Capt SpaceBat

Freeganomicon, from Freeganomics,  from Freegan and Economics, from Free + Vegan and Eternally Collapsing Objects + Swiss Bankers?

Just a thought; inspired by the past few days moderating a local branch of an online recycling & gifting network.

In short, and as anonymised as possible:

A local shop has been clearing its fridges of food items as they approach their “end of” dates and a member has been a beneficiary of this act.  Being in possession of more free food than he can either eat or freeze, he started to offer it on the group message board.  As Moderator, I had to check that such offers were allowed. The consensus of opinion was that, as long as people know what they were being offered, it was acceptable.  So far, so good. But - and there’s always a conjunction in these tales -another member saw these posts and opined that they might at best be unsafe and at worst downright unlawful.  Back into conclave I went, only to be assured that the disclaimers issued on a regular basis would cover any eventuality.  The member in question was less sure and so I enquired from the Environmental Health department of my local authority, who enlightened me as to the subtle shades of difference between “Sell by”, “Display until”, “Best before” and “Use by” - oh semantics! - and their legal ramifications.  Quite a can of worms!

In an act of rapid fire-fighting not seen since my days of IT support, I emailed the donor, the querent and the group as a whole explaining the situation, asking for comments to go to the discussion board and perceived infringements to the Moderators.

Comments that I have received range from “why would anyone wish to spoil such access to free food” through to “why don’t they give it to the homeless?”  Regardless of my views on the matter, we do have to operate within the law and so I have tried to make this clear to all concerned.

Changing the subject slightly: some years ago, whilst going through one of several periods of homelessness, the ingenuity, bravado and occasional downright folly that I and a number of my confreres resorted to in order to keep body and soul together during trying times included many encounters with food that would not pass muster by such strict standards; somehow we survived.  Well, most of us did.  But then again, most of us either thought that we were invincible or did not care if we were or not.  As for those who died, it wasn’t from the food; unless liver failure, AIDS, hepatitis, jumping off roofs, heroin overdose or having one’s head sawn off can be caused by wilted broccoli.

Jim Carroll, where are you now?

All that notwithstanding, somehow, I am still here and - although rather diffuse - still in one piece.  Due to ealier problems alluded to and a few more that I haven’t even begun to recount, life has been a bit up and down at times, to say the very least. Until February 25th 2003, when Sarah & I met, fell in love and got married.

This is, however, is not only a tale of Parsiflage (from a little-known German Bierkeller oompah-band number where love conquers all) but also how resourcefulness can if not overcome poverty then make it at least tolerably miserable or even quite bearable (and dare I say it, rather enjoyable) during periods of personal hardship.

Between recessions, Sarah put together an inspiring list of ways to cope in straitened times.  With her permission and some editing of mine own, I submit it thus:

How to live on the Poverty Line and (still) feel good about yourself.

1. Eat at least 4 vegetarian meals a week.
2. Buy as much as you can from the reductions area of your supermarket - items coming up to their sell by date are just as nutritious and most can be frozen.
3. When you buy meat or fish, go for top quality, organic, or supermarket’s own superior ranges in the reductions area.  It tastes better, goes further, and makes you feel as if you are not on the bread line.
4. Invest in a couple of good cookery books covering the sort of foods you liked to eat when you had the money.  That way you can broaden your cooking skills and feel a bit like you used to.
5. On no account buy prepared meals.  They are incredibly expensive for what you get, and as you are more housebound than you used to be, you might as well learn to cook - it is creative and fun, and time just flies by when you are cooking up something tasty.
6. If you can, get an allotment and grown your own fruit and vegetables.  It will help with the budget and get you out of the house and exercised.  If you cannot get an allotment why not see if you can get access to someone’s neglected garden?  I have a free site on the internet called GardenLend that aims to bring together neglected gardens and keen frustrated gardeners.
7. Try and get our once every couple of weeks to see something interesting - there are lots of free galleries and museums, and concessions are usually available for those on benefit if there’s an entry fee.  There are also very good meal deals in restaurants these days.  Eating out as an occasional treat makes the world of difference as it lifts depression and makes you feel part of life again.  At all costs, you must avoid getting that stir-crazy feeling that can make life on benefit a real downer.
8. Buy clothes from charity shops and feel great about it.  You are helping someone who is even worse off than you are, saving an enormous sum of money and recycling at the same time.  How cool is that?
9. Keep a close eye on your finances so that you know exactly how much you have to spend at all times.  If you take your eye off the ball on benefit, you can end up running out of gas, electricity and food money very quickly.  I keep a running total in my diary so that every day I know exactly what I have left.  There’s nothing more depressing than having nothing in the bank and a week to go - so don’t do it.
10. Make sure you’re getting everything you’re entitled to - you have the time to do the research and to sit in queues, so take a book and be prepared to wait.  It’s your money and nothing to be ashamed about.
11. If you have a car, get rid of it if you can get to most of the places you need to by public transport or on foot.  If you can’t, try to exchange it for a more fuel-efficient model and use it effectively so that unnecessary journeys aren’t made.  You have all the time in the world to plan, so do it.
12. If you smoke, use rolling tobacco.  If you drink, keep an eye out for special offers and stick to supermarket’s own brand for spirits.  Buy a decanter from a charity shop and no one (apart from you) will ever know except a single malt fanatic.  If so, suggest they bring their own!
13. Avoid daytime TV as if it were the plague.  It saps your will to live and prevents you from doing anything positive with your time. 
14. Keep or get internet access.  This is a must, as it gives you the world at your fingertips.  There are plenty of on-line free courses that you can do as well - studying and getting qualifications in IT is an area that is particularly well suited to your circumstances, and may give you an edge in getting back to work.
15. If you receive Disability Living Allowance or Carers’ Allowance, you can earn some money without it affecting your benefit.  If you can, try to start up a little business of your own, maybe based on a favourite hobby or just something you’ve always fancied trying.  You have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain in self-esteem and a feeling of empowerment.  Get a partner or friend involved if you cannot manage the whole thing - it may give them the kick-start into self-employment of which they have only ever dreamt. 
16. See the poverty line as an opportunity, not the end of the line.  Be strong and determined.  It is possible to have a good, healthy, fulfilling life while you are evaluating your options and deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life.  You ex-colleagues would give their eye-teeth to escape the rat race for a while and have the opportunity to make a fresh start - you are able to do that.  So do it!

In addition, the Freecycle Network is a wonderful way of helping “change the world, one gift at a time” and a great way of redistributing unwanted things and saving them from landfill - of immense help in cashless times.  The Freegan network is another outlook on ” living with a new motivation” and also merits serious consideration. 

Any further thoughts on how to squeak through on little or no money would be welcomed.  Likewise, any use of these ideas is highly recommended.  Is that 100 words yet?Oh, swapping places to live can change your outlook on life - gardens tend to feature heavily.  Did I mention this before?  Only missing one category: boating.  Well - blow me down & pick me up, I think Ive squeezed in the topic  - if you have a nearby river or canal, we would be even more interesting in swapping with you. Please see http://blog.gardenlend.co.uk/2008/12/03/ for more details.