Food Swap logo created by Jennifer Walker
They're doing it in Brooklyn, they're doing it in L. A. & Austin–so we're doing it here! Grab the last of the summer's bounty at the Farmers Market and put up some jars of yummy jam, spicy chutney, or red-hot salsa and come to the 1st Big River Food Swappers event to be held right here in the neighborhood!
CWE Jeweler Jennifer Walker and I have been plotting this event for a couple of months now and it's time to roll out the details:
Big River Food Swappers
Sunday, October 9, from 1 to 3
449 N. Euclid (at Washington)
Bring at least six of no more than 2 kinds of homemade "whatevers"
(plus a sample jar)
We are limited to 20 to 25 participants, so hurry and sign up here or email me through the blog!
With renewed interest in home-grown food, the food swap phenomenon has surfaced as a contemporary take on an old idea. Read co-conspirator Jennifer Walker's Facebook page and new blog here to learn more about these events in other cities and how they work. The description includes a video that shows a swap in action.
When I mentioned our plans to the gentleman who coordinates the Meals on Wheels program at Trinity Church, he said, "That sounds just like the 'six-sweet and six-sour relish' exchanges that took place when I was growing up." Bill said every family's pantry in his small Illinois town included the requisite "six and six."
For the October 9th swap I'm bringing preserved lemons, and
perhaps nectarine jam, or maybe fennel and sweet onion relish. And there's the fabulous tomato chutney I learned about from my dear friend Mary. One neighbor, a hunter-gatherer type, is rumored to be bringing squirrel meat!
Though this event is located in the CWE, it is not limited to neighborhood participation. If you are a foodie who is merely curious, drop by on October 9 and check the swap out. If this is successful, we plan on holding more meetings in the future.
Big River Food Swappers, Sunday, October 9, from 1 to 3 p.m., 449 N. Euclid.