The Freedom to Share

On Saturday, Eric and I attended an event that we had a tiny hand in organizing: the Arroyo Time Bank's Really Free Market and Bizarre. It was a lovely taste of what freeganism is all about; it represented people sharing things they no longer needed instead of wasting or selling such things.

In a main room, tables were spread out and stacked with items visitors had brought to share. There was a constant stream of people browsing the unwanted goodies and shopping for absolutely no cost. The goods were of a surprising quality and the turnout was quite impressive. In a corner, a group of children engaged in a free art project while their parents socialized and meandered among the free stuff. Later in the evening, a local band came and played for the event, attracting a lone couple to dance.

Down the hall in a smaller room, presentations were held by community groups such as the Time Bank, the Arroyo Food Co-Op and the Los Angeles Dumpster Diving Meetup (that's us!). I gave a short power point about Freeganism and Eric held an interactive discussion on Carbon Footprinting.

There was, of course, a table with free food. Much of it was from the dumpsters, thanks to an outing Eric and I did, along with the main organizer of the event, our friend Janine. It was her first time, but she was a natural. She even dropped her wedding ring accidentally into the dumpster, but it didn't bother her! "Don't worry, I'll just keep taking stuff out 'till I find it" - which she did. It took about 10 minutes. She also prepared the food for the event, using food that we found that night. Thank you, Janine!

Janine is on the right, I'm on the left. Those boxes represent three of the below final haul.