FW Local – Town Talk

The first time I heard about Town Talk, I was about 30 weeks pregnant with Eva. It was described to me as a place where “food was cheap”, but also “it could be expired”. In my pregnant mind I wasn’t convinced this was something I needed to check out, and I also completely misheard “Town Talk” as “Ton Tauk”. So, my preconceived notions about this establishment included that 1) it was a small convenience-store type place with moldy bread and 2) there was some sort of multi-cultural aspect with the strange name.

Ok, well, I was wrong on number one and half-wrong on number two.

Town Talk is a once-in-a-lifetime place. I’m still not sure how I lived in Fort Worth (the first time) and had never heard about it. Located in East Fort Worth, It is a massive warehouse of food, some of which IS expired. They DO NOT have moldy bread–they are more likely to have either no bread or frozen, but not moldy. It also turns out that Town Talk really doesn’t have a strange name. That was cleared up immediately–once I read the sign, I understood quite perfectly. It is, however one of the most multi-cultural experiences I’ve had in Fort Worth.

Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries ready for the freezer.

Town Talk assists major retailers by purchasing products that have been affected by damage, mislabeling, liquidations, freight claims, warehouse damages, and insurance claims. Town Talk is licensed as a Texas Salvage Establishment, so they are able to repackage and resell food at a deeply discounted rate in their warehouse. The clientele is primarily made up of individuals who are on a fixed income and/or those who may not qualify for public assistance.

My first experience was visiting on a Saturday morning–all I can say about this is if you really want the good produce, to show up early, be prepared for crowds and perhaps some elbowing. Despite arriving close to 9a (when Town Talk opens), there were already masses of people entering and exiting. With their first come, first serve policy, you definitely have to be prepared to grab what you need quickly! Our first time there, we ended up walking out with a flat of strawberries (that’s 8 quarts, folks) for $8 and 6 pints of blueberries for $8. Hello freezer! We also ended up with several baking mixes and dried beans to round everything out. And yes, there are some expired foods, but checking labels isn’t that hard, and with some of the products, you use your own judgement whether or not you intend to purchase. I have yet to make a purchase of expired food that has made us sick. With the large number of people, I was amazed at the variety of clientele, people of all different ethnicities and languages are represented which completely amazed me–visiting Town Talk gives you a great picture of how diverse Fort Worth truly is.

A “treasure” that I found for Matt.

If you visit Town Talk on a weekday, things are decidedly more calm, however the produce options are usually not available or are very limited. It has become my habit to visit Town Talk first on days I go to the grocery store. I never know what I may find there, so it is a good supplement to my grocery list and allows us to be budget conscious. Not only does Town Talk carry food, they also carry cleaning supplies, food containers (think Styrofoam take-home boxes), kitchen and bathroom supplies. I’ve been known to pick up aluminum foil or plastic baggies there as well!

Town Talk’s website tells a little more about what they do to serve their clientele and how they operate. I truly resonate with their slogan that “Each visit to Town Talk is like a treasure hunt.”