Häagen-Dazs

Does free ice cream mean summer is here? Along with breaking out the flip-flops and khaki shorts, the steadily rising temperatures should make you to mark your calendars for next Tuesday, May 8, when several L.A.-area Häagen-Dazs ice cream stores will be handing out free ice cream cones from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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Ben & Jerry's

Look out for this truck.

The day after Tax Day, Los Angeles residents will do two things. Galvanized by the promise of impending refunds, some will start throwing cash around. Crushed beneath the weight of checks they just mailed off, others will batten down the hatches, crafting new family budgets, vowing to spend less on even the little things -- like avocado on a burger and those midafternoon froyo snacks. Thankfully, the day after Tax Day, somewhere in Los Angeles, a little thing -- specifically, that froyo -- will be free. According to this Twitter feed, the travellin' Ben & Jerry's truck will be breezing through L.A. on April 16.

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Ben & Jerry's

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's

It's a lovely day outside -- perfect weather, in other words, for some ice cream. Fortunately, Ben & Jerry's has you covered: today is their annual Free Cone Day whereby they thank their loyal customers with free ice-cream. From noon to 8 p.m., visit your local Ben & Jerry's scoop shop to have your choice of Cherry Garcia, Half-Baked or whatever other flavor strikes your fancy in a cup or cone, entirely gratis. Of course, free food inevitably means big crowds but, based on our years of participating in Free Cone Day, the lines usually move pretty quickly. And wouldn't you rather be outside anyway?

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The Buttermilk Truck

Tonight starting at 5:30 p.m., BBC America will host a free food truck fest at the Santa Monica Food Truck Lot at Main and Ocean to promote the premiere of No Kitchen Required. The new reality competition show is a sort of Top Chef-meets-Survivor battle in which a trio of chefs "are dropped off in remote locations where they must work with the locals to hunt, forage and collect ingredients for a locally inspired meal."

As with the case when you have to compete with anyone for free food, BBC America recommends that you get there as early as possible. Participating trucks include The Buttermilk Truck, Lobsta Truck, Frysmith and CoolHaus. There also will be a screening of the first episode of the show at 7 p.m. before it officially premieres on April 3 on BBC America.

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Burger King french fries

This weekend, Burger King will "celebrate the luck of the Irish" by giving away its own version of a pot of gold: value-size french fries. Yes, the chain's connection between St. Patrick's Day and a fast food side item is fairly strained, but since it's gratis, we'll make the allowance. Burger King says it uses trans fat-free vegetable oil to cook the fries, so you can freely eat them without worrying about becoming overly aggressive or irritable before you've even had your first pint of green beer.

To complete the celebration, Heinz will supply a green "St. Paddy's sauce" for dipping. The free fries offer is available both Saturday and Sunday until there are no more french fries left in the pot.

Remember when we told you about Currywurst's February sausage? That's OK. It was a long time ago.

The sausage party begins tomorrow. Every Tuesday in February starting at 7 p.m., the Fairfax Avenue sausage shop will give away free sausages (limit one per customer) but only for the first 20 minutes and 12 seconds of the evening. Happy 2012.

Yogurtland's frozen treats

In honor of National Frozen Yogurt Day, you can get free frozen yogurt today from 4 to 7 p.m. at any Yogurtland. The popular serve-yourself froyo chain is also offering one-day-only special-edition collector spoons and cups. Expect long lines -- even longer than usual. Find a full list of locations here.

Guzzle and Nosh/Flickr

What's cooler than being cool? (Ice cold) free Coolhaus sandwiches! As if we weren't excited enough for Coolhaus' brick-and-mortar shop in Culver City to finally open, they sweetened the deal by announcing that tonight at 6 p.m., when the doors are unlatched, they'll be giving away free ice cream sandwiches for the first hour.

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Kathy A. McDonald

Herbs add kick to a community garden grown salad

Chalk one up to green. Overlooking traffic-heavy Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Silver Lake, community activists have transformed a former school parking lot into vegetable, herb and flower filled garden at L.A.U.S.D's Micheltorena Street Elementary School. Every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers are welcomed to taste the fruit of their efforts, such as a just picked summer salad, straight from the streetside garden.

As more and more Los Angeles urbanites are growing their own, the farm-to-table movement has become increasingly localized and miniaturized. The community-minded garden aptly demonstrates the cornucopia possible even on a small triangle of land. Even one across from an auto body shop.

There's also considerable philosophy fertilizing the beds.

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Cheesecake Factory's newest Hershey's flavor & free 7-Eleven slurpees

Café patios are jammed at mid-day, beach parking lots are more overcrowded than usual, and neighborhood teens are breaking into your pool at midnight. If you're reading this during "normal" business hours, you're most likely trapped in a cubicle, longing for the outside. This is where high-sugared goods come in. Eh, so there's nearly a cup of sugar in your Slurpee, or 70 grams of fat in your cake, you've earned it, right? Some of this month's deals and free giveaways include 7-Eleven Slurpees (today only); Lukshon desserts after every meal; See's Candies Lollipops; and cheesecake.

Turn the page for more details + a 7-Eleven Slurpee recipe.

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