Resources

• Resource on how to go dairy free, for those that need to: https://www.godairyfree.org/  

• Dumpster diving food information: https://www.robingreenfield.org/foodwasteresources/

• Food assistance resources by state and city. https://www.freefood.org/ 

• Food Not Bombs is an organization of volunteers that help feed people. See if there’s a group in your area. http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/ 

• Sign up to get a lasagna. Has a waiting list. https://lasagnalove.org/request-a-meal/

• Restaurants that have free birthday meals and download incentives (this is old info, idk if it still applies): Firehouse subs, Zaxby’s, Slim Chicken, Taco Bell, Freddy’s, McDonald’s, Whataburger, Steak & Shake, Arby’s, Red Robins, Chikfila  

• The resources below are for reddit. If you need karma for reddit, you can get some on this sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/Karma4Free/

• Find free food promos or ask for food: https://www.reddit.com/r/Freefood/

• Free or affordable food promo deals: https://www.reddit.com/r/foodpromos/

• You can also find free or cheap food promos here. I would avoid other items as couponing generally results in people spending more because they buy things they wouldn't have otherwise. https://www.reddit.com/r/coupons/

• Get free pizza https://www.reddit.com/r/Random_Acts_Of_Pizza/

• Go to a hotel that serves breakfast in the morning and pretend you are a guest.

• Cheap Costco membership. Costco sells affordable prepared food and bulk food items. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT82j1AMG/ (costco is also tempting to over-spend, be aware)

• Virtual food bank, you get a box delivered. Has a waiting list. https://fullcart.org/ 

• Too Good to Go is a food waste prevention app that can get you low-cost food from restaurants. https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us 

Foraging: 

• Foraging map- website with the ability to add GPS markers over where foraging locations. Easy to use on the desktop, the mobile app it a bit broken. A great resource for learning how to forage as it makes it easy to determine where harvests are, when they are, and with links to Wikipedia for more information on said tagged species. Additionally has other free resources tagged, such a free-boxes, dumpsters, bike pumps, and water fountains. https://fallingfruit.org/ 

• A foraging website dedicated to teaching people how to forage and what to do with it. Seems fairly in depth and information is well laid out and accurate. https://www.eattheweeds.com/

• Southern- California-specific foraging information. https://www.laspilitas.com/classes/edible.htm

Making/Growing Food:

• Low-budget meals, how to cook: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQGGrzFoybiODbgicKUBebtlgZDklbh81 

• Nutritious Bread Recipe during times of food insecurity: https://youtu.be/hC_TbCnvpvI  

Apartment-Friendly/Space efficient food

• Do research on best species, practices, and growing methods. Many blogs online, potentially even ones linked below, can have false and dangerous information. Your best bet are reading books that were written in the 90's.

• Some things like seeds and growing kits might be available to purchase with EBT on Amazon. If you are low-income, you can also get seeds from free-seed programs, or even your local library! If you buy fresh fruits and vegetables you can also get seeds from that.

• Insects with shells are dangerous for people with shellfish allergies. If you grow insects and don't wear protective gear, you can develop a shellfish allergy.

• Here's an article that talks about different insects and what they taste like. If you want to grow insects, I highly recommend using local spieces even when buying from breeders. https://www.partybugs.com/en/what-do-edible-insects-taste-like-choose-your-favorite-from-over-20-different-insect-species/

• I'm going to try and grow food in DIY still air boxes, which are easy to make. The goal is to prevent mold and shellfish allergies, unsure if it will work. Will update.

• Crickets: if growing in an apartment, be aware of noise.

• Mealworms. Here is how to build a fancy enclosure. If you want something simple, use boxes. https://www.instructables.com/Mealworm-Farm/

• Cockroaches. Buy from a reputable breeder. Wild ones have dangerous bacteria. Here is a forum: https://www.roachforum.com/

• Snails. You can use them to make an escargot dish. Here's some more info about breeding them: https://aquariumbreeder.com/garden-snail-profile-and-care-guide/ (I don't know that snails are very spaces efficient for an apartment, I just added it cause I see them all the time)

• Mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are the easiest to grow. This is an article to get started but misses a lot of info so do more research. https://morningchores.com/growing-oyster-mushrooms/

• Algae. Common spieces to grow is Spirunela. Buy from a company that advertises it to be grown for people to eat. Do not get from the wild.

• Micro greens. Here's a link of examples of plant species that are safe to eat as microgreens: https://www.microgreenscorner.com/the-most-nutritious-microgreens-to-grow-and-eat/ For cost efficiency I was thinking of growing some of the seeds as full plants in pots and harvesting the food and seeds. Unsure if I'd get seeds often they way. Was also thinking foraging seeds from local plants that are safe to eat as microgreens.

• Continuous harvesting: picking from live plants that continue to grow. Wheat grass, barley grass, and indoor potted herbs. I think both grasses have limits on how frequently they can be harvested, so I'm going to grow some to full size for new seeds. For the indoor herbs, I'm going to try Dill, Basil, Chives, Thyme, Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro, Sage, Mustard

• Sprouts

• Seaweed

• Yeast, for making bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XzPaINFECzQ https://www.thewellflouredkitchen.com/how-to-make-yeast-from-potatoes-a-guide-to-homemade-yeast/

• Vinegar, used in many recipes to flavor food. https://youtu.be/V9nfVu9zGxk?feature=shared --

• Button Quail are good for eggs. Very small birds. You'll need a plan to manage smell. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/keeping-breeding-and-raising-button-quail.78697/

• Coturnix Quail are good for eggs and meat, they're a bit bigger. You'll need a plan to manage smell. :https://whitneyliving.com/raising-coturnix-quail/

• Ginea Pigs are good for meat. Note that breeds for meat are different from breeds as pets. Don't buy a pet breed to eat. https://farmhouseguide.com/ultimate-guide-to-raising-guinea-pigs-for-meat/

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• Growing Potatoes: Potatoes are good for times of political unrest. They are easy to grow, and when grown in the ground, they are much more difficult to destroy compared to other crops. Here’s how to grow them in five gallon buckets. https://silkroadgourmetfoods.substack.com/p/how-to-grow-potatoes-in-5-gallon?r=1a8cgr&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post 

• Growing Sunchokes: Sunchokes similar to potatoes and are much easier to grow. DO NOT grow in the ground because they are an invasive species. Cook thoroughly, eating them raw can cause health problems. 

Homesteading/Off Grid Resources:

• https://www.motherearthnews.com/  : The website for the popular magazine. Has plenty of good information and ideas, the main issue is the lack of detail on all this information. They though do have links to handy books and greater resources. Would recommend checking out but not staying there.

• https://morningchores.com/  : Good list site that has plenty of information. Follows the list format in order to get a high amount of clicks. Still useful especially for information on raising different animals.

• https://practicalselfreliance.com/ : A good blog that's well written and a great source of information on homesteading/foraging. Has a high amount of brewing recipes as well as jam recipes. So this is quite a useful site in the event of a bumper crop of fruit.

• https://homesteadsurvivalsite.com/ : Massive list site similar to that of morning chores. Has more of a focus on the prepper mentality, but also has loads of information for farming/gardening/homesteading and I recommend anyone check it out.

• https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/ : Good homesteading blog with plenty of clear information and guides on self sufficiency. 

• https://insteading.com/ : A homesteading site with plenty of useful info out there.

• https://offgridworld.com/  : A site for anything and everything off grid, sould prefer more useful how to articles though.

• https://northernhomestead.com/  : Pretty good homesteading site

Lay-Person Tasks

• Vote for policies that support people struggling with food insecurity. 

• If you know someone who struggles with food insecurity, (ask them for permission and dietary needs first) get or make extra food for them when you are shopping or prepare meals. 

• If you struggle with food insecurity and have found resources that are helpful, share them with others that are also in need of food

Action Tasks

• Start a community fridge or cupboard. (cupboard is for unrefrigerated food)  

• Sign up as a volunteer on lasagna love. 

• Volunteer with or create your own Food not Bombs group.

• Growing your own food can help survive political and economic unrest. 

• Create a community food garden. If it feels like a lot of effort, offer the harvest to people who volunteer. Give away growing materials so people can do it themselves. DIY materials are cheap and easy. You can also ask restaurants for free five gallon buckets. 

• Create a community off-grid group. Going off grid may be cost efficient in the long run, but many people have a difficult time with upfront costs and living off grid because it takes a lot of time and money. Also, developing land in rural areas can, at times, have negative environmental consequences. Create a group in your area and have each person contribute what they can, that way growing food doesn’t feel like a burden. 

• Guerilla Grafters: Two links, both apart of guerilla grafting, the GitHub is their manual and the site is their website with some other resources and information. The Guerrilla Grafters graft fruit bearing branches onto non-fruit bearing, ornamental fruit trees. Over time, delicious, nutritious fruit is made available to urban residents through these grafts. (make sure you are committed to caring for and harvesting the trees) Keywords: Urban, Action, DIY, Food, Gardening https://www.guerrillagrafters.net/ Also check out: https://github.com/guerrillagrafters/manual/

TikTok

• Shares food resources. https://www.tiktok.com/@savings.foryou 

• Discusses foraging. https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisnikole

Informational Resources

• A Legal Q&A Guide For Community Fridges is being offered by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, the Hofstra Law School Community and Economic Development Clinic, the Sustainable Economies Law Center, and the UCLA Food Law and Policy Clinic. You can submit your community fridge questions to them here. https://chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Fridge-QA-FINAL.pdf https://chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy/ https://law.hofstra.edu/clinics/community-and-economic-development-clinic/ https://www.theselc.org/ https://law.ucla.edu/academics/curriculum/food-law-and-policy-clinic https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10CRHQVMQoSoJz6jVGmd-sVQRbwztyi1Mk6pwyxzSTsY/viewform?edit_requested=true#responses 

• Articles on the organization, food not bombs, from the anarchist library. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/food-not-bombs  

• Articles on food and poverty, politically themed, from the anarchist library. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/food-poverty  

Stock-and-Flow Structures

• Meal deliveries, compatible with EBT: https://radpride.wixsite.com/start-posting/post/meal-delivery

• Food Redistribution Plants. Take food that would have otherwise been wasted, repackage it, and distribute it to those in need. Examples of sources include food businesses or organizations such as restaurants, cafeterias, and grocery stores, and residential fruit trees that have been volunteered for harvesting. (Lots of times people don’t harvest their own trees because it’s time consuming to collect and prepare the food) Food redistribution plants work in collaboration, and not at odds with, existing community food redistribution efforts. 

• Hydroponics Plants (Note that there have been concerns raised about the nutrition quality of hydroponic food. Consider only using for calories that otherwise would not have been consumed. Non-GMO, soil-based food must be used when possible.)