Free food at Facebook?

Personal testimonies for this organization abound with gratitude and fervor:Isaac Brosilow: _”Finally, a Facebook group that actually makes a difference. I thank you; the world thanks you.”_Caroline Miller: _”This is my life. Now I know where I belong, and it’s in this group.”_Pedram Adili: _”This has changed my life forever.”_So what is this life-changing, difference-making, world-satisfying organization?Drum roll please… It’s Free Food Events, a Facebook group that lists opportunities for finding free food worldwide.When companies such as Chipotle, IHOP, Chick-Fil-A or Ben and Jerry’s conduct giveaways, members post the news as online events. Group members can choose whether to attend, not attend or maybe attend, just like regular Facebook event invitations.The group is open to all, meaning that anyone who joins can suggest free food deals and steals (once the deals are approved by the group’s officers). Daniel Kaplun of Richmond Heights High School in Ohio started the group.Kaplun, a self-described “fish frier at Arthur Treacher’s,” said the idea came when he saw a free food event posted on Facebook.”I figured that there are plenty more such events and that they should all be summed into one group. Turns out plenty of people agree,” he wrote in a Facebook message.The group’s wall started churning out posts in April 2008. Kaplun said he was also proud of the number of members: more than 30,000 people as of Aug. 28, 2008 (yes, I’m one of them).”An accomplishment I’d love to one day have, however, is to overhear a conversation about my group between people I don’t know.”Kaplun said his original goal for the group was to find some free place to eat every day of the year.”Although the goal has not yet been accomplished, I do hope that one day it will be possible,” he wrote.This concept raises a new set of questions, however. Will freeloaders eventually overload corporations’ generosity? Or will this create more competition among businesses to woo the masses with freebies?Only time will tell – and until then, maybe all of us consumers can identify with member Sean Greene’s assessment: _”This is the best idea for a group EVER! Let’s squeeze all the free food we can out of these businesses until we never have to pay for a meal again.”_