How To Attend

How to attend:
Here are the top three things to keep in mind before your first swap:

1. What to bring: Bring as few or as many items as you want. You can bring many of the same item or shake it up and bring all sorts of different items. Visit the FAQ section below for info on what kinds of things people bring.

2. Packaging: Keep in mind that swappers will be examining and picking up your goods, so be sure to package them in a way that protects the food and makes it clear the amounts you want to swap. We encourage reusable, earth-friendly packaging whenever possible. Don’t feel like you need to spend a lot of time decorating or composing fancy packaging unless you like to do it, that is.

3. At the swap: Don’t get your feelings hurt if someone says no thanks to your swap item. Food is a very personal matter and a number of factors – like food allergies, personal preference, utility of the item in their kitchen – will influence someone’s decision to swap.

Likewise, don’t be afraid to say no to someone. You wouldn’t buy something at the grocery store you’re not going to eat, so swapping because you don’t want to hurt a fellow swapper’s feelings isn’t expected of you at a swap. Sure, you can always swap and give away the item, but only if you have extra items to work with, which will not be the case for people who only bring a few items.

FAQ's

1. How does the actual swap work? I’m still a little unclear how the whole “bid” process works:

A “bid” is only a place to start when deciding who wants your stuff and who you might talk to first. As for the actual swapping, swappers will ideally have a look at their item’s sheet (which tells them who is interested and what they have to offer in exchange). The swapper will make their way over to the person they want to trade with and seal the deal. If a swapper doesn’t get as many offers as items they have to offer, then they can go around and just chat with people and see if they’re interested in trading. It always works out really nicely.

The order of offers on the sheet is arbitrary; you should go down the list according to what items you actually want, not who wrote their name down on your sheet first.

2. What do people usually bring?

Anything that they’ve made or grown themselves. We’ve seen homemade bread loaves, empanadas, lavender infused vodka, duck eggs, marmalades and preserves, marshmallows, cookies, canned peaches, bundled fresh herbs, sausages, limoncello, homemade pasta, bags of pecans, pierogies, pies…you name it!

3.  Can I bring a sample of my item to share with everyone?

Absolutely! Samples help “sell” your items to attendees who might not be sure about accepting your offer.

4. Does writing your name on something guarantee you’ll get it?

NO! Swap sheets are just a starting point for hashing out trades when the swap starts.

5. I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings by turning them/their item down. How do I avoid making people uncomfortable?

It should be emphasized in the beginning that in no way should swappers feel obligated to accept someone’s offer (if they don’t actually want the item), nor should swappers get their feelings hurt if someone turns them down. Food is a very personal matter and a number of factors – like food allergies, personal preference, utility of the item in their kitchen – will influence someone’s decision to swap. Sure, you can always swap and give away the item, but only if you have extra items to work with, which will not be the case for people who only bring a few items.

Hosts: emphasize this point at the beginning of your parties and tell people to please not take it personally since food is such an individual matter. Make this announcement again as you open up the swapping floor.

6. Do I need fancy packaging?

No. It’s up to you how you want to present your items. Some people are happy to write on the top of their jars with a sharpie but other folks really enjoy fancying it up; do whatever suits you best.

7. How many people usually attend?

It varies by location. Anywhere around 10-15 attendees will make for a fine swap. Any less than that and you all will probably end up with an even array of everyone’s goods, which is still fun. Many cities can host up to 25 swappers comfortably indoors, and some groups are swapping with up to 50 people.