Back to Tangible FreebiesFree Food
There are multiple ways of getting free food. Some ways are more substantial than others. The following suggestions for getting free food are ordered from least substantial to most. In other words, the strategies which would be most helpful at alleviating expenses on a budget are listed towards the end, while the small and temporary freebies which are good for a quick freebie buzz are listed first.
Free Food Days at Restaurants - Many restaurants have offered
free food promotions on a day or two out of the year. They've offered
anything from a scoop of ice cream to an entire meal. While some free
food days have even been advertised on the Super Bowl (Denny's for Super
Bowl XLIII and XLIV), others are not advertised on a wide scale. They
may only have a sign up at a specific location only a week in advance or
just the day of the promotion. If you look for special event calenders
on restaurant websites you might get lucky. Here is a growing list of
restaurants that have had free food days:
- Ben & Jerry's
- Denny's (advertised on Super Bowl XLIII and XLIV, free Grand Slam Breakfast)
- Chick-Fil-A
- Cinnabon
- Haagen Daas
- IHOP
- Krispy Kreme (they give away donuts all the time)
- Pretzel Time
- Rita's Italian Ice
- Sonic
- TCBY
- Wendy's (free frosty days)
- Wienerschnitzel (free chili dogs and ice cream)
Whenever one of these promotions is discovered it will be posted on the Actually Free Blog. If you know of any events coming up, please submit it for review.
Events which commonly offer Free Food:
- Booths after marathons and races
- Church gatherings
- Community events
- School socials.
- Groups and club meetings
- Parties
- Dances
- Weddings
- Open house
- Conferences
- Seminars
- Car dealership promotions
Free Food Samples on Location
Get free food while donating plasma.
Become a mystery shopper.
Become a taste tester. Go
to the nutrition department at a local school or university and offer to
be a taste tester if they're conducting any experiments.
Free Food IF You Can Eat ALL of it! In these food challenges, restaurants offer free meals if you can eat the entire meal within a specified time limit.
Free Food Samples by Mail - See Free Samples.
Trade work and services with neighbors for Free Food- Befriend an elderly neighbor who may feed you in exchange for simple tasks like changing a light bulb. An article at howcast.com also states you may need shamelessness to get food this way.
- Complement someone on their garden or animals and they'll think of you in the next harvest.
- Offer to babysit during mealtimes
Volunteer at a soup kitchen or meal-delivery program. You can get food because there are usually
left-overs, and you can dish yourself a plate when your shift is over.
Free food from your local freebie provider- Go to a local bagel or doughnut shop that guarantees "fresh" baked
goods everyday. This means they bake new goods every day even if they
had leftovers the day before. If employees don't take them home then
they just throw them away. It never hurts to ask the manager if you can
take them for free.
- Go to a pizza delivery place at the end of the day to see if you can have their undeliverable pizzas. Employees sometimes take them, but if they've worked there for a while then they're probably sick of pizza.
- Get
to be good friends with the late-night workers at the local mini-mart
(Circle K, 7/11, AM/PM, etc.). Sometimes they'll give you free
food, (hot dogs, drinks, pretzels, etc.). If you catch them while they're cleaning the food out of the heated rotating racks, then might give it to you instead of throwing it away. And yes
its still edible. If someone wanted to buy it 5 minutes before cleanup
time they would have no problem selling it without legal worries. My
brother is actually great at being friends the way I'm describing
here. Every time he goes to the local corner mart the
cashier won't even let him pay for a soda refill if he tried. Which leads to the next tip:
- Bring your own cup to the soda fountain. Sometimes their
inventory is based on the number of cups they have, not what comes out
of the soda fountain, so they could care less if you took a refill. Don't do it without their permission though.
- Find more ideas on the Local Freebie Provider page.
Get Free food as a freegan or dumpster diver - See
Free Garbage.
Free food from Nature:
- Become a gatherer. Get nuts, berries, fruits, seeds and edible greens in
parks and countrysides worldwide. You can get a book from the library
to help guide you on what you can or can't eat.
- Learn to fish and/or hunt. The equipment might be a little expensive,
but after the initial investment you may ultimately save money.
- Learn to make a garden yourself. You could grow vegetables out of
buckets if you really had to. And there are tons of places to get free compost for your soil.
Free Food by Using Coupons - See the Coupons page.
Free Restaurants
These eating places are essentially feed-forward Gift Economies
for Food. They have also been termed "pay-what-you-want" kitchens. They
are not listed here to be abused, simply to demonstrate that there are
resources to eat if you need them. These are great organizations that
were made to feed the hungry. In order to keep going they could use
volunteers and donations.
Find a Local Food BankGovernment Nutrition Assistance Programs (Food Stamps, WIC, etc). If you can prove that you are financially in need, you can get food
through
government
nutrition assistance programs.
Charities: There are also charities and food banks
to help those who are hungry. If you have reached this page because you are poor and
can't afford a meal then you may want to
click here also.
More info:
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