Where to Get Free Foodby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 21 Jun 2008 06:06 AM
Barter your services for food. Rather than work for money, work for food. Someone who may be reluctant to hire you for money might be happy to feed you instead. Babysit, cut hair, mow a lawn, change someone's oil, tutor a child, help with a resume, clean a house, mend some clothes, pick up someone from the airport, do laundry, etc., all in exchange for home cooked meals or groceries. I have a pantry and a freezer full of stuff I would gladly trade for some handyman work. Ask for grocery cast offs. Grocery stores throw away a ton of food each day. Ask the store manager if you can have any of this food. He or she just may give it to you for free. Some of the items that can usually be had are over ripe bananas (great for banana bread and smoothies), lettuce with only the outer leaves wilted or bruised, crushed or dented packages and discontinued items. Glean and forage off of the land There are many edible foods that either grow in the wild or are left behind by farmers. You can take advantage of this for some free food. We have wild strawberries in our own backyard. Out in the wild, it is important to be safe, so first take a foraging or wild food course. Many are given free by foraging societies, agricultural extensions and nature preservation societies. For harvest leavings, talk to local farmers. Modern harvesting equipment can leave a lot of food behind, and most farmers won't mind if you ask if you can go in by hand and glean whatever is left. Also check with pick-your-own farms at the end of the season. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: How Much Are Food Prices Really Rising? Free Fast Food Today (and Cheap Food, too) Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments Tashi (1013) 21 Jun 2008 06:34 AMI'd love to go to some pro baseball games, but I wonder if I could barter with the team for behind home plate seats. A home-baked apple pie for each player, coach, security and grounds person? :-) Seriously, your idea is good. It sounds like something worth trying, thanks! For me, it's too bad I can't get boxes of Cheerios right off the farmers's leftover harvest. :-)  Mary Ann Romans (26791) 21 Jun 2008 11:26 AMWhat you might be able to do for those baseball seats is get a weekend job being an usher or selling concessions in exchange for free tickets! Tashi (1013) 21 Jun 2008 01:00 PMI just might do that someday. I've actually thought of it. I love the authentic ballpark hot dogs. Maybe I could trade one of my old purses for a hot dog and a soda at a game. LOL Oh, I can dream, right? :-) MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 21 Jun 2008 02:52 PMI love that you've mentioned wild foods! I just recently got into foraging and have found it to be a really fun hobby that's healthy, yummy and saves money. More than that, though, it's cool to be walking around the neighborhood or driving down the road with my new eyes that suddenly sees really cool, really useful plants everywhere. Here are some that I have around me: Clover, wood sorrel, spiderwort, grape leaves (maybe grapes later this summer), purslane, dandelions, wild plums, black berries, evening primrose, and many more that I have yet to i.d. confidently. Back where I grew up we also have prickly pear, wild blueberries and tons more stuff. The dandelions are a great place to start. They're easy to i.d. by the leaves (no dangerous lookalikes), very common, and pretty much all parts of the plant can be eaten at some time or another (especially if you don't mind bitter flavors since the leaves get bitter as they get older). Mary Ann Romans (26791) 21 Jun 2008 03:38 PMTashi, another idea is to volunteer to be a companion. Many older folk would love to go to a game, but they might need a little help getting there. They would happily buy an extra seat in exchange for that help. Mary Ann Romans (26791) 21 Jun 2008 03:46 PMWow! Thanks for all of the information Meg! Do you ever have to worry about weed killers or pesticides? I just recently met a couple of farmers who regularly trap and eat rabbits! That is foraging of a different kind.  CheapCoach (81) 24 Jun 2008 05:30 AMWatch your local community calendar because many times Churches and other organizations will have free pancake or spaghetti feeds on weekends. Its a great way to meet new people too! Community Tags barter, edible flowers, free food, frugal, wild food Discuss this article
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