This. I never went looking for perishable foods but all sorts of perfectly good small appliances or pieces of furniture were to be found in May of each year.

Apartment complexes can also be pretty good for this sort of thing. Where I live now people who move out sometimes leave their stuff by the dumpsters in the understanding that doing so means the stuff is fair game for other residents (especially recent move-ins) and the administration in the rental office will let you know if you ask about any furniture that recent move-outs have left behind inside their empty apartments. I got a couch, microwave, coffee table, and set of chairs that way for free when I moved here for grad school.

Also, when universities get new equipment some departments just throw stuff out rather than actually sending it to the surplus depot or whatever. Got fully functional computer monitors and an oscilloscope once in undergrad (and gave the latter to an engineering major friend who tinkers a lot in his basement).