A woman who rummages through supermarket rubbish for her weekly shop said she only spends €80 a year on food.
Sofie Juel-Andersen began 'dumpster diving' three years ago – and it has changed her outlook on shopping, The Daily Star reports.
The 29-year-old began by grabbing fresh produce from certain bins, however this soon extended to a full shop.
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She believes the new method is saving her thousands.
The manager of a restaurant, coming from Aarhus, Denmark, stated: "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."
After moving to Sydney four year ago, her sister sent her pictures of her dumpster diving and she decided to try it too, as a means of saving money, even though she could afford to shop.
"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," she added.
The first bin she came across had vegetables, while the next time she discovered packaged goods.
"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. Wonky vegetables, goods one-day expired and damaged packaging are all reasons for things being thrown into the dumpster.
"Mainly, though, it's usually food which expired one or two days ago," she said.
Now, Sofie rarely spends money on food – and subsits entirely on food she finds in supermarket dumpsters.
She said: "It evolved from a curious treasure hunt to a lifestyle choice – and it reduces food pollution, so it's like everyday activism.
"I don't spend money on food at all anymore – and I feel like I don't crave things anywhere near as much as I used to.
"So I like to cook fun things – experimental recipes you won't find in any book.
"I once found 10, fully-packaged margarita pizzas, an avocado, a red pepper and some parsley, combined the ingredients and served it to my friends at a dinner party."
