Food Swap!

Kevin and his bread

They tasted just as divine as they looked...

Me at my lacto soda station

Matt putting in his request for Cindy's pie

Spectacular tartine bread made by Matt!

Cindy, my midwife came with pies. They were hot ticket items!

Kevin talking about his freshly baked bread!

Poppy drinking raspberry rose soda

homemade teriyaki sauce, vegan chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies...

Matt..he is the guy who made the tartine bread, and an old, good friend of mine!

Maya made caramel poporn

Jilan in her element!

A few weeks back I hosted our town's first food swap. I rented out the local cooking school for the day and invited my closest friends. What ensued was a day of extreme fun, love, sharing and celebration of homemade food. These photos were mostly taken by my close friend, photographer and blogger Jilan. Her photography blog is amazing! Thank you Jilan for documenting the first swap. I brought raspberry rose and blackberry ginger lacto-fermented soda. After swapping with others, I left with 25 year old sourdough starter, preserved lemons, tomato sauce, salsa, fennel flatbread, tartine bread, caramel popcorn, thumbprint cookies, a upcycled wool potholder and local corn meal. I had to have some conversations with the county health department before this movement could move forward, however. Turns out, publicly swapping food is illegal. But, an open dialogue with health department officials has lead to a clearer understanding of how these swaps can go forward and be legal, local and beneficial for all involved.

Food swaps are happening all over the country. A great resource is Food Swap Network. On that site there are listings of food swaps all over the country, how-to guides for throwing a swap and instructions for how to attend a swap. After attendees register to attend, they bring items to swap, then tour, taste, mingle and explore items others brought to swap. You write your bid on a piece of paper, and then swapping is negotiated between parties. Kind of crazy and a bit chaotic, but good fun and quite exciting. I highly suggest starting your own food swap where you live! It was so exciting to go home with a basket of treasures made by my friends and a wonderful way to make new ones.   The next food swap here is already planned for April! I will be sure to let you know how it went. xo