FAQ's

What is a Food Swap?

A Food Swap is a casual and friendly gathering of food makers, growers, and foragers who are excited to trade and barter their homemade edibles with others.  The swap will also be an opportunity to meet people, learn new things and encourage fledgeling local food businesses.

What Should I bring?

Appropriate items for swapping include home grown produce, backyard eggs (duck, chicken, quail), jams and preserves, syrups, oils, infused liquors and vinegars, home brewed alcohol and spirits, baked goods, candies, teas, home canned foods, pickles, chutneys, salsas, smoked meats, honey and more... 

Plan to bring 5-10 items (some people bring more, some less), which can range from packages of homemade granola to honey from your hives. You can also bring a mix of items if you want. We definitely suggest bringing extra for samples. People are going to be more keen to swap when they can taste your amazing creations.

Don't forget to bring something extra (bag, box etc.) to carry your new food items home! 

What is appropriate Food Swap etiquette?

Do not feel hurt if someone says no thanks to your swap item. Food is very personal. Likewise, don’t be afraid to say no to someone. When in doubt, treat each other with respect and kindness and consider people have labored over their homemade, homegrown foods. We want everyone to enjoy the experience!

How does the actual Swap happen?

Participants will be given bid sheets much like a Silent Auction.  The Food Swap will begin by Swappers checking out what is on offer and what they might like to trade for.  A “bid” is only a place to start when deciding who wants your stuff and who you might talk to first. As for the actual swapping, swappers will ideally have a look at their item’s sheet (which tells them who is interested and what they have to offer in exchange). The swapper will make their way over to the person they want to trade with and seal the deal. If a swapper doesn’t get as many offers as items they have to offer, then they can go around and just chat with people and see if they’re interested in trading. It always works out really nicely.

The order of offers on the sheet is arbitrary; you should go down the list according to what items you actually want, not who wrote their name down on your sheet first.

How do I package/present items?

Keep in mind that interested swappers will be examining and picking up your goods, so be sure to package them in a way that protects the food and makes it clear the amounts you want to swap. ( We suggest between 4-16 oz. as portion size depending on the cost of the materials involved.) We encourage you to bring enough to offer samples to other swappers. If you get into fancy and stunning packaging go for it! Please do label items especially for those with food sensitivities, allergies etc.

Also, we'd like to request that all swappers label all their items with the following info – whether you do this on a simple laser printer label or a cute handmade tag is up to you.

• Name of Item – Clearly label what it is! 
• How to store item – Is it for the fridge or the pantry? Even though this is included on the swap sheet, it can be easy to miss or forget this during the excitement of the swap, so please mark on the item itself
• Your Name - So recipients know who made it 
• Your Email - So recipients can contact you directly if they have questions on how to store or use it, want the recipe, or just want to tell you how much they've enjoyed it
• Date - (optional) The date you made it or use by date is useful