The reverence for food on the Seacoast is making a stand in a grassroots way. A small group of bakers, cooks, and canners has banded together to create a monthly Seacoast Food Swap.

The reverence for food on the Seacoast is making a stand in a grassroots way. A small group of bakers, cooks, and canners has banded together to create a monthly Seacoast Food Swap.



Food swaps are not new; folks have been bartering food since the advent of society. However, swapping food is being newly recognized as a smart, thrifty way of sharing what others have to offer. There are monthly food swaps featured in some of America's largest cities, and the practice has a strong Web presence.



"A food swap is a recurring event where members of a community share homemade, homegrown, or foraged foods with each other," says the Food Swap Network on its Web site. "Swaps allow direct trades to take place between attendees, e.g., a loaf of bread for a jar of pickles or a half-dozen backyard eggs. ... These events are a delicious way to diversify the homemade foods in your own pantry while getting to know members of your local food community."



Erin Urquhart, avid canner and old-school preserver, had just moved to the Seacoast in early July. Although she had always swapped homemade pickles with her friends, she had never led a food swap herself — but she saw the natural fit a food swap would have on the Seacoast.



"With the recent move towards local food, markets, and 'homestead-like' interests, food swaps are a way for people to use homemade, homegrown, or foraged foods as currency to 'purchase' foods from others," Urquhart says. "Really what it comes down to is that it is fun to swap edible food stuffs."



Urquhart, with the help of chef Keith Wilson and Miriam Elizabeth, launched her first food swap mid-July at the Frank Jones Mansion in Portsmouth.



They have since followed with a well-attended swap Aug. 17 at Emery Farm in Durham, and have their next swap planned for Sept. 21 at Blue Moon Evolution in Exeter.



The group sometimes has to limit attendees because of space limitations; the Blue Moon swap caps at 40 people. Anyone interested must register online through an event Web site.



"The first two (swaps) have been great," says Elizabeth, co-coordinator. "Everyone is so excited and supportive. You definitely feel the sense of camaraderie right when you walk in. I hope to see people traveling from all over the Seacoast to participate."



"No cash is exchanged, and no goods are sold," Urquhart says. "In a silent auction format, homemade goods change hands and everyone goes home inspired and happy."



A swap typically lasts about two hours, she says. "The first half hour of the swap is for attendees to sign in, fill out a waiver form and mingle."

Then attendees take time to examine and sample the swap items, and write their names — and list the items they brought — on a sheet next to any items they would like to take home.



All the action happens in the last half hour, when people return to their items, look at the offers, and then swap.



"We're still building a following, but the best way to register is through www.meetup.com (search for Seacoast Food Swap) to secure your spot," Elizabeth says. "There is a $5 fee to participate, which helps to cover any little costs we may have. The event is the third Sunday of every month and starts at 3 p.m."



Wilson, a seasoned area chef, is another strong proponent of the food swap, and remembers his first conversations with Urquhart.



"As I remember, the idea sprang from a conversation with Erin about my feeling regarding money and it being the downfall of civilization," he says. "I said it would be better if we just traded stuff and goods for services and knowledge. Erin started the food swap Facebook page that night."



"Everyone brings something they make, bake, grow, brew, forage, can, pickle — whatever — and you use your goods like currency. It works because you spend your energy on producing a lot of one item, more than you could use. In return you get a lot of different stuff to try," he says.



To reach a greater number of Seacoast residents, the swap has intentionally been held at a different Seacoast town or city each month.



Urquhart says future swaps are being planned in places such as Dover, Newmarket, Brentwood and Kensington.



For information on the Seacoast Food Swap, visit the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/seacoastfoodswap or contact Urquhart directly at puttingupwitherin@gmail.com.