About
For those of you who have never been to a food swap, a food swap works on the same basis as speed dating..except with food: you spend some time seeing what food is available, then you fill in a sheet saying what food you would like to swap with....and the exciting thing is you get to take your new food home.
Don't worry if you aren't the best cook, the whole point is to encourage each other to cook and to improve your cooking skills in a fun way whilst finding out about healthy ways to eat and meeting people. By using the term cooking we also include raw food "cooking" and fruitarian foods.
The food swap happens quarterly - see events for the next one. It enables us to come together and meet other people in our communities, to build relationships and to support the Slow Food, local food, wild food, real healthy food, and food activism, traditional food movements. We want to take back control from the big supermarkets, to encourage people to move away from the fast foods and ready meals, and to share. It's a great way to diversify your home-cooked diet and to fill your larder.
"The exciting thing is that you may turn up with a bunch of things you have made or produced - sushi, bread, eggs or all the same thing, all strawberry jams, for example, and leave with completely different produce. " Emma
Don't worry if you aren't the best cook, the whole point is to encourage each other to cook and to improve your cooking skills in a fun way whilst finding out about healthy ways to eat and meeting people. By using the term cooking we also include raw food "cooking" and fruitarian foods.
The food swap happens quarterly - see events for the next one. It enables us to come together and meet other people in our communities, to build relationships and to support the Slow Food, local food, wild food, real healthy food, and food activism, traditional food movements. We want to take back control from the big supermarkets, to encourage people to move away from the fast foods and ready meals, and to share. It's a great way to diversify your home-cooked diet and to fill your larder.
"The exciting thing is that you may turn up with a bunch of things you have made or produced - sushi, bread, eggs or all the same thing, all strawberry jams, for example, and leave with completely different produce. " Emma
Who can join?
Everyone is welcome, so long as you bring something with you to exchange. Events are free but everyone must register to attend.
What should I bring?
You can bring anything that you made, grew, produced or foraged. But please remember people will be picking your produce up and examining it, so please take that into account when packaging. Please also bring samples, if possible, of your produce for other people to try.
Advice:
Try and bring a few things that you can swap, but you don't need to bring masses of food. Don't worry if you think your food isn't 'exciting', someone else may think otherwise. For example you could bring cooked food eg bread, curries, cakes; preserves eg jam and chutney; raw food eg raw brownies, raw quiche, fruit-based dinner, vegetables, fruit, eggs; Plants eg baby tomato plants, herbs Drinks; home-made wine, beer cordial etc etc ....The only limitation is to bring home-made, home-grown or foraged food, not food bought from the shops.
All participants agree to prepare their food in a clean, safe environment, and assume all liability for products swapped themselves. The facilitators of the event will not assume any liability.
Advice:
Try and bring a few things that you can swap, but you don't need to bring masses of food. Don't worry if you think your food isn't 'exciting', someone else may think otherwise. For example you could bring cooked food eg bread, curries, cakes; preserves eg jam and chutney; raw food eg raw brownies, raw quiche, fruit-based dinner, vegetables, fruit, eggs; Plants eg baby tomato plants, herbs Drinks; home-made wine, beer cordial etc etc ....The only limitation is to bring home-made, home-grown or foraged food, not food bought from the shops.
All participants agree to prepare their food in a clean, safe environment, and assume all liability for products swapped themselves. The facilitators of the event will not assume any liability.
What happens at a swap event?
- Participants register as they arrive, taking name badges and a swap sheet and set up their own tables.
- Participants are then free to wander around sampling the products available for tasting.
- Participants write their name on the swap sheet at the table, what they would like to take and what they are offering.
- During the last half an hour, everyone returns to their own table to look at their sheet.
- They find offers next to names and then items are swapped.
It may sound a bit daunting and confusing, but everyone is very friendly so please come along and share.