Frozen Meal Swap

FILL YOUR {FREEZER}

What is it?

• A frozen meal exchange with no long term commitment. Each participant will arrive with multiple batches of a recipe, ready to swap with others to get a wide variety of food in your freezer.

• Each participant is asked (if at all able) to bring one extra meal to donate to families that are going through surgery, have a new baby, or other similar situation

When is it?

• Thursday, February 16 at Thornapple Covenant Church at 7:00pm

How it works:

1. Choose a recipe to make multiple batches of. Each batch needs to serve six.

a. Decide how many batches you will make. [If you are able, bring an extra meal to donate. We have many families at TECC with new babies or other situations where a meal would be a blessing.]

b. Shop. Spend $10 per batch you plan to make, including packaging. Only use quality ingredients that you would use in your own home.

c. Make, freeze & label the batches of your chosen recipe in disposable containers.

d. Print off a copy of the recipe.

2. Come to the FOOD SWAP and trade for the number of meals you bring with you (minus your donated meal.)

a. When you arrive you will make copies of your recipe. This is important so people will know how to prepare your meal as well as allow those with allergies to “shop” the recipes. Be sure your name is on the recipe.

b. Set out your meals on a table in the community room and put your recipes close by.

c. Fill in your name & meal info on the meal reservation form on your table. If you brought 5 meals (include the donated meal here) there should only be 5 signature slots on the bottom. Cross off any slots that should not be used.

d. Women will then be released to go around and sign up for the meals that they would like to swap for. Meals that are not reserved become the meals that are to be donated.

e. After signup, the actual meal swap begins. Women collect the meals and their corresponding recipes based on the sign up (reservation) sheets.

f. Take home and enjoy a variety-packed freezer of meals!

Example scenario: Judy prepares (10) lasagnas. She spends $100 shopping for all of the ingredients and packaging. She brings her lasagnas, frozen, to the FOOD SWAP where 10 other women take her lasagnas and she goes home with 10 different meals and their corresponding recipies.

Example scenario: Leslie prepares (5) batches of chicken chili. When she was shopping, her total grocery bill only came to $40, so she adds a loaf of pre-made frozen bread to each meal to get the value up to $10 per meal. Leslie brings her meals to the FOOD SWAP and goes home with 5 different frozen meals for her family.

Example scenario: Morgan prepares and freezes (6) Homemade Apple Pies. She donates one of her pies, so she will go home with (5) meals from the Food Swap.

Contact Melody VanderWeide with questions at melody@grkids.com.