How To Start A Food Swap

We asked the experts to trade us some of their most-helpful tips. Here’s what they suggest.
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Think of it as a holiday cookie exchange, but do it year-round with unicorn macarons and pimento cheese made from scratch in a home cook’s kitchen. Add plenty of garlic-dill pickles and citrus curd. Then dig in—your food swap is served.


Toni Snearly

Northwest Indiana Food Swap
facebook.com/nwifoodswap

PRO TIP: “A lot of people ask if it’s a gourmet event, but it’s just about sharing local food and supporting each other in creating a food community. If you bring something you like, someone else is bound to like it, too. It’s not a chef’s competition.”


Erin Clark

Bloomington Food Swap
btownfoodswappers.com

PRO TIP: “The first one was mostly friends of mine. Everything went well, so we started inviting more people through Facebook. It’s a great way to spread the word. We started having it at the public library, which has free meeting space for nonprofit groups.”


Suzanne Krowiak

Indy Food Swap
indyfoodswappers.com

PRO TIP: “Don’t get hung up on swapping the ‘right’ thing. People bring granola, jam, pickles, homemade biscuits, appetizer dips, a favorite family cookie recipe. I’ve also seen swappers get really excited about backyard chicken eggs and anything out of the garden.”


Read more from our
Hoosier Kitchen package here.