People are turning to bartering, foraging and trash salvaging.

Nationwide data are not collected on these practices, but anecdotal evidence indicates they are growing. Bartering listings on Craigslist have doubled over the last 12 months. The Freecycle Network, for people who want to offer or receive free items, has seen a spike in membership since last October, when weekly membership increases jumped to about 75,000 per week, up from about 30,000.

Though Freecycle has an environmental slant, people are using the site to ask for basic necessities such as food and clothing, founder Deron Beal said.

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