Q&A: Jill De Graaf on living on supermarket scraps for 30 days

That moment turned into a whole month and resulted in De Graaf, 20, not spending anything on food – an experience she documented on her blog. Living on what shops throw away? It’s possible, says De Graaf.

You would have to be very motivated to do this experiment…
Knowing my friend was too poor to buy food and at the same time seeing how many – still eatable –products supermarkets throw away each day, I realised I had to do something. And, if you want to make a difference, best to start with yourself, no?

How did you manage to survive like this?
On 31 March, I emptied my cupboards and talked to the supermarket chains and smaller grocery shops in the neighbourhood. The chains were never very helpful. Often their policy is not to give food away, even if it’s still OK for consumption. I got more help from the local shops. Let’s say 30% of them gave me food when I asked for it.

Were you hungry?
It didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. I ate plenty of vegetables and fruit. Once I got flour and learned how to make my own pasta. It gave a huge boost to my diet, I must say. I ate very little meat or fish, only when I was invited to a friend’s house. I did miss coffee, though. I realise that now.

Is this something you would recommend other people do?
Why not? It has been an eye-opener on how little we actually need to eat to be satisfied. The first time I went back to the supermarket after my experiment, I found myself going home with … some yoghurt. That’s all. All the other stuff … well, I guess I just didn’t need it.