# Wild food stores?



## LovelyAcorns (Sep 28, 2009)

Alright, I thought I already posted this, but apparently didn't. I'm going to guess everyone is at least vaguely familiar with those "wild food" stores. I always found those interesting, due to the fact they point out the sheer craziness of consumer culture, intentionally paying more for something you know is available freely. But then I thought "this would be a badass way to make money!" It also didn't seem like the kind of thing you use "employees" for, so I emailed one of them and sure enough:



> Hi ----:
> 
> Michigan foragers come to me when and as they can, and we check their quality, and discuss price and go from there.
> 
> ...



So does anyone know how these kind of places pay? Getting paid to practice foraging skill doesn't sound that bad.


Also, it should be easy to cut out the middle man. If you got a space at a farmer's market you could probably make easy money selling such exotic veggies as dandelion leaves and cattail heads.


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## oldmanLee (Sep 28, 2009)

Trick to it is to fiure out the prime groing/fruiting season.Here in Va.sold blackberries this summer($4.50 a pint!) in July,no-one likes picking e
'em.Pawpaws are at the tail end of there season,but at a couple of old style markets they go for $1.50 a pound.Local gardeners grow herb PATCHES in there gardens as ornamentals,and I've had some sucess at getting paid to trim them back(and sell the trimmings!).Waiting to see what the hickcory nuts,black walnuts,and misteltoe do this year.Wild ginsang still up in the hills,high price in the asian community,and sasafrass all over the place,but just process that for myself.
All in all,find out what grows where you are.There's always a market.


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## iamwhatiam (Sep 28, 2009)

i don't know much about it...my grandfather used to make pretty good money picking ferns all day out in the woods of western washington. there's a wild foods store in san francisco that i know of. i think it's a cool way to make money...i'm just concerned about people being greedy and overharvesting what's there.


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## Atilla the Hun (Sep 28, 2009)

I've heard of people making over a hundred bucks a day harvesting and selling morels they find in the woods. Dunno if this is true as I've never even seen a real live morel before.


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## oldmanLee (Sep 29, 2009)

Atilla.,it does bring that kind of money,but you got to know your area and beware of "pirates"(people picking the area you found).Iamwhatim,very true on the overharvesting,thats the reason I don't show folks how to find 'sang.Use common sense and approach it as if you were hunting or logging like we used to back in the '70s out here,don't destroy that which makes your living.


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