Magel's Freezer Meals:Food Swap

A few days ago my friend Magel (it's her last name.  There are a lot of us Melissas out there and we need a way to determine exactly which one you're talking about.  Jennifers understand.) asked me to do a blog post on freezer meals.  It sounded odd.  You make an extra lasagna and put it in the freezer.  Voila!  Blog post on freezer meals!  However, when I asked her more about it, there's more involved.  I guess people get together and swap meals to keep in the freezer.  Being that she's in her second trimester with her second child, I can see that the idea of stockpiling homemade food would be appealing to her.  But since I'd never heard of it and I wasn't really sure where to find out more about it, I just kind of filed it away in my brain.

Yesterday I got my order email from Breezy Hill Farm.  They're still growing fresh, local greens if you're interested in ordering from their online store.  I've blogged about them before and I'm always interested to hear what's going on on their farm, even if I'm not currently ordering from them.  This week, I clicked on the link to order, which I haven't done in awhile, and I was looking at their other venues.  I saw that they were going to be at the Haymaker Winter Farmers' Market in Kent!  I had totally forgotten about this winter market that I wanted to get to last year, but never made it!  Of course this Saturday is Ellie's birthday party, so I can't go, but I do really want to get there.  So I clicked on the link to check out the venders and the dates and times.  What's the first thing I see when I get to the site?!?  "Winter Market and Food Swap" Food Swap?  This sounds familiar! It turns out, Magel ISN'T crazy!  While not all of them are freezer meals, there is a whole food swap movement.  They even have a website.  So if you're thinking, "What the Heck is a Food Swap?"  They you're in luck.  Here's the lowdown from the Haymaker Market:



What the heck is a food swap? It’s an event that brings people together to trade their homemade, homegrown, or even foraged food items with one another. Join us for a fun afternoon of sampling and bartering – bring 5 – 7 items and go home with that many goodies made by other food lovers in the community. For more information, check out the Food Swap Network.



Interesting!  I know someone who has a lot of jams and freezer breads to swap...NANA!  (Nana will say that she wants to keep her jams and breads and is grossed out by eating food from strangers kitchens...do eggs count, Nana?) So there you go, Magel.  It's not quite what you asked for, but it's the best I can do!