We teamed up with local small business Fruta Libre to give away free food in Toronto

We teamed up with a local Mexican snack bar last month to give away 100 free snacks to people in Toronto.

On Tuesday, June 11, followers of our food-forward social media brand, Dished Toronto, flocked to Fruta Libre, a Mexican snack bar and fruit stand in World Food Market to get their hands on one of the business’ most popular treats.

After a particularly gloomy late-spring day, the sun emerged from beneath a heavy blanket of clouds just in time to bring an early taste of summer to the World Food Market at Yonge and Gould as staff at Fruta Libre eagerly prepared dozens of Fruta Picada cups.

The cups, loaded with fresh fruit (either all-mango or filled with a mix of pineapple, mango and watermelon), are drizzled with chamoy, a syrup comprised of apricot, hibiscus and chili powder and topped with Tajin, making for a perfect sweet, salty and sour treat under the sun.

The giveaway was scheduled to commence at 5 p.m., but the most committed of attendees showed up as early as 4:15 p.m., eager to get their hands on the free fruit and afraid that the stall would run out of their fruit of choice.

The first people in line, a mother-daughter duo who had come directly to the food market after learning of the giveaway on Dished Toronto’s social media accounts, were even treated to a free T-shirt to sweeten the deal.

As the line to get into the marketplace grew, it began attracting attention from folks merely passing by on the busy stretch of Yonge who, as expected, jumped at the chance to get their hands on a free sweet treat, too.

People were quick to spread the news of their free treats, posting photos of the colourful cups all over social media alongside the Dished Toronto team who were live streaming and posting the event on TikTok and Instagram.

In the space of an hour, all 100 cups had been passed out, and the marketplace filled with people happily munching on their free food. 

Many remarked that the vibrant presentation of the cups was second only to the taste.

Then again, doesn’t everything taste better when it’s free?

Some late joiners to the line stuck around even after the stall had run out of cups, opting to purchase some of Fruta Libre’s other Mexican street food and snacks in lieu of the free fruit, and also walked away with Dished stickers as a thank you for coming out.

Want to get in on the next free food giveaway? Be sure to follow @dishedtoronto on Instagram or TikTok or subscribe to the Dished Toronto newsletter to stay up to date.