Scavenging void?

Watched an episode of River Cottage Autumn last night, where they went traveling round the local countryside harvesting free produce (fruit and veges) from the roadside. I think it sounds like a great thing to be able to do - means I don't have to try and grow as much myself - but it seems to me to not be a viable option in places that I have/currently live (Brisbane and Hamilton). The editor of the big gardening magazine here in NZ talks about being able to do this type of scavenging in Auckland, where some of the council's footpath trees are actually fruit trees (they even had some 'novice' gardeners go round collecting stuff - the locations of which they apparently found on the internet). But I've just spent some time on google and don't seem to be able to find any help in locating 'free' produce here in Hamilton. Anybody else ever collected free street food?