Neighbourhood Foragers Get Their Greens for Free
Foraging for food in your local neighbourhood could be a great supplement to your own home-grown vegetables or bartering. Fregans save dollars on their weekly food bill by collecting fresh fruit and vegetables growing near their homes instead of allowing them to go to waste.
Adelaide freegan Harley says he’s enjoyed the fruits of his neighbours’ yards for eight years. Harley, who by day is a 30-year-old personal trainer and vegan, rides around town on his bicycle picking seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Harley’s philosophy is “we need less than we think.” He believes that, “Ninety percent of people work in jobs they hate to buy crap they don’t need.” The freegan philosophy is the old saying, “waste not, want not”.
“I’m an environmentalist…and to eat food from overseas when there’s food in Australia rotting on the ground doesn’t make sense,” Harley says. He says the freegan trend is widespread in America and Europe but it’s only just starting to catch on in Australia.
The Advertiser 18.4.09