Fluther: How can i eat for free?

Homeless shelters?

teh_kvlt_liberal (3553

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Grow vegetables, etc, in your back garden, or get an allotment from your local council if your garden isn’t big enough. Allotments are something like £10 a year!

HappyFox (189

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College open houses always have free food.

somalia4ever (841

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@somalia4ever whats a college open house? i dont think we have those in the uk

noodle_poodle (1614

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I agree, that is probably the only way to do it, unless your friends constantly invite you to their house for dinner. But you can stand in the back of Starbucks, and get the sandwiches that they throw out. They don’t donate it so if you catch the person brfore it gets in the garbage, there’s dinner for a few days. I’ve done it just watch out for the sandwich with cranberries.

brinibear (1388

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@HappyFox thats a good idea! i will check that out…takes a while though so i need something in the meantime

noodle_poodle (1614

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Do they have food banks there? Ramen is super cheap. My dad lived off of a couple loaves of bread each week and a jar of peanut butter when he was young and broke. Pasta is also inexpensive and filling. The problem will be getting nutrition with the foods that are extremely inexpensive

I don’t know what your options really are there, but in the US there are free hot dogs or pizza every time a car dealership has a special day (which is often) or a radio station goes on location. There are several things like that, but it could keep you driving all over the place, which would defeat the purpose.

Supacase (14563

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Find the local places in your area where they hold weddings. Wander in after the ceremony.

PerryDolia (3481

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Trash cans?

erichw1504 (26453

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Gotta give you some lurve for ramen, Supacase

teh_kvlt_liberal (3553

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Beans and corn bread

Judi (40025

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Oh yeah there should be free samples in supermarkets. Try those out

teh_kvlt_liberal (3553

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Have you heard of the freegan movement?

Also, Top Ramen is easy to prepare, filling, calorie-dense, and you can buy it at like 18 cents a pack. That comes out to less than a dollar a day on a major staple, and it can be combined with meat and vegetables. It’s pretty tasty too. Canned food is also inexpensive and has the additional virtue of being unperishable. You can buy it in bulk at a very low price per can without having to worry about it going to waste.

peyton_farquhar (3741

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If you’re without cash totally, you could visit the Salvation Army, or maybe (if you have them in the UK) foodbanks.
In case you dó have some, i think pasta is a pretty cheap food.
Together with some it’s-the-season-vegetables, which you buy on the market (much cheaper there) and some Spam.

ps. I don’t recommend this, but i didn’t cook food for some 6, 7 years and only ate plain bread with cheese mostly, and every now and then some soup.
I didn’t starve.

rebbel (35550

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The cheapest way to get adequate nutrition is rice and beans—you can buy them both in bulk for very little.

cwilbur (14236

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In fact, anyone who mentions ramen gets free lurve from me

teh_kvlt_liberal (3553

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Depending where you live, good luck getting that allotment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8193100.stm

RareDenver (13173

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@teh_kvlt_liberal I used to do that in college. Around noon every day, Sam’s Club would have a zillion samples out. Free food! :)

Likeradar (19583

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When I was extremely poor several years ago, I used to make myself pasta and baked beans as my evening meal (with a knob of butter on top). I worked out that each meal cost me 18p, completely filled my stomach each night, and contained the main three food groups. I did this for seven years! LOL

The only saving grace was visiting friends and family for meals (without taking the piss with their hospitality) and attending lots of boring lunchtime meetings at work – these 9 times out of 10 came with huge plates of sandwiches.

HappyFox (189

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Dine and dash?

DeanV (14216

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Lots of fruit around now, apples, blackberries, haslenuts, also beergardens, people wander off and leave a sinfull quantity of food, hari krishna serve free food at events festivals etc, find a job where they feed you. In fact the healthier you eat, the less you need. You can live on apples for months.

mammal (9431

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Of course, I lived in Florida when I did this, but I got free fruit from neighbors who were tired of either eating it themselves or picking it up off the lawn. I also went fishing a lot and ate what I caught. In addition, I would buy chicken livers and gizzards or other “variety meats” for pennies on the pound and them use them in spaghetti sauce so I could get protein. I also would buy rice in 50 pound bags and dried beans as well and then make them last a very long time.

I also lived near a University, and I discovered that the Baptist Student Union had fried chicken for free on Wednesday nights, the Hillel Center had bagels and lox for free on Sunday mornings, and the Catholics had free pool tables. Then a variety of churches and meetings offer doughnuts and coffee for free.

And then there is what a lot of fellow students did – they looked for and consumed fresh roadkill, or went gigging for frogs. One grad student even wrote a grant proposal for a study entitle “Relative palatability of Rana catesbiana in three northern Florida ponds.” It was funded, so he was able to buy a boat and a frog gig, and a whole bunch of garlic and butter.

Otherwise, I would just keep an eye out at outside dining establishments and scoop up uneaten and untouched bits after folks leave but before the table cleaning person gets there.

Oh, yeah, I forgot all the ramen I ate. You can boost the protein by beating in an egg, making a sort of “egg drop ramen.”

Darwin (21872

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Work in food service, you usually get a free meal that way.

Or stock up on rice and beans, buy whatever discount veggie you can find (such as looking in the day old discount produce pile), and have that for meals.

dynamicduo (14392

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Are you in school? I bet if you take a cooking course as an elective you’d have lots of stuff to eat.

Likeradar (19583

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Find a relative that lives nearby… find an excuse to drop by around lunch or dinner-time.. enjoy.

Dr_C (14339

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Start growin’ potatoes.
Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew.

Sarcasm (16793

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Ramen, pasta, rice and beans. Add veggies and meat as you can. You can make VERY low cost soups in a big pot and freeze portions and defrost as needed.

Surely there’s some kind of assistance for people out there so that they don’t go hungry. If nothing else, call the local health department (or equivalent) and find out what services are out there. Try the phone book first.

avvooooooo (8880

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You might think “trash can” is a bad idea, but my brother used to make his living taking things out of the trash and selling them. He found enough good food to feed himself and give food away to homeless people every day.

YARNLADY (46384

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I was a student and still living a partial student live. The habit just sticked to me probably was born to be one stingy dude.

Anyway, i survive on maggie mee and simple meals throughout my life as a student. Get those chinese/korean/japanese instant noddle in chinese shop e.g. London china town for 50p each. They taste really good and come in different taste. Add some egg and vegetable and there you go… a nice meal.

Cook something in mass. My favourite is soup. Add wings/drumsticks, potato, carrot, a little onion, and boil it it until it taste sweet!! there is a name for that soup..its call ABC soup.

When i started working, i mainly live on frozen food. Get something from tesco or iceland.
there’s bargain in tesco and iceland, 3 frozen meal for 4.50 quid. Quite a good one actually.

Take up a job in a restaurant !! I believe there are plenty of decent leftovers in the kitchen in the end of the day.

Look out for cheap bargain in tesco… half price items…and buy in mass !

Can food ! they are really cheap. Sardine/mackerel they taste really good with rice or bread. You can have canned soup, canned vegetabnle, canned meat. Just look out for it.

Also !! Buy Tesco brand ! they are the cheapest! they sometimes taste really aweful but you wont feel that way once you tight a rope around your stomach for a whole day!

Message me if you want to know how to prepare cheap meals at home !

mea05key (1812

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I think canned meats are expensive. I think you are a lot better off picking up a small pack of hamburger or cheaper cut of meat or chicken wings. Put some oil in a pot with garlic salt, salt and pepper. Once you buy some staples such as oil and spices, they will last a very long time. Throw in the meat and brown it, take it out and put it in a bowl, then water and rice or lentils or a mixture of rice and lentils, cook until almost finished and then throw in any veggies, frozen or fresh. If you can’t find fresh behind the market, buy a bag of mixed frozen, cheap and goes a long way. Finish cooking, chuck the meat back in and it is great, we eat a variation of it 5 or 6 nights a week. If you have a good week, get some cans of tomatoes, they are cheap. Also substitute a can of beans, not baked beans, too expensive, use borlotti or kidney. You can make a double batch and eat it 2 nights, but I like it fresh each time.

It is possible to eat cheaply and healthy, but it takes a little time and effort. Also go to hotels where they are having buffet type dinners, if you dress like the rest of the participants and act like you belong, no one will hassle you.

rooeytoo (26981

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@Sarcasm Thanks, now that’s going to be stuck in my head for the next week.

kenmc (11773

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I’m uncomfortable with advice to go to hotels and such and mix in with the guests. That can lead to being arrested by Security. They do it in the movies all the time, and if they get arrested or forceably removed, it’s funny, but if happens in real life, it’s not very funny.

YARNLADY (46384

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@teh_kvlt_liberal So not trying to be a lurve whore but I lived off Ramen and Kool-aid for probably a year. Loved Oriental flavor. I think that just might be my late night snack for tonight thanks for the idea!

sjmc1989 (5499

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I don’t know how churches are in the UK or your religious beliefs but churches in the U.S. are always have potluck dinners and if they get mad because you don’t actually attend you can call them hypocrites lol. Also the Chili flavor ramen is excellent.

jaketheripper (2779

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I like the creamy chicken ramen flavor :) I don’t think that’s top ramen though… They do oriental that’s really good. I’m going to admit lifting the flavor list from Y! Answers… ;D Has anyone actually laid eyes on the “Smoked Ham” flavor?

Over several brands, flavors include:

-Cajun Chicken
-Smoked Ham
-Mushroom
-Chicken Mushroom
-Just Lime Shrimp
-Chicken Vegetable
-Spicy Chili Chicken
-California Vegetable
-Salsa Picante Chicken
-Roast Beef
-Teriyaki Chicken
-Picante Beef
-Hearty Chicken
-Shrimp Picante
-Salsa Picante Chicken
-Beef Tomato

avvooooooo (8880

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I like Oriental Flavor best and even save the powdered sauce packets to use in pot roast. We sometimes use just the noodles in a Japanese dish called Yaki-Soba and so have the packets left over.

Darwin (21872

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@Darwin My cousins made a snack mix in the fraternity days that included the dry noodles smashed up and the flavor pack in a plastic bag. I don’t remember what else went in there, but those were the main ingredients, no water necessary. Whatever floats their boat!

avvooooooo (8880

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Kill an animal that would be appetizing to you.

kenmc (11773

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@avvooooooo – Water is necessary for Yaki-Soba, at least to cook the noodles in. Then you stir fry them with a variety of veg and various sauces including Worcestershire, and Tabasco. We generally skip the meat but you can find a recipe for it here.

Darwin (21872

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Here’s an article on how to eat for $30 a month here.

There are other resources for depression era cooking like this and this.

Another trick I learned in college is go to restaurants with friends ask the waitress for water with lemon and crackers. A lot of the time whether right or wrong the waitresses would bring me cokes, appetizers and other things.

Good luck with your goal it is a worthy one!

limeaide (1921

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To get your protein, always have eggs on hand. Hard boil a bunch to have for breakfast/lunch/snacks, and fry them up to eat with toast for dinner.

augustlan (47745

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@boots I’m not sure if you were just joking but it’s true if you have a pellet gun or a .22 rabbit or squirrel are good and free

jaketheripper (2779

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@jaketheripper I’ve ate many animals that were “free” in a sense… Other than the hunting license and the ammo, it was free :)

kenmc (11773

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thanks guys all good advice yeh i love ramen…good thing too as i been living on it for the past couple years as a student…not a student anymore just got into a bit of debt from moving house and now doing a lot of voluntary work

noodle_poodle (1614

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@boots not sure I really want to hunt as I like squirrels they are so cheeky i used to do a bit of fishing as a kid but you need permits and licenses and if you get caught without one its a hell of a fine..plus i no longer own a fishing rod…thanks for the advice tho

noodle_poodle (1614

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i dont have a freezer either…been doing okay with the noodles and pasta…might go see if thars any about about outside

noodle_poodle (1614

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