"I do my weekly shop in supermarket skips - I spent £70 a YEAR on groceries"
- 11 months ago
Meet the woman who says she spends just £70 a YEAR on food - by getting all of her meals from supermarket bins.
Sofie Juel-Andersen, 29, started 'dumpster diving' three years ago - and hasn't looked back since.
She started out by getting just fresh produce from designated bins - but soon realised she could get an entire weekly shop.
And Sofia reckons she now saves thousands of pounds annually.
The restaurant manager, originally from Aarhus, Denmark, said: “Dumpster diving became like a rescue mission for me.
"So much good food is being wasted - and supermarkets know there are people out there who can’t afford to eat.
“When I was living in Aarhus, I knew of dumpster diving, but I’d never seen it as an option to put food on the table.
“But in 2019, I moved to Sydney, and my sister sent me a photo of some hidden treasures she’d found dumpster diving.
“I thought it was pretty wild - and I wondered if I could do this around Australia.”
Even though Sofie has always been able to afford to eat, she realised this could be a more cost-effective way of grocery shopping.
She went with a friend to scout some supermarket skips around Sydney in the daylight - and kept a note of which ones she’d visit after dark.
“It was always supermarket dumpsters,” she said. “Never round the back of restaurants or private homes - depending on where you live, it could actually be illegal to do that.
“I called my friend back and she came out with me in the evening.
“We went to look in a supermarket dumpster and we found a lot of veggies.
“As it was our first time, we didn’t take a lot - but we took the vegetables we thought looked okay to eat.”
Sofie wondered where the rest of the thrown-out food was kept.
The next time she went dumpster diving, she found a general waste bin - which was used to dispose of all sorts of packaged food.
She added: “I was truly blown away by the amount of waste in these dumpsters.
“There would literally be two dumpsters round the back of a supermarket, filled with packaged food: whole chickens, candy, drinks - we once found 300 cans of Diet Coke still in their boxes.
“They’d be thrown out for different reasons - we saw an entire box of kombucha bottles which had been thrown out because one of the cans was damaged.
Despite sending lots of photos to her friends, and posting on her Instagram - @dumpsterdivingwsoff - Sofie's friends still believed dumpster diving was "gross".
Sofie’s top tips for first-time dumpster divers:
1. In the beginning, it might be nice to take a friend with you
2. Check the law first - is dumpster diving legal in your area?
3. You may not always strike gold first time - but keep going!
4. Always bring wet wipes and sanitiser to keep yourself clean
5. Be kind and respectful - always stay friendly to employees, even if they ask you to leave
6. If you find a good stash, share it around - you never know who really needs it
Sofie Juel-Andersen, 29, started 'dumpster diving' three years ago - and hasn't looked back since.
She started out by getting just fresh produce from designated bins - but soon realised she could get an entire weekly shop.
And Sofia reckons she now saves thousands of pounds annually.
The restaurant manager, originally from Aarhus, Denmark, said: “Dumpster diving became like a rescue mission for me.
"So much good food is being wasted - and supermarkets know there are people out there who can’t afford to eat.
“When I was living in Aarhus, I knew of dumpster diving, but I’d never seen it as an option to put food on the table.
“But in 2019, I moved to Sydney, and my sister sent me a photo of some hidden treasures she’d found dumpster diving.
“I thought it was pretty wild - and I wondered if I could do this around Australia.”
Even though Sofie has always been able to afford to eat, she realised this could be a more cost-effective way of grocery shopping.
She went with a friend to scout some supermarket skips around Sydney in the daylight - and kept a note of which ones she’d visit after dark.
“It was always supermarket dumpsters,” she said. “Never round the back of restaurants or private homes - depending on where you live, it could actually be illegal to do that.
“I called my friend back and she came out with me in the evening.
“We went to look in a supermarket dumpster and we found a lot of veggies.
“As it was our first time, we didn’t take a lot - but we took the vegetables we thought looked okay to eat.”
Sofie wondered where the rest of the thrown-out food was kept.
The next time she went dumpster diving, she found a general waste bin - which was used to dispose of all sorts of packaged food.
She added: “I was truly blown away by the amount of waste in these dumpsters.
“There would literally be two dumpsters round the back of a supermarket, filled with packaged food: whole chickens, candy, drinks - we once found 300 cans of Diet Coke still in their boxes.
“They’d be thrown out for different reasons - we saw an entire box of kombucha bottles which had been thrown out because one of the cans was damaged.
Despite sending lots of photos to her friends, and posting on her Instagram - @dumpsterdivingwsoff - Sofie's friends still believed dumpster diving was "gross".
Sofie’s top tips for first-time dumpster divers:
1. In the beginning, it might be nice to take a friend with you
2. Check the law first - is dumpster diving legal in your area?
3. You may not always strike gold first time - but keep going!
4. Always bring wet wipes and sanitiser to keep yourself clean
5. Be kind and respectful - always stay friendly to employees, even if they ask you to leave
6. If you find a good stash, share it around - you never know who really needs it