Could you be a freegan?

I’ve been hearing a lot about the whole freegan movement, living in the West, where it is purported to come from.  I know times are hard, so I won’t knock the trash tour activities. I can shop carefully for organic produce grown in my area, and shop from farmers and whenever possible, grow my own stuff. But I can’t mess in the dumpster. In a lot of places it’s illegal, not to mention exposing my household to the germs in the trash. I have little kids, and we fight enough of those as it is.