I decided to try to eat for a week in my North Carolina town without paying for restaurants, buying groceries or resorting to dumpster diving. Here's how the second part of the week went. (Click here to read part one.)

Day Four

Breakfast: I started my morning at Trader Joe's, which may trump Sam's Club and Costco in samples. They were serving organic steel-cut oats with agave syrup and bananas. I got the sample menu for the entire week for lunch: Pasta & Prosciutto in Alfredo sauce, Joe O's (their organic remix of Spaghetti O's), fish sticks with tartar sauce, and a chicken wrap from the fresh-prep station.

And it's not like you need to leave the store, change your shirt then come back in order to get a second sample. The employees didn't care how many I took. The guy that morning seemed happy to have company and let me refill my oatmeal and coffee until I'd had (more than) an entire serving.

Lunch: In the afternoon I went to the mall. (I chose a more upscale one since it has more sampler kiosks.) At Starbucks, I got a frappuccino sample that probably had 300 calories in it. At Teavana I sampled teas; at Auntie Anne's I tried a smoothie and a pretzel bite. Then I hit the food court for my entree -- samples from the different Chinese restaurants. (I tried four different kinds of chicken.)

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Dinner: I headed back to the mall for dinner to cash in my T.G.I.Friday's coupon for a buy-one, get-one-free entrée that I printed off the Internet. Coupon read: "Kick the year off right! – offer for you, your friends and family. Spread the joy, send this coupon to your co-workers and friends."

I walked up to a stranger eating alone at the bar and asked him to buy the entrée so I could have a free one. He looked at me like I was crazy, laughed, and then agreed. He ordered a more expensive meat dish, so my little pecan-encrusted chicken salad was free.

Day Five
Breakfast/Lunch: When I hit Jason's for free ice cream on day one, I entered my business card in for a drawing for a free lunch. Soon thereafter I got a call from a guy named Brandon telling me I'd won a free lunch at Mama Fu's Asian Bistro -- the catch was that I had to go with him so he could "tell me all about his exciting financial-advisory services." I went and ordered a three-course meal: chicken-lettuce wraps, Hibachi chicken and a mango rice dessert. I just sat there and quietly chewed as he talked to me about how bad the economy is. (No thanks for the financial advice, Brandon, but thanks for lunch.)

Dinner: I went to a Mexican restaurant with some of my friends and ate the free chips and salsa ... I also got a dish of free queso dip with a Sunday-paper clipping. I smiled at a nice gentleman who looked familiar, and that magically made a margarita appear. Let's just say I suspect the freegan diet is a lot easier for women. Then a friend at my table got a pitcher, so I had another ... and another. And I merely pitched in for the tip.

Day Six

Breakfast: Couldn't eat ... holy hangover, Batman. I imagine this is how I would feel if I drank an entire bottle of cleaning product.

Lunch/Dinner: I went to a friend's for an NBA game ... not to watch, but to eat the food. I had a Chik-Fil-A coupon for a free chicken biscuit, but it isn't open on Sundays, dang it.

Day Seven

Breakfast/Lunch: In the South it's not hard to find food on Sundays because so many people cook: brunches, post-church meals, family functions like the "Sip and See" I attended for a new mom. I was well fed today, as G.R.I.T.S (Girls Raised In The South) are domestic divas.

Dinner: That night I went to have dinner at a soup kitchen ... But I didn't eat any, I just volunteered to help serve it!

Money spent on food and drink this week: $10.25 (tips and a quarter for a piece of candy).

Brittney Cason is a freelance writer and TV host.