Palmer Food Swap Blue Ribbon Swap

Event Details

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What is a food swap? Good Question! A food swap is held to help folks get together and swap their homemade foods and homegrown produce.

If you bake killer biscuits wouldn’t you LOVE to trade a package of six of them for a jar of fresh jam? I would! Grow lovely peas but need a cabbage? I bet you could barter for it. Cukes for zukes?

Maybe, just maybe.

The choices for swapping are almost unlimited but there are a few rules to follow when considering WHAT to bring:

  • Your swap items must be products you make or grow, you can’t just go to the store buy some basil and expect to trade, you’ve GOT to make it into something-pesto? garlic bread spread? pizza sauce?
  • You can bring meat and fish as long as they weren’t hunted or fished on a subsistence license or tag.
  • Items must be packaged in some way for trading, cookies in bags, sauces in jars, bread securely wrapped.
  • You’ll also need to have every item labeled and a clear ingredient list (on a supplied product card) for people to read during the preview.
  • You can’t sell your items, they must be traded.
  • Sampling is highly suggested–that way people know what they’re getting.
  • Bring a bag to carry your goodies home in.
  • Consider your set up. Do you need a basket? A box? Something to display your product? Make sure to bring it.

Here’s how it works — Swappers should arrive around 10 am at the Annex and begin setting up their area, perhaps a basket to display goodies or a cake plate. Once set up is finished we’ll have a 20-30 minute preview, where participants can wander the tables and sample the goods and jot their names down on the product slips as being interested in trading. We’ll have a bell to signal the beginning of trading and after that you should simultaneously do two things:

  • Look for people coming TO you to trade – Are they? Well then, it’s up to you to say yes or no to a trade – No hard feelings allowed!
  •  Head out to your most wanted item and ask for a trade.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but it’s crazy fun to zip around and try to find all the goodies you looked at and sampled before the trading started. Trading takes less than 20 minutes and after that we’ll pack up, clean up and head out. So fun! I hope you plan to come down and participate.