Cheap and Free Food on National Food Days

I had never heard of a food holiday with free food. That was until one year I wrote an article for a national magazine on National Coffee Day about coffee day freebies. As soon as it was published, my blog blew up.

National Coffee Day is a free coffee day occurring each September. I knew I’d struck a nerve with that story. More than 150,000 people visited the online version of that story in a single day.

Ever since then I’ve been keeping track of food holidays throughout the year. I’ve also covered national holidays that dovetailed with free food offers, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Veterans Day.

National Food Holidays Throughout the Year

I’ve updated my list of the food holidays and days of the year when you can get free or cheap food or drink. Below is a list of the 12 months of the year and the free food or other holidays with free food that happen in each month. Hopefully, this makes things easier for you to find that free food.

January Free Food Holidays

National Spaghetti Day

Italian restaurants are usually the ones offering free food for National Spaghetti Day. For example, Spaghetti Warehouse celebrated with Sunday dinner.

February Free Food Holidays

Valentine’s Day

There’s a lot of free food–and drink–to be had on Valentine’s Day. First, Krispy Kreme often offers some sort of free offer for Valentine’s Day. Next, I’ve heard that Southwest Airlines, the “LUV” airline, gives out free drinks.

Here is advice for shopping after Valentine’s Day sales.

National Bagel Day

Most bagel freebies are BOGO–buy one, get one free–offers.

Groundhog Day

Some restaurants will give you free food on Groundhog Day. This happens if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow. So it’s Phil’s fault if there are no freebies this year.

National Muffin Day

National Muffin Day is usually in late February. Often, Perkins Restaurants will have a deal for National Muffin Day. That is, if you buy three of their Mammoth Muffins, you’ll get three for free. This offer is at select Perkins locations only. So, check the one near you to see if they are participating.

Leap Day

Leap Day or February 29 happens only once every four years. The last one was in 2024, which means the next one will be in 2028. On past Leap Days, restaurants offered free food, such as:

• Chipotle
• Wendy’s
• Jersey Mike’s

March Free Food Holidays

First Day of Spring

Not a national food holiday, per se, but Rita’s Italian Ice always gives away free Italian ice on the first day of spring, even when it snows on the first day of spring as it did one year when my daughter and I went out for our First Day of Spring free Rita’s.

IHOP National Pancake Day

Even though National Pancake Day happens in the fall, the IHOP chain has created its own holiday. It is dedicated to this breakfast staple, with IHOP National Pancake Day this month. In addition to deals on pancakes, IHOP uses this food holiday to raise money for good causes.

St. Patrick’s Day

It doesn’t just have to be green food that you can get for free on St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve seen free breakfast and fast food on St. Patrick’s Day. Sadly, though, never a free Shamrock Shake!

How to shop after St. Patrick’s Day sales.

April Food Holidays

National Cheese Fondue Day

If you’re a fondue fan, then you’ll want to keep tabs on this holiday. Check out if the Melting Pot chain will be offering its free fondue deal on National Cheese Fondue Day. That day, by the way, is April 11.

Tax Day, April 15

You can take a bit of the sting out of doing your taxes by taking advantage of tax day freebies. In the past you could get free food at California Tortilla and the Great American Cookies. Also, Tax Day is officially Kona Ice Chill Out Day. That’s when you can get free cups of shaved ice to help you chill out after finishing your taxes.

Earth Day

Look for free cups of fair trade coffee at some of your favorite restaurants and retailers, for example. That’s because Earth Day freebies always have some sort of green angle to them. For instance, in years gone by, coffee shops would give you either a free or discounted cup of coffee if you brought your own reusable cup.

National Pretzel Day

I’m not sure what time of the year is ideal for eating pretzels, but National Pretzel Day happens in April. Look for free pretzel offers from companies with pretzel in their name–Pretzelmaker, Philly Pretzel Factory, etc.

May Free Food Holidays

National Barbecue Month

Grilling season starts in May–thanks Memorial Day–so it’s no surprise that May is National Barbecue or BBQ Month. In addition, there is a National Barbecue BBQ Day. It is May 16. Here’s a great recipe for BBQ chicken in the air fryer.

Teacher Appreciation Day

Educators get a day all to themselves at the beginning of May with lots of freebie offers. There’s usually free food at Chipotle. Also, you can often find lots of non-food freebies, such as free massages and other pampering services.

Here’s my article on clever teacher gift ideas. 

May the 4th/Star Wars Day

You’re aware of the pun of May the 4th, right? Like, May the Force be with you? And also with you.

Some call it Star Wars Day for that reason. In the past local and national restaurants selling everything from donuts to chewy chocolate chip cookies (for Chewbacca) have offered freebies. If I find any for this coming year, I’ll be sure to add them here.

Cinco de Mayo

Not surprisingly Mexican restaurants often end up having some sort of freebie for Cinco de Mayo. In recent years I’ve heard about cinco free deals at Moe’s, Taco Bell, Chili’s, Baja Fresh and On the Border. Here are some fun Cinco de Mayo quotes.

National Wine Day

May 25 is National Wine Day. Find out about all of the other national wine days throughout the year.

National Nurses Week

Nurses deserve way more recognition than they probably get in the medical profession. Once a year, during National Nurses Week, restaurants show their appreciation by giving away free food and free drink to nurses.

Here are discounts nurses and other medical professional can enjoy all year long.

Memorial Day

Twice a year restaurants roll out freebies for veterans and military members. These happen on Memorial Day weekend and Veteran’s Day in November. Usually, these freebies are a free appetizer or free entree.

June Free Food Holidays

Frozen Yogurt Day

Last year on June 4, Frozen Yogurt Day, Orange Leaf Yogurt had an awesome coupon on its Facebook page for a fro-yo BOGO. Some companies also have Frozen Yogurt Day in February, too–BRRR!!!!

National Doughnut Day

June 5 is National Doughnut Day. Every year someone is giving away free donuts. This past year I found free donut offers at Cumberland Farms, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin Donuts. Even doughnut manufacturer and brand Entenmann’s had a freebie.

National Candy Month

According to the National Confectioners Association, chocolate and candy have always been a fun part of the summer months and many seasonal summer celebrations. I’ll keep you posted on any candy deals this month.

Truth is, I would have assumed that either February or October would have been National Candy Month. Why? Because they both have some of the biggest candy holidays (Valentine’s Day and Halloween).

Here are America’s favorite Valentine’s Day candies.

Father’s Day

Many restaurants, if you will, usually have some sort of free food offer for dad on Father’s Day.

Here are the restaurants that will give you freebies for your wedding anniversary.

July Food Holidays

4th of July

If you don’t have any plans to head to someone’s house for a cookout–or you’re not hosting one yourself–you can check out 4th of July freebies. I’ve seen them at Outback Steakhouse and Pei Wei Asian cuisine.

7-11 Day

I’ll give you one guess when this food holiday falls. What company do you think founded it? Did you say 7-Eleven stores, on July 11, and a free Slurpee? Well, you’re right!

Iced Tea Day

McAllister’s Deli celebrates Iced Tea Day in late July by giving away a free 32-ounce glass of McAllister’s Tea. That’s a big honking glass of iced tea!

National Hot Dog Day

Also in late July is a day for the dogs–hot dogs, that is. In the past you could count on Sonic Drive-In and other restaurants known for their hot dogs to have a free food offer or a really cheap one, like the $1 hot dogs.

National Ice Cream Day

I know that one of the reasons that Baskin-Robbins likes to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 31 is that it plays into its 31 flavors brand. But other companies give away free ice cream, too, including Carvel and Friendly’s.

Heck, even PetSmart gets into the act, offering free vanilla ice cream to dogs who visited a location with their human that day!

Note: there is also National Ice Cream Cone Day. Ben & Jerry’s celebrates this food holiday in April. On the other hand, Haagen-Dazs celebrates it in May, all with free ice cream.

August Free Food Holidays

It’s National Lemonade Day

This past year there were six national chains participating in National Lemonade Day. It included Penn State East Coast Subs and Red Robin restaurants. In addition, there were a couple of hotel chains!

National S’Mores Day

While there probably isn’t a restaurant known for its S’Mores, there are some brands that are and which celebrate on National S’Mores Day.

That would be Jet Puff Marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey chocolate bars.

So, look for coupons or markdowns on these supplies at the supermarket. Here is a way to make s’mores in an air fryer.

September Food Holidays

Back to School

Believe it or not, restaurants want to help families have an easier time with dinner during Back to School and often promote kids eat free offers. 

Labor Day

In the past, besides going to a holiday BBQ, you could expect free food offers or insanely cheap prices from the likes of Baskin-Robbins and Firehouse Subs on Labor Day.

Free Queso Day

If you took Spanish in school, then you know that queso means cheese in Spanish. And on Free Queso Day, you can expect restaurants that serve food con queso will have free offers, such as Moe’s Southwest Grill and On the Border.

National Cheeseburger Day

National Cheeseburger Day is September 18.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Even though National Doughnut Day falls in June, you have an opportunity to get free doughnuts from Krispy Kreme on National Talk Like a Pirate Day, September 19. Usually, saying something like, “Argh, matey” will get you a free donut whereas showing up at your local Krispy Kreme in full pirate regalia will net you a free dozen.

A few years ago, Long John Silver’s restaurants joined in on this food holiday. They were giving away free fish to customers who also decided to get their pirate on.

National Pancake Day

Look for free pancake deals at pancake restaurants on National Pancake Day. Usually, National Pancake Day is held on or about September 26. In the past it has been a free short stack when you buy a short stack–something like that.

Also, don’t forget the IHOP specific National Pancake Day holiday, which I’d mentioned earlier. It usually happens at the end of February or beginning of March.

National Coffee Day

Another big September food holiday is National Coffee Day. As I mentioned at the top of the article, this is the food holiday that started it all for me covering this topic.

Every year you can find at least one restaurant or business that is giving away free coffee to celebrate. Some have thrown in free food, too. National Coffee Day in the United States is September 29.

However, International Coffee Day is October 1. So you can expect coffee deals on at least one of these days.

Tips to save money on coffee

Here are some ways you can save on your coffee on National Coffee Day and any other day of the year:

First, invest in a reusable, refillable coffee pod for your Keurig machine. I wrote this article about how I use my refillable K Cup to save.

Or, bring a reusable cup with you to the coffee shop. Many places give you a dime or more off your cup of coffee.

Here are places you can go for freebies on your birthday.

October Free Food Holidays

National Cookie Month

Even though chocolate chip cookies are celebrated with a special day in May, all kinds of cookies are the guests of honor this month. Look for free cookie giveaways at mall-located cookie shops and local bakeries–even at some online baked goods companies, too.

National Pizza Month

Did you know that the most popular day for families to order pizza is Halloween? So, considering October is National Pizza Month, that’s just perfect.

I’ve found that when it comes to free pizza for National Pizza Month, it is usually local restaurants that jump on the freebie bandwagon, not the national chains.

Halloween

So what’s Halloween doing as part of a food holiday roundup? Well, in addition to getting free candy from trick or treating, a handful of restaurants have free food offers on October 31 each year–usually kids eat free offers. Last year this included Olive Garden, Sbarro pizza and IHOP.

November Free Food

Election Day

Usually during a presidential election year, you can score free food on Election Day. During past presidential election years, you could score free guacamole, free coffee and free donuts. Usually you had to have one of those “I Voted” stickers to get your freebie.

National Sandwich Day

The Earl of Sandwich gets his own holiday on November 3 each year, National Sandwich Day, and in return you get free sandwiches.

Veteran’s Day

Usually each year current and retired military and veterans can eat for free in celebration of Veteran’s Day. Last year there were 19 places offering this deal, ranging from Applebee’s to Wayback Burger. You had to show military ID or come in uniform in order to take advantage of. In many instances, that worked out to be a free lunch to thank you for your service!

December Free Food Holidays

National Cookie Day

This food holiday in early December is overshadowed by National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. That food holiday is in May and August. With National Cookie Day happening in December, you may not see as many free food offers.

National Maple Syrup Day

Food trucks often get in on this esoteric food holiday. With National Maple Syrup Day you expect freebies in Canada or Vermont. Interestingly, there is something called Maine Maple Weekend in, you guessed it, Maine, that celebrates maple syrup all weekend long. Buddy the Elf would approve.

One year, National Maple Syrup Day was celebrated big time, via food trucks, in New York City. Finally, a food truck fundraiser for this food holiday or another occasion can be a really smart move.

Final thoughts

If I’ve missed any national food holidays when you’ve been able to get free food or drinks or some other deal, please post a comment and let me know.