There is such a thing as a free lunch...if you take it one bite at a time

With food prices skyrocketing, and too much of our paychecks going into our gas tanks, we've decided to prove that yes, there is so such a thing as a free lunch. Armed with nothing but a shameless sense of frugality and our bare, greedy hands, we scoured Greater Boston for free food samples. Several grocery stores, gourmet specialty shops, bakeries, and ice cream stores later, our tummies were full - and so were our wallets.


Whole Foods, no paycheck

The journey began at the organic upscale grocer Whole Foods, better known in some circles as Whole Paycheck because its gorgeous produce is pretty expensive by grocery store standards. Fortunately, the food samples are free. And Whole Foods, with 19 locations in Massachusetts, is a goldmine of samples. On a recent Saturday at the Fresh Pond location in Cambridge, the store was offering free cups of gourmet lemonade (which retails at $2.99 for a half gallon), free chunks of seedless watermelon, marinated mixed olives, little pieces of angel food cake, and free bites of shell sirloin with a spice rub.

We did way more trying than buying. And the staff at the store encouraged it.

"Since I started an hour ago, I've gone though four steaks," said Karen Baum, a demo coordinator at the store. She also let us in on a little secret: In addition to setting out platters of various samples every day, Whole Foods will give samples of pretty much anything else in the store to anyone bold enough to ask. Want to see what that guava tastes like? Ask a clerk to cut it open for you. Want to savor some salami before committing to a whole purchase? The guy behind the meat counter will be happy to oblige.

Many stores host local food nights as well (the Alewife location's is on Tuesdays), featuring area small businesses sharing free gourmet goodies.

"The main thing we like to say is you have to get something in people's mouths," Baum said.

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Source - Boston Globe

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