Knowing how to get food without money can be a crucial survival skill in the worst of circumstances. Maybe you’re down on your dime and need more to feed your family. Or there’s a crisis afoot – food shortages, food prices going up or a sudden food supply collapse. Understanding the basics of ‘food survival’ is essential when resources like money or food are scarce. In this article, we share 6 different ways to get food without money no matter where you are. From foraging to fishing in the wild. Or from growing your own, to community food gardens and urban scavenging. There’s food about, if you’re a bit resourceful. Here’s everything you need to know.
The basics of ‘food survival’
Why food is important to survival?
Just like any skill, ‘food survival’ can be honed and developed through knowledge and practice. It’s our aim with this article to help you get started. No matter where you are. In a rural setting. On a multi day hike gone wrong. Or even in our urban jungles.
In any long term survival situation, food is key elements that must be present for you to stay alive. When it comes to surviving for days and weeks, food is undoubtedly a top priority.
Without adequate nutrition, your strength dwindles, making it harder to face challenges and find alternative solutions. In a survival scenario, your body requires energy to perform essential tasks such as building shelter, getting water, and maintaining body temperature.
As well as providing energy, food plays a crucial role in maintaining mental clarity and focus. Hunger can impair cognitive function, making it difficult to think clearly and make rational decisions like what to do next, to stay alive.
By prioritizing food, you ensure that your physical and mental well-being are maintained, increasing your chances of survival.
Food prices going up?
Or maybe, there’s just not as much in your trolley at the end of a shop as there used to be. Food prices going up has left a lot of good hard working people in this situation.
It’s a tough one but there is a silver lining.
You can get food without money if you become resourceful enough.
So if your money isn’t stretching as far as it used to, here’s how to get more food for your family, for free.
6 tips on how to get food without money
We get loads of food each year, without spending any money. With food prices going up, we’re more focused on this than ever. Here’s 6 legit ways to get food without money wherever you are:
- Foraging for food
- Fishing or hunting
- Community gardens
- Seed libraries
- Transplanting
- Bartering or food swapping
- Urban scavenging
Foraging for food
It sounds like something out of a movie. But food foraging is a thing. And it’s growing in popularity.
Foraging for food can be an exciting and rewarding experience. But you have to know what you’re looking for.
City slickers, you can probably sit this one out. Foraging is more realistic in rural and regional areas because that’s where the nature is.
And the fun fact is, nature is filled with bountiful resources if you know where to look. Learning to identify edible plants, flowers and fruits is a valuable skill for food survival.
We even have a book on edible weeds!
We’ve learned what weeds grow freely in Tasmania, by the roadside. Like dandelions for instance. They’re not a regular part of our diet in Australia, but you can – and other cultures do – eat them.
If you live in rural or regional areas, there’s a bounty of edible plants and fruits in your area, on public land. If you know how to find them. We forage around our home for black berries each year. We also pick from apple trees on common land.
By familiarizing yourself with and foraging food that grows natively around you, you can get some exercise and some fresh food, for free.
An important word about foraging though.
You have to know exactly what you’re looking at or for. Especially when it comes with potentially toxic plants or fungi. Mushrooms in particular.
You should also think about whether there is any weed spraying in the areas you’re foraging. Roadsides are foten sprayed by councils to control the very weeds you’re foraging for…
Identifying edible plants and fruits
When it comes to identifying edible plants and fruits, there are several factors to consider.
Firstly, know what grows locally and when. You can join foraging groups on social media to learn about this.
One way to identify these plants is by examining their leaves. Some edible plants have distinct leaf shapes or patterns that can help you differentiate them from their non-edible counterparts. For example, the broad, heart-shaped leaves of the wild garlic plant are a telltale sign of its edibility.
Another important aspect is the color and texture of the plant. Edible fruits often have vibrant colors and a soft, juicy texture when ripe. Not all colorful fruits are safe to eat, so it’s crucial to cross-reference your findings with reliable sources or consult with experienced foragers.
This is where online foraging groups come in handy.
Fishing and hunting for survival
When it comes to surviving in the wilderness, having the knowledge and skills to fish and hunt for food can be the difference between $250,000 and nada. At least it was on Alone: Tasmania.
Fishing and hunting provide a reliable and abundant protein and calorie source. Free meat is super valuable to your survival and your hip pocket.
Fishing and hunting can also be enjoyable and rewarding activities. So here are some basic fishing techniques and hunting strategies that can help you secure sustenance in the wild.
Basic fishing techniques
For those near a water source, fishing can be a practical and effective way to obtain food. However, it’s not as simple as just throwing a line into the water and hoping for the best. Understanding and mastering basic fishing techniques will increase your chances of catching fish for sustenance.
One important skill to learn is knot tying. Different fishing knots serve different purposes, such as attaching your hook to the line or securing your line to a reel. Knowing how to tie strong and reliable knots will ensure that your fishing gear stays intact during the catch.
Bait selection is another crucial aspect of fishing. Different fish species have different preferences when it comes to food. By understanding the feeding habits and preferences of the fish in your area, you can choose the most suitable bait to attract them. Whether it’s live bait, artificial lures, or even homemade concoctions, having a variety of bait options can significantly increase your chances of success.
Proper casting technique is yet another skill that can make a difference in your fishing endeavors. Casting involves accurately and efficiently propelling your bait or lure into the water. By practicing your casting technique, you can improve your accuracy and reach, allowing you to target specific areas where fish are likely to be present.
Hunting for food
Remember when Gina stumbled on a wallaby in the dark on Alone: Tasmania then ate it? Literally. Well that fortuitous and famous trip may have won her the competition. But the chances of your catching your dinner by falling on it are probably a million to one.
What ‘Alone: Australia’ demonstrated was that in harsh environments, you need to learn to hunt to stay alive long term.
Now we’re not all in harsh environments and may never be. But mastering the skills required to hunt small animals, such as rabbits or padamelon, for meat can provide you with a dense protein source to supplement your foraging and fishing diet.
Setting traps and snares is where most hunting starts.
But by no means is it easy.
Learning how to construct and set up traps and snares can increase your chances of capturing small animals for food. To do it succesfully, you also need to understanding the behavior and habits of your prey. Knowing where they feed, travel, and nest can help you strategically place your traps in the most effective locations.
Additionally, some basic tracking skills can help too. Learning to read tracks and signs left by animals can also provide valuable information about their whereabouts and behavior.
Fishing and hunting are long term skills that require patience and practice. You’re not going to master them over night. But the returns from doing so are massive.
And don’t forget, just like Gina if you’re going to kill it, you gotta know how to skin it, gut it and dry it too. But that’s some meaty business for a whole other article.
Community Gardens
We’re huge fans of the idea of community gardens. When available spaces are turned into food growing plots for the locals. Often, if you live near one of these and get involved, there’s free produce to be had at the end of it.
Even if you’re not involved, these places for public good often give away free or left over produce to people that need it. They also give away seedlings or starters, if you want to grow your own plants.
I know the community garden in a town near us does this. They’re prolific producers and often have left over vegetables and herbs and plenty of seedlings. A year ago we picked up a bunch of free raspberry canes for free and now have our own raspberry garden.
Find your local community garden. Get in touch. You never know where it can lead you.
Seed libraries
If you’ve never heard of a seed library don’t worry.
Niether had I until 2 years ago.
A seed library is just a store of free seeds donated by food growers in a local community. Like any library, you can take seeds for free whenever you wish. And donate back whatever seeds you have to give.
Seed libraries are usual volunteer run. And they’re another way you can get food without money.
We reliably pick up free seeds from our local seed library each spring, ready for the summer growing season. And we give back some of the seeds we keep too. It’s one of our favourite ways to make food appear out of thin air.
And the beauty about seed libraries, is that urban dwellers can grow food too.
Of course, you need to be able to turn the seeds into food producing plants. So a little knowledge about growing food for survival goes a long way when it comes to getting free food.
Turning vegetables into more vegetables
We love turning vegetable cuttings into more vegetables. I don’t know if transplanting is the right term, but it’s similar. Certain vegetables and herbs that you grow at home will produce seedlings from their own cuttings. Sometimes called ‘slips’ in gardening lingo.
We use vegetables that we’ve grown to grow more vegetables. And this is primarily how we get food without money.
You have to have the right kind of vegetables to start with. Things like potatoes are awesome. Potato slips can be planted straight into soil, to produce more potatoes. We also do it for shallots, celery, and even lettuce!
When it comes to food survival, the craftier you get the better your chances of getting free food.
Bartering or food swapping
We love trading food for other food. There are a lot of homesteaders and food growers where we live. With food prices going up so much, everyone grows their own. And we all love a good food swap.
You have too much corn. Swap it for some beets. Your neighbour is a kick ass garlic grower? Offer them a swap for whatever it is they don’t grow.
And here is the secret to food swapping that no-one knows about.
It’s not about the act of food swapping itself. It’s about the relationships. The friendships. The community.
These are the things that earn you a free bag of broccoli, left on the front fence for you. Or a bunch of swedes dropped off after harvest time.
Community is a recurring theme in food survival. And that’s important to know if you’re ever faced with food shortages. Or if you’re down on your luck and wondering how to get food without money. Your local community is a great place to start.
Urban Scavenging
Urban scavenging is food survival on steriods.
It’s hard core. Not everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s why we’ve left it to last.
300kg of food per person, per year is wasted in Australia. With food shortages and food prices going up at the same time, that almost feels criminal
Viewed through this lens, it’s easy to see why some folks are affronted enough to get into urban scavenging. If there’s people out there need it to survive and can find good food for free in dumpsters, more power to them I say.
Dumpster Diving
Dumpster diving, as the name suggests, involves delving into dumpsters or bins in search of food.
It came about when people started to realise that places like supermarkets, take-aways and restaurants throw out perfectly good food each night. And much of the food was properly packaged and recoverable without contamination.
There’s different legal views on dumpster diving. In some places authorities turn a blind eye. In others, dumpsters and skip bins are locked each night to prevent people scavenging.
Personally I’ve never been dumpster diving but I’m fascinated and shocked by what people find. I find myself watching endless youtube videos about dumpster food hauls.
If you are going to give it a try, wear protective gloves and clothing to minimize the risk of injury or contamination. Watch out for potential hazards that may be present and don’t do it alone.
Finding edible leftovers in urban areas
While dumpster diving is one way to find edible leftovers in urban areas, it is not the only method. Resourceful scavengers can explore alternative options to get free food within the city.
Farmers’ markets are good resource for edible leftovers. At the end of the day, vendors may have unsold produce that they are willing to part with. By approaching them and expressing your interest in reducing food waste, you may be able to get your hands on food that would otherwise go to waste.
Some restaurants also have programs to donate surplus meals to those in need. And places like Food Banks and not for profit charities always offer free food for those in need.
Responsible urban scavenging can be about more that just finding food. It’s an opportunity to contribute to sustainability efforts and raise awareness about food waste.
Let’s recap
Becoming self-reliant is how to get food without money. Food survival (without money) requires effort. Resourcefulness. Adaptability. Learning how to gather food. How to grow it. How to turn it into more food. And getting involved in community food schemes. If food shortages hit, knowing the basics of foraging, fishing, hunting, urban scavenging, and the art of bartering, will prepare you well for food survival. Until then, you’ll just have to live with the satisfaction of making food appear from nowhere. Like a rabbit out of hat. Literally.
