Woman Hasn’t Bought Groceries in 4 Years, Survives on Dumpster Dive Food from Supermarkets

A woman survives on dumpster dive food and has completely eliminated the need to purchase groceries for the past four years.

The 30-year-old Sofie Juel-Anderson started dumpster diving for food while staying in Sydney, Australia, in October 2020.

Surprisingly, she hasn’t purchased any groceries for the last four years and gets all her food only from designated supermarket bins.

As someone always interested in the concept of dumpster diving, she once went out with a friend in Sydney to hunt for fresh produce.

Sofie was shocked to see the variety of produce, it was filled with food, and while some items were expired, many were not.

Initially, she would only pick up some fresh produce but soon realized it could provide her, well, with a week’s worth of groceries.

Since then, Sofie hasn’t looked back; all her groceries come from the dumpsters, and she has saved a lot of money this way.

Although she moved to Denmark in 2022, she continues her dumpster diving routine and claims she hasn’t purchased any groceries in the last four years.

The only things she still has to buy are toilet paper, toothpaste, and dishwashing soap. In 2024, she spent a modest amount of $100 on these items.

Sofie says that while she can afford to buy her own groceries, she has saved thousands of dollars through dumpster diving, and she uses this money to travel the world.

She now works only three days a week as a restaurant manager in Aarhus, Denmark.

Sofie loves the freedom that comes from her economical way of living, which allows her to travel and meet friends around the world, by saving money on groceries.

dumpster dive food
Dumpster dive groceries: Image via Sofie

She has been able to travel to countries such as Kenya, Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Dubai due to her grocery savings.

She finds the activity thrilling, much like a treasure hunt, and says she doesn’t follow a fixed schedule for it.

Sofie’s fridge is always full, thanks to her dumpster diving exercise that she carries out a few times a week or every two weeks.

She has also encouraged her entire family, like her siblings, parents, cousins, and even her grandparents, to go dumpster diving with her.

Although many people feel the idea of finding food in dumpsters is gross or shameful, Sofie finds joy in the activity and hopes to create awareness about food rescue and food waste.

She has an Instagram account where she shares her fortunate finds, such as big boxes of packaged foods, whole chickens, drinks, and frozen pizzas.

Sofie believes this will also help change our perception of food, stressing that it is alright if the vegetables or fruits don’t look perfect, or if an item could still be good even after its expiry date.

Her advice to anyone interested in dumpster diving is to first check if the activity is legal in your area and, if you happen to find a large stash of items, to share them with others.


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Maya Bennett
Maya Bennett

Hey! I’m Maya Bennett, storyteller at heart, marketer by day, and the Founder of the PositivePress.News Website. I believe in sharing stories of happiness and finding the sunshine in life’s everyday😇