Resources To Help With Immediate Hunger - Food Swapping Can Help
At a food swap, home cooks, bakers, canners, gardeners, and foragers get together to trade their homemade and homegrown food items.
Do you love to grow your own food, cook from scratch, or make the kinds of food — jam, pickles, ketchup, cheese — that most people usually buy? You might be ready to join the growing international food swap movement. Food swapping is nothing new — ancient Babylonian homemakers probably traded olive oil for beans.
In short, food swaps take many forms, but they all have the following elements.
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How Does a Food Swap Work?The "Modern Food Swap" movement began in — where else? — Brooklyn, New York, in 2010. Since then, it has spread to every corner of the United States, Canada, Europe, and even South America and the Antipodes. There are food swaps in every large American city and in many small towns and rural areas. Some food swaps meet once a month; some meet only a few times a year. Some food swaps have 50 participants and some have a dozen. Swaps are held in all kinds of locations, from church basements, parks, and community centers to stores and cooking schools. Some swaps charge admission and some are free. |
What Does Ones Bring To A Food Swap?What people bring to food swaps varies widely but can include baked goods, candies, condiments, preserved fruits and vegetables, cheese, fermented foods, drink syrups, alcoholic infusions, hand-milled flours, herbs and produce from vegetable gardens, eggs from backyard chickens, foraged fruits, and so on. The best swap items are things that are portable, not highly perishable, distinctive and delicious.
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(Sometimes people do bring non-food items, such as dog treats, candles, notecards, or health and beauty products. Whether that is permitted and where to draw the line on what kind of items are allowed is up to the organizer of each individual swap.)
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2. It’s a sustainable practice. Joining a food swap is a way to eat more seasonally and locally, practices that cut down on the resources that are used to grow food. And by swapping excess food, be it garden produce, eggs, or prepared foods, you not only receive some value for that food, but you also prevent its waste. 3. It will make you a better cook. If you are like me, you love to cook with unfamiliar ingredients and learn new skills in the kitchen. Not only does participating in a food swap motivate you to expand your cooking repertoire, but seeing the foods the other swappers make will inspire you to try new techniques and experiment with unfamiliar ingredients. |
Why Participate In A Food Swap? There are many good reasons to participate in a food swap. Here are four that I find particularly compelling.
1. It increases your options. Participating in a food swap allows you to diversify your pantry with different kinds of homemade or homegrown food. And that allows you to eat more homemade food, which is a wonderful thing. Food swaps create communities. The very best reason to participate in a food swap, other than bringing home delicious food, is that you will meet all kinds of people who share your passion for homemade and homegrown food. Swappers trade recipes and gardening tips, network, and form friendships that go beyond the food swap itself. |
Because food swaps are in-person events that are typically organized online, they tend to attract a diverse group of participants and bring together people who might not have a chance to meet otherwise. That is part of the magic of food swaps: they cut through the barriers that separate us — things like age, class, race, and geography — and connect people who share a love of food.
ALL TEXT EXCERPTED FROM FOOD SWAP © 2016 BY EMILY PASTER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |
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And now for our Guests of Honor. Our list of Food Swap Phone Apps and Websites that will connect you to hundreds of food swaps taking place all over the USA. If you can't find a food swap near you. Why not start one locally. There are over 2,532 Community Food Swap group members on
"Meet-up".com or FoodSwapNetwork.com for setting up your very own local swap! Sign up and create you own and invite your neighbors to join in on the fun.
While there are many food directories and apps, we only listed the most respected and up-to date ones that capture the greatest audience reach for searches. Enjoy the list.
"Meet-up".com or FoodSwapNetwork.com for setting up your very own local swap! Sign up and create you own and invite your neighbors to join in on the fun.
While there are many food directories and apps, we only listed the most respected and up-to date ones that capture the greatest audience reach for searches. Enjoy the list.
CLICK BELOW TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS AND MISSION AS WE EDUCATE THE MASSES ABOUT THE HIDDEN HUNGER AND THE SOLUTION TO SOLVE IT.
SOME APPS MAY PERTAIN TO THE GLOBE AND B2B, SOME IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO FOOD, OTHERS HELP EDUCATE WHEN BUYING FOOD, THIS IS FOR EVERYONE...WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM EACH AND SHARE ACCORDINGLY.
SOME APPS MAY PERTAIN TO THE GLOBE AND B2B, SOME IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO FOOD, OTHERS HELP EDUCATE WHEN BUYING FOOD, THIS IS FOR EVERYONE...WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM EACH AND SHARE ACCORDINGLY.
1. OLIOEX
OLIOEX For some, food waste is an inevitable part of modern life, but research indicates that throwing food away causes a feeling of physical pain for others. OLIO taps into the conscious consumer mindset to offer a food-sharing platform, connecting people with neighbors and local shops all over the world. Users add a photo and description of their item, indicating when and where to pick it up. Customers frequently donate fresh garden vegetables, bread from bakeries and unwanted household food.
2. Food Swap Network
Food Network is a directory of amazing Food Swaps taking place in the WORLD. Simply find your location and zoom in. Join the swap and enjoy the fun!
3. ShareCity
The ShareCity 100 Database, is an open access and interactive database that presents key variables for the analysis of more than 4000 initiatives across 100 cities in 44 countries and 6 continents.
4. TangoTab
Tango Tab helps the cause by giving a meal for someone in need. Here is how it works. You use TangoTab to find great nearby restaurants and score exclusive offers. It’s free to you and takes seconds. Once you arrive and check in through the app, the restaurant pays us a small fee. We donate a portion of that revenue to a local food organization, covering the cost of a meal for someone in need. Your community grows stronger every time you dine out. When you eat, they eat. If they are not in your local area...there is a challenge that they have to bring this app to your favorite restaurant. Take the challenge. Download the app.
5. Flashfood
A family member’s horror after catering an event that disposed of $5,000 worth of food inspired the creation of Flashfood. The app prevents food waste in the United States and Canada in two ways: It re-sells grocery foods approaching their best-before date at a discount, and it saves "not good enough" retail items and ships them to customers. Farmers and growers also can give Flashfood items that were rejected by grocers, to be sent to environmental-conscious consumers.
6. Food Cowboy
Food Cowboy arranges efficient communication between food donors and charities and fast delivery of excess food in the United States. Delivery drivers, caterers and anyone working with large volumes of edible but rejected food create alerts in the app. Food pantries, processors and compositors immediately receive these alerts and contact the source for delivery arrangements. Food Cowboy charges a small commission for the service. For instance, a food bank can buy as much as they can store for 10 cents per pound
7. Food for All
Food For All eliminates last-minute restaurant food waste in Boston and New York City. It connects customers to restaurants one hour before they close, for meal discounts as high as 80 percent. Customers can enter their location and explore nearby deals, and they pick up their order at a time specified by the restaurant. Users also can donate food to people in need through the app.
8. Food Rescue Hero
Food Rescue Hero turns average eaters into food heroes. The app connects users with nonprofits who serve those who are food insecure. Helping guide "heroes" to locations to pick up or drop off food, the app boasts a rescue schedule flexible enough to accommodate daily, weekly or once-only rescues — and each rescue takes as little as 30 minutes. The app also gives heroes information about the nonprofit’s work, mission and impact.
9. BuffetGoUSA.com
BuffetGO allows you to purchase takeout meals from local restaurants with discounts of up to 90% OFF! We have a mission and that is to tackle a serious problem. Roughly 86 billion pounds of food is wasted here in the U.S. year after year. The decomposition of uneaten food accounts for 23 percent of all methane (a greenhouse gas at least 25 times more powerful in global warming as carbon dioxide.) emissions in America. BuffetGO is part of a solution. We partner with restaurants to allow our customers to purchase their unsold fresh food before they close at massive discounts and takeout. Rescue a meal and get an amazing deal.
10. Foodfully
Foodfully aims to inspire thoughtful consumption of food before its expiration date. Foodfully has a connection to more than 14 grocery stores in the U.S. and their loyalty cards. Every time a user makes a purchase with a loyalty card, the app records the transaction. The app also can scan receipts and record manually entered purchases. Users manage their food items on the app by entering them in the fridge and freezer, deleting the consumed ones and throwing food away. Foodfully arranges items by perishable dates and sends the user notifications before they go bad. Additionally, the app suggests recipes based on what is available in the user’s fridge.
11. GoMktIn
New York City, goMkt connects restaurants that have unsold food with customers looking for discounts. By purchasing food as take-out through the app, customers save up to 75 percent off the original price — and reduce potential food waste. The business-to-consumer platform plans to expand to larger food businesses and connect them to charities, composters and anaerobic digestion facilities.
12. Goodr
With a 24/7 service in Atlanta, Goodr picks up excess food from businesses and delivers it to nonprofits. Goodr perceives hunger not as a scarcity but as a logistics issue. Restaurants, catering and events companies end up with a lot of leftover food, but rarely have the time to make donations, so surplus food ends up in landfills. Goodr allows businesses to schedule food pick-ups, and the company currently generates about $30,000 of revenue a month.
13. ImpactVision
ImpactVision combines the topics of food safety and food waste to enable a transparent food system. The app uses advanced imaging technology to assess the quality of food. For example, thier Fruitcam assesses the ripeness of fruits, so wholesalers decide which ones to ship abroad and which to sell at local stores, and their Fishcam can mark the difference between fresh and frozen fish fillets. ImpactVision enables fast decision making on food quality. With this in mind, businesses can reduce waste and deliver high-quality products to buyers.
11. NoFoodWasted
NoFoodWasted aims at reducing food waste in the Netherlands by 50 percent in the next five years. This app stimulates demand for discounted products with a best before date. It alerts supermarket shoppers which items are approaching their expiration date. Users do not even need to go to the supermarket to explore the deals, as they can check them online. So far, more than 77,000 users downloaded the app, which achieved 13 percent of its waste reduction goal.
12. MealConnect
To source more meals and help end hunger in America, Feeding America has created MealConnect™, a technology platform that makes it easier than ever to connect donors with surplus food to their local Feeding America member food banks and their partners. With MealConnect, you have easier pickups, easier tracking and easier receipt recording for any type of donation. Plus, you’ll feel great knowing you’re reducing food waste while providing hunger relief right in your community.
13. Food Rescue US
The Food Rescue US app fights food insecurity by connecting food donors with hunger relief organizations. The app targets anyone who wants to donate or receive food. Users answer a few questions and then request a food pick-up. The algorithm matches surplus food to a nearby shelter and sends a driver to transport the food. More than 2,200 registered volunteers have rescued and delivered 23.1 million meals to people in need.
14. Copia
At Copia™, we come to work everyday because we’re accelerating toward a once improbable, now certain future: A world without hunger. We call hunger the World’s Dumbest Problem because we know that hunger is not a scarcity problem, it’s a logistics problem. In a world with so much excess and so much abundance, there’s no reason we can’t feed every person on the planet. Copia™ makes healthy food more accessible to people in the community by helping businesses redistribute high-quality excess food to feed people in need. Businesses use our technology platform to feed the community, save money, and reduce waste. The process is simple. It goes from Restaurant to us to nonprofit in need. Simple! Together, we’re making hunger history.
There are two hidden communities that have been ongoing for over 15 years strong that have created an environment to allow everyone a chance to afford not only food, but that well beyond the dinner table - rapidly and long term.
A freedom that has been successful for over a decade with the members, by the members. Renewed Awakening is now a part of that community and we now share that with you.
A freedom that has been successful for over a decade with the members, by the members. Renewed Awakening is now a part of that community and we now share that with you.
“We don’t have a food shortage in the U.S., we have a food logistics problem.” We have to be creative and tell the stories of the American hungry without resorting to the same images and worn out language usually attributed to that narrative in order to engage communities to care for each other without resorting to guilt and manipulation."