Let's Make A Deal: Food Swapping Becomes Trendy in London
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 09. 9.08
What to do with the extra green beans that can never be eaten... Food swapping: we all do it informally, passing on extra vegetables, sometimes in return for a jar of homemade jam or chutney. But in England, it's becoming much more organized. There are good reasons; with the poor economy affecting everyone, it is an easy way to get a little bit extra for free. For example, take it to the pub. One pub has a sign up on the wall saying "If you breed, grow, shoot or steal anything you feel may be at home on our menu, ask at the bar. Let's do a deal." So far, pints of beer have been swapped for potatoes, mackerel and a kilo of fresh fruit.
In London they have been holding 'The Great Food Swap" for the past few years. People brought a wide range of produce that they had made, grown, picked or found and poked around for something to trade for it. The event was a surprising success and was repeated in the winter. At that one eager participants traded mince pies, oyster mushrooms, home made yoghurts and home made bread. It was organised by "Growing Communities", a social enterprise group which was ahead of its time. They began buying up sites in a poor area of north London in 1997 for organic allotments. They were the initiators of the first box scheme in the city, selling fresh vegetables from 25 organic farmers. They then started an organic farmers' market in the area. It has spawned some local industry--a little ice cream company that gets its organic eggs and milk from farmers at the market and sells the dessert from a special blue and yellow bicycle, hence its name: the Irish Ice-cream Peddling Company. :: Growing Communities Via :: Guardian
More on Markets and Social Enterprise Groups
:: Social Entrepreneurs Mean Business
:: Farmers' Market in Brooklyn
:: Victory Gardens
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Posts like this are why I'm still here. :)
Except the photo that accompanied the story made me cringe.
I'd never eat ANYTHING that's been home-canned unless I knew the person to be someone who really knew what they're doing.
If they do it wrong you could get botulism and die.
yeah, this is great, something I want to try.
Tomatoes are the perfect thing for home canners, because they're so abundant, and acidic, so extra preservatives are not needed. Peppers too. The problem is you have to can in the middle of August. Sweaty!
I think people would want to limit their food-swapping to people they know. Canning traditions tend to spread through families, so a level of trust can be established. I would perhaps worry about over-enthusiastic young people rushing into it with inadequate safeguards. However, modern Ball jars are so easily cleaned and the lids have that useful button seal.
It's like bringing back yesterday when we used barter as our means of exchange :)
It's like bringing back yesterday when we used barter as our means of exchange :)