What's a food swap: Nuts & Bolts

Food Swap!

What's a food swap? A food swap is an event where a bunch of people bring homemade foods (mostly preserved or otherwise storable foods) to barter for other people's homemade foods.  For example, you might have gone overboard and made 10 jars of strawberry jam & you're thinking "What am I going to do with all this strawberry jam?"  Your neighbor is thinking "What am I going to do with these 10 bottles of tarragon flavored vinegar?" -- but if you both bring half your jars to the food swap and switch them out for foods you want, everybody wins!  I learned about food swaps from this video: http://cookingupastory.com/food-swap

How does it work?  On the morning of the food swap, you show up with however many items you want to barter*.  You set your goods out on the table and everybody walks around and checks out what's available.  When you find something you want, you write your name & what you have to offer in trade on that item's handy swap sheet (which I provide) .  Half an hour before we wrap up, you'll check out your swap sheets and see what you can get for the stuff you brought.  If there's a particularly hot item, there might be some counter offers.  You then pack it up and head home with a bunch of awesome stuff. 

What can I bring to the food swap? For this food swap, the rule is Only Edible, Homemade Products.  Homemade granola is in, beeswax candles are out.  While that's the only rule, experienced food swappers suggest offering less-perishable items as they're usually worth more in the swap.  Anything in a jar is usually good & frozen cookie dough would be worth more than baked cookies.  Think of bringing things in jar-sized amounts for easier swapping.  Package your goods in containers that you don't need back.  Bring as much or as little as you like.  One jar is enough to get this thing rolling.  Check the "Ideas for what to bring" page if you're stumped.


*If you remember, bring ingredient-lists for your goods -- or at least know if what you're offering is vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, as that might effect who wants what you've got.  Label your goods with a best-by date. If what you're offering isn't completely prepared, bring follow-up instructions/recipes so those that take your goods home know what to do with them.  If what you're offering is frozen, you might want to bring a printed photo or drawing for the table so we can keep the frozen stuff in the freezer during the swap.