"It's a lifestyle snubbed by mainstream America. It goes by many names, like post-consumerism, reclaimism, but the name thrown around most is freeganism.
It's better known as Dumpster diving.
"I mean I started Dumpster diving when I was, probably about 18," said freegan John Greentree.
Greentree isn't his real name. He's our unofficial tour guide to all things free. "Food that was being thrown out as well as the clothes that people weren't using," Greentree explained.
The food that's been thrown out has sometimes been covered in who knows what. It's not pretty, but it's how Greentree has lived for nearly a decade. It's also how CBS 5 crews spent a cold February night.
Reporter Elizabeth Erwin and photojournalist Rob McJannet started their adventure by picking up the expert. Greentree doesn't drive much, so if we wanted to see the system, Erwin had to take the wheel.
The first stop was a bagel shop near downtown Phoenix.
"I have a feeling somebody probably already got all the bagels because this is a well known one," Greentree said.
He was right. The bagel shop was a bust so the group moved on.
"Tempe and Scottsdale are really the best places," Greentree said. Greentree hit the freegan jackpot in the East Valley, finding three containers of almond milk in a Trader Joe's Dumpster. The mission ran well past midnight as they headed to their final stop.
Greentree made another find, scooping fruit by the handful out of a Dumpster behind a grocery store.
As the group got ready to head home, they ran into another trio of dumpster divers.
Greentree offered friendly advice to the competition, because it's not just him, it's a movement in Arizona.
It's a culture that comes out at night and takes what mainstream America leaves behind. "Because I'm young and because I'm able bodied, people look at me as some sort of a freak," Greentree said. He recognizes the stereotypes and stigmas associated with his lifestyle, but still chooses to Dumpster dive for his dinner."
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