwiches a day to the needy.
Some store destroy everything they throw away for fear someone might take it out of the dumpster and use it. I have talked to businesses and they say if someone gets it out of the dumpster they won’t come in the store to buy it. Do you really think someone with money would be climbing in dumpsters?
I have furnished my place almost solely from free stuff off of Craig’s list, dumpsters, or by picking up stuff people put out for the garbage collector. I haul scrap metal for a living, most of it goes to the scrap yard but when I can I prefer to sell it for reuse.
People have to wake up, waste and greed is destroying this world as is the “me first” attitude. What is that saying? A guy doesn’t go to the defense of all these different groups and then in the end they come after him and there’s no one left to defend him? Shoot I can’t remember.
Sorry for going on and on.“
Honie Briggs | December 14, 2011 at 11:44 AM
http://sofarfromheaven.com/2011/12/14/eating-from-dumpsters-during-the-holidays/
