Palmer Food Swap: Where plum sauce trades for spicy Sriracha

PALMER — The Palmer Food Swap is exactly what you think. People bring homemade and homegrown food and exchange it for others’ food. It happens monthly on the second Saturday It is the brainchild of Laura Sampson, a local food-blogger since 2008 who runs the www.LittlehouseBigAlaska.com website and blog.

Laura is a savvy go-getter and totally motivated to build community. She believes Palmer is strengthening its connection to food. She attended a National Food network meeting in Chicago and observed a food swap. She brought this idea home to Palmer, thinking it would go over well. It is.

Warning: the rest of this story will make you salivate.

The Palmer Food Swap meets in The Annex in downtown Palmer, which is a cool building that shares spaces, hosting businesses of every type. The welcoming common room is sleekly designed with a fireplace, tables and cushy couches. There is local art on the walls and a homemade quilt.

On second Saturdays, this building on South Alaska Street transforms into the monthly Palmer Food Swap central. People arrive carrying heavy baskets of homemade foods. They unload individual (still warm) homemade buns, biscuits and fresh banana bread made with sour milk.

Out of boxes come beautiful jars of Cherry Amaretto Sauce, Mocha Hot Fudge, and killer Sour Plum Vanilla Jam. There is amber-brown Carmel Sauce in little jars just winking at you. The folks prepare quick displays of their offerings on large tables.

Others unload bottles of pale kombucha, Debra’s buttercream frosting, bacon jalapeno dip, wild mushrooms, fresh basil pasta, dill garlic pickles, and jams and jellies of all flavors. There are dozens and dozens of fresh eggs. There is fresh produce and bags of blueberries.

All of this food is homemade, homegrown, or home gathered. The food preparers are good at their craft and proud of their product.

The trading begins after a short preview of products and a little food presentation by the members. Everyone explains what they’ve brought and gives info on perishability and ingredients. (It is at this moment when the onlooker begins to drool.)

Then the lively exchange happens. Two loaves of fresh bread trade for some spicy Sriracha. A bag of still-warm oatmeal cookies is exchanged for salmon dill sauce. Two cassarta squash trades places with a veggie frittata. A package of homemade red beet basil fettuccini pairs up with the rum and vanilla bean sauce.

No money changes hands. This is a food swap.

Laura says there are some other basic rules. Everything must be homemade or homegrown. Meat or fish are fine as long as they are not part of a subsistence license or tag. All items must be packaged and wrapped securely. All items must be labeled with a clear ingredient list. This is necessary for allergies and information. Finally, Laura encourages samples be available.

It doesn’t take long. Everyone packs up their basket, going home with dozens of different items and a big smile on their face. “It’s kinda like Christmas,” says one woman. “I have all these different goodies. But not all of them actually make it home.” she winks.

Barbara Hunt lives in Palmer.