(WXYZ) - Almost all of us have heard of cookie swaps. They're done all the time during the holidays. But have you ever been part of a food swap? When it comes to feeding the family, food swaps can be a real time saver with a social twist.
When Corrin Pitluck and Mary Jo Banks get together, the main focus is food, and a lot of it.
“A nice variety of good food from, from other people," says Pitluckm.
“It's a highlight and something I look forward to each month," adds Banks.
Both are part of a food swap. Each person brings multiple portions of a homemade dish to exchange. You bring one dish and go home with lots of new meals.
Jillian Frank organizes food swaps. She says, “We do soups and casseroles and everything pretty much, there's really no limit.”
While it may sound time consuming to cook a large quantity of food all at once, participants say at least it's only one day at the stove.
"Depending on the number of people you're swapping with, you get a whole week's worth of meals so you have all that time during the week to spend with your family or catch up on work or housecleaning," says Frank.
Frank also says it’s a great way to save money.
"When you buy food in bulk it's cheaper, cheaper to buy and also cheaper to prepare a whole lot of one meal," she says.
Setting up a food swap is simple. Ask your friends if they'd like to form a group or there are sites like meetup.com that will help you find interested people in your area. To start, Frank suggests you set guidelines as to what kind of dishes you want to swap and how often you want to meet. Be sure to check if anyone has allergies.
These gals enjoy the socializing, as much as the meals.
"It's kind of helping me get inspiration and ideas for my own kitchen again," says Corrin Pitluck.
