“freegan” squatters helping stabilize buffalo neighborhood | rust wire
the freegans mansion is populated by a small number of residents who live there year-round. they ride out the winters in a single room equipped with a wood-burning stove, and when necessary, they use an auger to drill through the ice that forms in the toilets. in the summer, though, the mansions population swells, as drifters, backpackers from as far away as europe and traveling musicians arrive almost daily. a few harder cases pass through, too. one visitor i met was a former drug addict who had tried to kill himself more than once; another was an anemic-looking young woman who had been living under a bridge for four months. the majority, however, seemed to be iconoclastic young people from middle-class backgrounds living some version of the freegan dream. they dumpster-dive for food, mend their clothing with dental floss and brew dandelion wine. postcards from former guests adorn the walls. one is signed by a visitor from plymouth, england, who writes: hows the house and hows the whole project working out? i hope a lot of guys are taking advantage of the situation you have.â
the diggers philosophy influenced the thinking of a young man named keith mchenry, who would go on to become one of the most important figures in the freegan movement. mchenry, who is now 53, came from a family with a prestigious pedigree; his ancestor, james mchenry, was one of the signers of the constitution. keith mchenry, however, was a nonconformist almost from birth. throughout his 20s, mchenry traveled the country, dumpster-diving and crashing with artists and hippies. the pivotal moment in his life came in 1980, when he was working at an organic-food store in cambridge, mass. at the end of each day, i was throwing away these crates of produce â” apples, lettuce, cabbage â” stuff that had been bruised or was slightly imperfect in shape,â mchenry told me. so he asked his boss if he could distribute this produce at shelters, churches and soup kitchens. mchenrys efforts were a success, and he helped found food not bombs, a nonprofit whose mission was to salvage discarded but edible food and feed the poor. today, the organization has more than a thousand chapters around the world and has probably been the most active force for spreading the ethos of freeganism.
right away, tim had to deal with a $52,000 outstanding bank lien against the house. for help, he turned to harvey garrett, one of judge nowaks liaisons. garrett says that tim and the other squatters were more responsible than they let on. while the freegans eschew currency, they recognize they cant entirely live without it, and tim and others take occasional handyman jobs for wages. the long-term residents now contribute a small sum to a house fund. they make it sound like they are big bohemians living off the house for free, but thats just not true,â garrett says. they worked their butts off and paid the back taxes and the utilities. they are more conformist than they want you to think they are.â
the freegan establishment. squatters in buffalo get a mansion for free.
i guess when a bunch of white middle class kids do it they get a nyt profile and the label of freegans. i sort of want to go to the crackhouse down the street and see if i can spin the coke can turned pipe into an example of "diy work ethic."
my husband actually knows a guy who's working on a commune/freegan setup in detroit. don't know if they've started yet.
the ironic thing about this is that the plastic wrapping is probably better at protecting the food from the other contents of a dumpster, thereby benefiting the 'freegan,' than it is a protecting the food from whatever imagined contaminants exist elsewhere in the food distribution chain.
daily good: secret freegan: rescuing food to feed homeless
i am a freegan, 21 years old, learning from the school of life. my "occupation": i occupy this earth as an idealist, a traveler and a volunteer. i am dedicated to living on the fringes of society, or at least living an alternative lifestyle.
planet green meets up with ucsd biology professor, dr. milton saier, self-proclaimed freegan of 30 years. watch as he shares his insights on freeganism, and takes some of his students on a dumpster diving lesson.
freegan.info freegan girl blog - newsweek.com howstuffworks "how freegans work" freegan lifestyle - how to be a freegan - delish.com not buying it - new york times
ratzorizuto: being a "freegan" is just being an upscale bum.
he will hear no talk of high fructose corn syrup or mono sodium glutamate or “parts is parts’”or anything else i try to throw his way.â he’s a freegan and he’s proud.â just ask him.
a new york times piece in 2007 focused on a group of freegans who converged on new york university the day after many students moved out of the dorms. they found a sharp television, a desk lamp, a working ipod, a dish rack, swiffer dusters, and laundry detergent, among other valuable items. you can be sure these items were all put to good use, too. freegans fill their homes with castaway items and cook their meals with discarded food as a way to both critique rampant consumerism and reduce their personal carbon footprint.