How To Eat For Free and Save Money On Your Food Costs
1. Become a Freegan
Lots has been written about the freegan movement but what exactly is it? Quite simply freegans are people who make the most of food items thrown out by supermarkets, restaurants and other food related companies.
They rummage through the bins of these establishments, which sounds horrible until you realise that business waste is not the same as residential waste. Often there are large bins on premises which are dedicated to packaged food items that are past their display by date and the business is not legally permitted to sell or even give away these items under health and safety legislation. This does not mean however, that these items are out of date as the display by date is normally two or three days before the day that they must be consumed. There are many stories where freegans regularly find whole batches of bread, meat biscuits, coffee and every other food item you can imagine, all packaged and perfectly edible.
You can find out more about the freegan movement at Freegan.org.uk
2. Make the most of nature
The countryside is packed full of edible foods just waiting to be eaten including berries, mushrooms, roots, leaves and even truffles. All of these can make or contribute to a tasty meal, if you know what to look for.
There are a number of sites that offer more information and even courses on living off the land you can find more here:
3. Dine with friends
If you have a good range of friends then why not turn up to visit them around dinner time? It’s amazing how many invites you’ll get to join them. The more friends you have the better, as you can rotate around them. However, there does come a point when you’ll need to return their kindness so don’t push your luck!
4. Complain
Sometimes we are too ready to accept tasteless, dry or lifeless food for fear of upsetting others. However if your food is genuinely below standard take time to express your disapproval as most restaurants are willing to waive the meal costs for legitimate complaints or at the very least throw in some additional free food.
5. Work for your meal
Most restaurants have a high turnover of washing up or kitchen staff, such as cleaners and offering your services in exchange for an excellent meal is likely to be warmly welcomed. There are many examples of people who have travelled extensively across a region by offering their services in this way, including one American who did this for over five years!
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