(Ed.'s note: Welcome to our new Super Savers series, where we invite frugal bloggers to share their best tips and advice on saving money. Our first guest post is from Mike G., who writes at SoManyDiscounts, and who, in his own words, is a "recent college graduate living frugally to pay back Sallie Mae, and currently enjoys writing articles in his blog to help other people save money with online discounts, printable coupons and frugal advice.")
Whoever started saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch must have never heard of National Cheeseburger Day. There are apparently a bunch of “holidays” out there dedicated to specific foods. Many of these holidays even offer great opportunities to get a free meal.
Check out the calendar on Wikipedia for a list of all American food days. Use the chart to see what is coming up soon, then look around your neighborhood to see if anybody is celebrating. You’ll be amazed how many local restaurants will give away free food to celebrate their food day. You might be able to get a free slice of pizza or sample a burger someplace nearby.
Some dates worth noting are:
Besides local restaurants and fast food spots, you can sometimes celebrate with larger corporate companies to get free stuff. Here are some of the biggest celebrations where you can get free, or almost free food.
National Doughnut Day
Date: June 1
Best place to celebrate: Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme has a Facebook page dedicated to this day that you can follow so you won’t forget next year. They give away a free doughnut of any variety to each customer, with no purchase necessary.
National Pancake Day
Date: February 5
Best place to celebrate: IHOP
IHOP has been hosting this event every year since 2008. All guests are entitled to a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes. They ask for a voluntary donation that goes 100% into helping local charities as well as the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
National Coffee Day
Date: September 29
Best places to celebrate: McDonald’s and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Last year McDonald’s gave away free cups of coffee, with no purchase necessary. One Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf location in West Hollywood outdid them by giving away free CBTL Coffee Brewers if you traded in your old coffee machine.
Have you participated in a national food holiday giveaway? Share your experience with us in the comments.
