10+ Ways To Completely FREE Food

Here's some very Frugal tips for the summer with 10+ ways to completely FREE food.

Save the pounds by ditching supermarkets and shops completely, do some work and have fun with these methods of (legally) obtaining free grub.

Win dinner

Sign up to free dinner lottery website Win A Dinner which holds daily draws at 4PM to win a free dinner from Pizza Express, Toby Carvery, Marks & Spencer and more.

 

Free meals

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Sign up for Tastecard Trial for free and you'll get a Tastecard which gives you 50 per cent off or 2 for 1 deals at more than 7,000 restaurants for a month, so half your food will be FREE!

The service costs a £80 a year usually, but you don't need to provide any payment details for the free trial.

 

Free groceries

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Get free food from Tescos by signing up to websites like tescohomepanels.com and Tesco orchard where you can get to try new or improved foods which are sent to you for FREE.

 

More free groceries

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In addition to the above, sign up for a Tesco Clubcard Credit Card and you'll earn clubcard points on all your purchases which will turn into vouchers. Use the Credit Card for your normal every day purchases and pay it off each month to avoid interest.

 

Forage

Pick berries, nuts wild mushrooms and even fruit and veg growing in woodland, fields and on hedgerows that's yours to take. You may be surprised what makes for a good dinner with perceived weeds such as Dandelions being good for everything from pies to omelettes. Seriously.

The best time to forage is when the new University year begins in September but be wary: In 2014, Public Health England issued a warned about the dangers of eating wild mushrooms without checking first, some are poisonous!

 

Pinch leftovers

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Be cheeky and pinch (or, to keep your friends, ask first) any leftovers where you can. We're not talking licking other people's plates clean but extra pizza slices and the like can make for a free meal.

 

Grow your own

This one takes a bit of time and effort - and also requires some sort of garden area that may not be available - but try growing your own fruit or veg.

Easy fruits to grow in the UK include Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries while good veg to choose includes beans, tomatoes and even potatoes, which can be grown in just a bag.

 

Get a restaurant job

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Get yourself a job in a restaurant or other food place and you'll probably get a free meal. It's a bit of a long way to go just for free grub but of course the job will have more benefits then just the food.

 

Use vouchers

Look out for vouchers offering free food in newspapers, magazines and online. Often you can find offers for complimentary food and offers on brands' Facebook pages.

You can also sign up to supermarket loyalty programmes like Tesco's Clubcard and from time to time you'll get totally free coupons for foodstuffs.

 

Grab free samples

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Where you can, take advantage totally free samples. Whether it's on street corners or in supermarkets, brands are often giving away their products for promotion and you shouldn't say no.

 

Dumpster dive

Live the freegan life style and pick up free food that's been discarded by others, such as supermarkets or restaurants, often in perfectly edible condition.

About the author: Thomas Brella

Thomas Brella is the founder of Student Hacks, starting the website in 2013 while studying at the University of Brighton to share tips and tricks on life as a cash-strapped student. He's now spent over 10 years scoping out the best ways to live on a budget

More on: Food Money
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