Thanks to the fabulous Wendy Ortiz at Earthly Delights, I just learned about a great site/organization called Fallen Fruit. Here is their manifesto:

A SPECTER is haunting our cities: barren landscapes with foliage and flowers, but nothing to eat. Fruit can grow almost anywhere, and can be harvested by everyone. Our cities are planted with frivolous and ugly landscaping, sad shrubs and neglected trees, whereas they should burst with ripe produce. Great sums of money are spent on young trees, water and maintenance. While these trees are beautiful, they could be healthy, fruitful and beautiful.

WE ASK all of you to petition your cities and towns to support community gardens and only plant fruit-bearing trees in public parks. Let our streets be lined with apples and pears! Demand that all parking lots be landscaped with fruit trees which provide shade, clean the air and feed the people.

FALLEN FRUIT is a mapping and manifesto for all the free fruit we can find. Every day there is food somewhere going to waste. We encourage you to find it, tend and harvest it. If you own property, plant food on your perimeter. Share with the world and the world will share with you. Barter, don't buy! Give things away! You have nothing to lose but your hunger!

On a similar note, I recently read this article at the San Francisco Chronicle about a guy who spent two months bicycling around California. He packed no food and bought no food; he lived off the land (and off the kindness of strangers). He says he mostly survived on figs and almonds. Not a bad diet, I must say. I adore figs. Almonds, too.