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Pictured is Anthony Moyer (left) and Samuel Troyer Friday morning, Dec. 2, 2016, at Moyer's home in Lebanon. Moyer and Troyer were charged with loitering and prowling at night time and defiant trespassing, both misdemeanors of the third degree, after the Derry Township Police Department found them dumpster diving in Hershey. They had been doing so for 10 months and donating some of the items they found to charity.

Whenever he had family over, Anthony Moyer's relative would ask if he had any "dumpster chocolate."

They knew what he and Samuel Troyer, his brother-in-law, were up to at night. The men from Lebanon and Palmyra would leave just before stores closed at 10 p.m. and spend the next four to six hours rifling through their dumpsters. It's where Moyer said they'd find thousands of dollars in discarded inventory, such as food and candy still sealed in their original packaging.

At first, they'd bring their haul home and share it with their family and friends. When it got to be too much, the two men started donating whatever they had left to charitable organizations around central Pennsylvania.

That is, until they were arrested 10 months later after dumpster diving at a CVS store along Hockersville Road in Hershey.

Moyer and Troyer are now trying to beat the charges with the help of Rob Greenfield. The environmental activist started raising money for a Dumpster Divers Defense Fund through GoFundMe on Nov. 20. It would partly pay for any expenses the two men might have as a result of the charges.

The money also would be used to support other dumpster divers who are ticketed or arrested; and help pay for Moyer and Troyer's upcoming "Food Rescue Program," which will work with grocery stores to donate excess inventory to charitable organizations.

As of 8 p.m. Friday night, the campaign has met $1,280 of its $5,000 of its fundraising goal.

'We're always compliant'

Moyer and Troyer were charged in October with defiant trespassing and loitering and prowling at night. Both of those charges are misdemeanors of the third degree.

Under Pennsylvania's criminal trespassing law, a defiant trespasser is someone who knowingly enters restricted property. They do so even though they are told or a sign is posted that says they shouldn't be there. A person also could be charged with defiant trespassing for entering a fenced-in or enclosed area that's meant to keep people out, which is what the Derry Twp. Police Department said the two men did, according to their criminal dockets.

Under Pennsylvania's loitering and prowling at nighttime law, a person could be found guilty if they "maliciously" loiter or prowl on another person's property or any other place that's meant for "living or dwelling purpose."

Their hearing has been set for 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22.

But Moyer and Troyer thought they could access the dumpster because the gate fencing it in was open. There also wasn't a sign on the property that said they should not have been there.

However, they did not tell anyone at the CVS store ahead of time that they were going to look through their dumpster. The dumpster was also on private land owned by Paramount Portfolio Crossing Tic #1 LLC, a company based in Lakewood, N.J., according to Dauphin County property records.

"We didn't really want to go talk to managers 'cause I understand, you know, they are very busy, and they don't really have time for people who just want to come in and get stuff for free," Moyer said.

They went dumpster diving after closing hours because it's when they could avoid explaining themselves to store owners and law enforcement officials, a conversation that could set them back a half hour or more. It was also more convenient for them to go at night because of work and family.

Dr. Anne S. Douds of the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg said it doesn't matter if the gates had been open or not for them to be charged as defiant trespassers. She compares it to a person being charged with breaking and entering even though they used a door that had been left open.

Furthermore, they had gone through the dumpster after the CVS store closed, which would make it harder for them to get their charges dropped.

Moyer and Troyer said they try to watch for any 'no trespassing' signs and respect private properties whenever they were out dumpster diving. When law enforcement officials or property owners told them to leave, they would do so and never return.

"(Police) usually just ask us what we were doing, pat us down really quickly, and we never really had anything dangerous on us," Troyer said. "They'd run our licenses, check for warrants. They sometimes tell us they don't want us to come back, and we're always complaint."

CVS said in an email statement that police informed them the next day that Moyer and Troyer had been arrested on their property.

"While we do not condone dumpster diving, we have no plans to press charges against these individuals," said Mary Alfieri, manager of corporate communications for CVS Health.

The email added that CVS donates its damaged or near-expired goods to local food banks, shelters and nonprofit organizations, such as Feeding America and the Salvation Army.

Going to waste

An estimated 70 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States every year, according to nonprofit organization Feeding America. Between 25 to 40 percent of food that's grown, processed and transported in the country will never be consumed. That's food that could go toward the 42.2 million people living in food-insecure households, which includes more than 13 million children.

The United States Department of Agriculture reported, in 2010, about 133 billion pounds of food was wasted. That amounts to $161 billion worth of food.

Moyer and Troyer had intended to put a dent in that by donating what they took from dumpsters to those who might need it.

One of the reasons for that waste is the confusion about expiration dates, according to the non-profit organization Natural Resources Defense Council. People mistake "best by," "sell by" and "use by" dates as a measure for when something is safe to use, but it's actually when manufacturers deem the product to be at peak quality.

Moyer and Troyer found that stores often throw out many of their seasonal candies, which they've found to be still safe to eat. One of their biggest hauls was following last Christmas, when businesses had thrown out much of their holiday-themed candy.

In the last two days they've returned to dumpster diving, Moyer and Troyer are still finding Halloween-themed candy.

They would take the food and candy they found on the 80-mile round trips they took around central Pennsylvania to food banks in Lebanon, Lancaster and Palmyra. Moyer and Troyer couldn't name the organizations in their interview with PennLive. They learned after donating that the organizations don't accept donations taken from dumpsters.

"We had asked them what their stipulations were on food donations and what kind of stuff they would accept," Troyer said. "... they never specifically stated that they wouldn't take anything that was taken from a dumpster."

What's allowed and what's not

The Donated Food Limited Liability Act, which was enacted in 1981 and amended in 1996, protects donors and charitable organizations in Pennsylvania from civil and criminal liabilities that might result from the condition of a donated food item. The act states that both the donor and organization have to make a reasonable effort to inspect the food and make sure that it's safe for people to eat.

This immunity does not extend to those who know the food might be "tainted, contaminated or harmful to the health or well being of the ultimate recipient." It also does not apply "where damages result from the negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct of the donor."

The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act also protects people and nonprofit organizations who donate and receive "apparently wholesome" or "fit" food or groceries. Similarly, the only exception is if the food causes injury or death "from an act or omission" from the donor or nonprofit organization that constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

Moyer initially told store owners that the Bill Emerson Act would protect them, but he would still be turned away.

"Generally, (they tell us) we're not allowed to do that," he said. "It's against our policy to give stuff away for free or we already donate on a store level."

However, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank executive director Joe Arthur said Moyer and Troyer weren't in compliance with the act because food out of a dumpster can not be considered "wholesome." They also did not inform nonprofit organizations of where the food came from which, citing language in the act, means that they had not donated "in good faith to a nonprofit organization..."

"We're strongly against (getting food from a dumpster)," he said. "Think about what goes in the dumpster and the animals that have been in there. The food that's been pulled out, with the naked eye, you can't see the microbes or if the package has been breached."

Moyer and Troyer said they were careful when picking through dumpsters, making sure that nothing was contaminated or inedible. They didn't have any "moral issues" with donating the food because their families also ate it and had never gotten sick.

Looking back, Troyer said they might have done some things differently. They recognize that going dumpster diving at night dressed in black clothing, gloves and headlamps might come off as suspicious to some people.

Despite how the case shakes out, Troyer wants to raise attention about how much some of these stores waste.

"There needs to be a change made with these chain stores and big box stores instead of writing it off and throwing it out of sight, out of mind, (when it could be) given to people who can actually use it," he said.