Diving for Dinner

Like many dumpster divers, Beiler and Meadows have had multiple run-ins with police or store managers, leading in some instances to the shut-off of prime locations. The same day that Meadows was caught diving at the Trader Joe's in Falls Church, employees began locking the dumpster.

Employees at several stores said they are aware that divers visit regularly but declined to discuss specifics on the record. Spokesmen said grocery chains are doing their part to produce less waste by contributing to charity and recycling, better solutions than the liability involved in having people digging through their trash. And because dumpster diving generally requires trespassing, divers are bound to accept stores' refusal to allow them access to the trash.

"We would not recommend removing Trader Joe's items from the dumpsters for the simple reason that these items have been evaluated by our crew as questionable to donate due to safety concerns," company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki wrote in a prepared statement.

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods both donate food deemed unsalable to homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and Whole Foods composts much of its other food waste.

"It makes me concerned about what type of food waste people are eating," said Kenney, the Whole Foods spokeswoman. "You generally don't want people in the dumpster because of safety reasons."

Kenney added that Whole Foods stores don't throw away edible food -- a claim challenged by a half-dozen divers.

Even if food from dumpsters looks edible, food safety experts advise against eating it once it's been thrown away. Jack Guzewich, an epidemiologist with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said cooking would destroy only some of the bacteria that could contaminate food in the trash. Between cross-contamination from other items in the dumpster, lack of refrigeration and the presence of rats and flies, Guzewich said, items from a dumpster should not be consumed even if there is no sign of mold or rot.

But several experienced divers said they've never become sick from food found in a dumpster. Half the fun of dumpster diving is the anticipation of the unknown, they said: A late-night run could lead to a confrontation with police, a case of rotten bananas or a huge score. Beiler has come home empty-handed some nights; on other trips, he's netted pounds of smoked salmon, full containers of lobster, several trays of sushi.

"It's about allowing God's provisions to be available," Beiler said. "I'll eat vegetables for a week, and the next week it'll be mostly carbs."

Beiler's "dumpstering mentor," his Columbia Heights neighbor Preston Winter, said that it's difficult to maintain a balanced diet when he is relying on the trash but added that it's also easy to get spoiled. He used to be excited when he found gourmet cheese, but now he's come to expect it when he visits a high-end grocery store. He once found 40 unopened bottles of wine.

"A rack of lamb is always nice," said Winter, who studies fiscal accountability in foreign aid for the federal government. "I have a couple of those in the freezer."

The reasons people are drawn back to the dumpster vary widely. Beiler said his Christian beliefs push him to live simply and refrain from wasting natural resources, whereas Winter described his motivation as "a mix of 'wow, it's free food' and a desire to conserve resources." Meadows said he dives mostly because he knows the food is there.