Everyone who has went grocery shopping in the last few years knows how expensive it is to feed your family. It isn’t unusual anymore to drop a $100 bill at the grocery store and walk out with three measley bags of food. A “food swap” is the potluck concept reinvented. You can host a food swap with family and friends to save money and time. During the holidays, when it costs a small fortune to cook one meal or to present an array of baked goods, a food swap is the perfect way to feed your family without having to take out a small loan.
To host a food swap, you will need to find three to six friends or family members who want to participate. The central idea of the food swap is that you cook one (or more) meals or baked goods that can be divided evenly among the group, while everyone participating does the same. In the end, every person in the group has essentially devoted the money and time to one or more items and they receive the dishes prepared by the others, as well. For instance, say you decide to make two types of cookies and so does everyone else in a food swap group of four. You would make enough of your cookies to distribute to everyone in your food swap group. When it’s all said and done, each of you will have eight types of cookies.
For anyone who has made eight different types of cookies, you know how expensive that can be. With a food swap, you will save time and money by exchanging and sharing food.
I have hosted food swaps with my mother and co-workers in the past and I can attest that there are certain foods that will garner the best results. Homemade noodles are a great food swap food because they are relatively cheap and easy to make in large batches, and they can be stored in plastic bags and frozen for up to a month. Other good food swap foods include homemade pastas, soups, bread, lasagna, chili, pies, and any type of baked good. It is wise to provide the containers for your own food but you can swap food containers, as well. Also, the food swap works best if everyone prepares their chosen items in their own kitchen. If you try to cook in the same kitchen, it will be very messy and everyone will be stepping on each others toes.
If traditional coupons and money-saving tips have failed you and you’re up for one more last-ditch effort to save money on food, consider hosting a food swap with your family and friends. In addition to saving you time and money, food swaps are a fun way to bring you and your friends together.