PWYW · Prix libre
Pay what you want for food: how PWYW works
A price you help choose, not a promise of free food. This guide explains pay what you want (PWYW), the French prix libre, and what to check before visiting a farm or market.
Editorial sources checked on 27 October 2026
GetEats helps you discover producers and understand their published arrangements. GetEats does not accept PWYW orders or payments. A directory entry is not a booking, an offer of delivery or confirmation of today's stock.
What does pay what you want mean?
Under PWYW, the buyer has a role in choosing the amount paid within the producer's stated conditions. At a prix libre stall, a displayed price may be a guide rather than a fixed tariff. Ask which products and sales sessions participate: a farm can use different pricing for different activities.
A suggested price gives a reference for the work, growing costs and continued operation of the project. Paying more may help sustain access for others, but do not assume a particular redistribution scheme unless the organiser explains it. PWYW alone does not guarantee that zero payment is accepted.
PWYW, PWYC and income-tier CSA are not interchangeable
Pay what you can (PWYC) emphasises what a household can afford. PWYW emphasises choosing a contribution. In practice the labels can overlap; the written conditions, not the acronym, determine whether there is a minimum, a suggested amount or an eligibility rule.
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) usually means committing to a share of a farm's production for a period. An income-tier CSA may offer a limited set of prices tied to income or self-assessment. That is not automatically a freely chosen price at each visit. Check the commitment, collection schedule and cancellation rules separately.
How much should you pay?
Start with the producer's suggested price and ask what it covers. Then follow the scheme's rules and choose an amount that fits your circumstances. There is no universal PWYW discount, and this guide does not publish a minimum or a recommended contribution for any listed farm.
A solidarity basket reserved for referred households is a different arrangement from an open retail stall. Do not treat a mention of either as permission to join the other, or as proof that all of a producer's food is offered at prix libre.
Two documented examples, with different evidence dates
These are editorial examples, not a fixed list of currently available offers. The live directory below is separate and can change when records are removed or their PWYW status changes.
Dervallières, Nantes: a 2026 report on retail prix libre
Nantes Métropole describes on-site vegetable sales at the Ferme des Dervallières with an indicative price: customers pay what seems fair according to their means. The report separately mentions solidarity baskets distributed through the neighbourhood centre. It describes organic growing practices but explicitly says official organic certification is still two years away; it does not establish that the farm is certified organic. Confirm current access, sale times and payment conditions with the operator before travelling.
Nantes Métropole — published 23 September 2026; updated 19 October 2026; read 27 October 2026.
Read the original source (French)Lentillères, Dijon: historical evidence from 2017
The operator's post announcing the return of the market describes vegetables at prix libre. It is a primary account of the 2017 season, not fresh confirmation of a PWYW market in 2026. Reading the archive today does not renew its dates: do not use its timetable or locations to plan a visit without checking the operator's current information.
Quartier Libre des Lentillères — published 12 June 2017; archive read 27 October 2026. Historical, not a new operator confirmation.
Read the original source (French)Before you visit
- Check the current address, opening dates and whether the sale is open to everyone or requires membership or referral.
- Ask which products use PWYW, whether there is a minimum or suggested price, and how payment works.
- Confirm availability and collection arrangements directly. A map pin does not reserve food or guarantee delivery.
- Check any certification with the producer; a PWYW label says nothing about organic status or food quality.
PWYW profiles in the current directory
These profiles are selected from the live directory's PWYW records, not from the examples above. A label reflects recorded information, not a fresh operator confirmation for each visit. Read the profile's sources and confirm current conditions directly.