GovLoop, a social network for government employees, is celebrating reaching 50,000 members, by giving out free lunches today from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at L’Enfant and Federal Triangle Metro stations. more ›

National Public Radio wants to give you a free popsicle today. The details, after the jump. more ›

Even though we've fully committed to hopping off the cupcake bandwagon, there's no reason we can't let you know where to get a free one on a rainy day. Beginning at 10 a.m. this morning, Georgetown Cupcake will be handing out free cupcakes to celebrate tonight's second-season premier of "DC Cupcakes," the reality show which strains itself to painstakingly document the day-to-day of a cupcake shop as dramatically as humanly possible. Customers at both the Georgetown (3301 M Street NW) and Bethesda (4834 Bethesda Avenue) outposts can claim their free treat until 9 p.m. today. more ›

During the lead-up to the holidays, there are usually a number of tasty giveaways and BOGO offers to be had around town -- and this year is no exception. more ›

Today from 3 p.m.- 6 p.m., D.C.- area Robeks will be selling 12 oz. smoothies for $1. With only one location in the downtown area (at 1707 L Street NW), your best bet might be to stop by before your commute home to avoid standing in a long line. There's also a Robeks at 4523 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Tenleytown, and a couple in Arlington. Check here to find the location nearest you. more ›

D.C. area Kimpton Hotels are giving away free Sweetgreen yogurt with one topping to the first 50 visitors to their properties. The giveaway is to celebrate 100 percent Green Seal certification at the Silver Level for Kimpton's 50 hotels. more ›

The old saw is true that "there's no such thing as a free lunch." But at least for today, the money you spend can go to a good cause. As part of their opening festivities, Roti Mediterranean Grill (1747 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) is giving away free lunches, but requesting donations be made to D.C. Central Kitchen. The non-profit trains formerly homeless men and women how to cook, using donated surplus food to feed other hungry individuals, as well as providing catering services to some local charter schools. The Roti promotion runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and includes a sandwich, salad or Mediterranean plate plus fountain beverage. Rules stipulate that you must be in line by 2 p.m. to take advantage of the deal. more ›

If you missed out on free pastry morning at Starbucks, don't fret. You've still got the rest of the day to grab a free ice cream cone from Ben & Jerry's. The chain's annual Free Cone Day event is back once again, running this afternoon from noon to 8 p.m. Just stop by, wait in the inevitably long line, and score your free cone of any flavor you please. more ›

We were frankly reluctant to share the email we got last night from Warehouse Theater owner Paul Ruppert, because we want some of this stuff for ourselves! But we're taking one for the team, as it's too good not to spread the word. With the front part of the theater complex having already been transformed into The Passenger, Ruppert says he is about to embark on another round of improvements in the theater space in back. And that means he's cleaning out the old space, and giving away a boatload of furniture, props, housewares, assorted building materials -- even a kegerator and a piano -- in the process. more ›

Washington, D.C's premier (only?) Irish arts organization, Solas Nua, is once again handing out free copies of books by contemporary Irish authors all day today, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. They say they plan to hand out a total of 10,000 books, totally gratis. more ›

Local entrepreneurs are scrambling to get in on the ground floor of the District's impending same-sex marriage nuptials, whether it's wedding planners, photographers, caterers, you name it. There's real money to be made here, not to mention the additional potential of endearing yourself to the LGBT community on the whole. Gay marriage is just good business at this point. more ›

With the Jan. 1 implementation of the District's 5 cent disposable bag tax looming, Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) sent out some updates on how area retailers are preparing. The list is a little vague in some places, but the best opportunities to score free reusable bags look to be coming from Giant and Harris Teeter. more ›

As we've been telling you for some time now, that 5 cent disposable bag fee finally goes into effect on January 1. Much of the opposition to the law when it was initially being considered was that it could end up hurting the poor more than anyone else: spending $1 on a reusable bag or two could really be a hardship for the poorest District residents. With that in mind, below you'll find a list of dates, times and locations for the District Department of the Environment's free reusable bag giveaways. DDOE partnered with CVS stores to give away thousands of the tote bags over the next month. If you or someone you know is still in need of a bag, feel free to stop by and take one. more ›

What does BGR stand for? Though it could easily be booger, in this case it's burger, which is what you'll get for free if you go to a local BGR The Burger Joint today with the letters "inked" on any body part. And yes, they can just be written on your hand with a ballpoint pen. more ›

This week marks National Fire Prevention Week (and yes, the campaign has a blog). Considering the timing of Friday's fatal fire in Georgetown, it seemed a good idea to pass on word from the folks at the D.C. area Ace Hardware co-operative (Logan Hardware, Glover Park Hardware, Tenleytown and 5th Street) that they are offering to replace your smoke detector batteries this week for free. Now through Oct. 10, stop by any of the local Ace locations with your used 9-volt alkaline battery and exchange it for a new one, gratis. The stores will take care of recycling your old batteries. more ›

Taco Bell is capitalizing on the roving food cart trend with a cross-country tour giving away free tacos. (Insert free gastrointestinal problem jokes here.) They'll be handing out tacos outside the GW Student Center from 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. before moving on to Rosslyn, near N. Moore and 19th Streets around 4:30 p.m. You can try out their fiery Volcano or regular crunchy tacos. more ›

Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle turns one tomorrow, and it's celebrating in the most delicious way possible: by giving out free cupcakes! The folks over at HC will give away one free cupcake per customer tomorrow, August 25, at their Connecticut Avenue shop just south of Dupont Circle -- while supplies last that is. No word yet on whether all their usual Tuesday flavors will be up for grabs gratis, but if so, you can pick yourself up a chococo, a Velvet Elvis, a you tart! or a raspberry beret, among others. The shop is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the offer expires once they run out, so you might want to head over for a mid-morning or lunchtime fix rather than waiting 'til after work. Also, just FYI: the shop will not be selling multi-cupcake boxes, taking phone orders or doing deliveries during the promotion. more ›

In celebration of President Barack Obama's 48th birthday today, the Z Burger location in Tenleytown will be giving out tokens to the first 48 people in line (they opened at 10:30 a.m.) redeemable for 48 free burgers and 48 milkshakes over the next year. But if you can't (or didn't) make it be one of the first 48, they will also just straight up be giving away free burgers and pieces of a 1,000 square foot birthday cake from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We hope some of those token receivers have a lot of friends who like burgers, or Z Burger should really throw in a free gym membership. more ›

It's been a little slower than normal in the free food department this summer. Perhaps the tight economy is to blame? Luckily, the folks at Tangysweet are opening up another Red Velvet Cupcakery at their DuPont Circle location. To celebrate, they will be giving out free red velvet mini-cupcakes starting at noon on Friday until closing, which is 1 a.m. on Fridays. The cupcake recipes were developed by pastry chef David Guas, known for his work at the Passion Food group of restaurants. more ›

We don't normally fall for naked corporate promos, but a press release from Cricket, the no credit check/no contract wireless company (and, apparently, radio station?) that's been heavily advertising all over town, caught our eye. In order to drum up some brand awareness in the D.C. metro area, the company says it has placed 2,000 wallets, most filled with discount offers, but some with actual prizes (including a free trip to New York) and, inside two of them, vouchers worth $5,000 in cash stuffed inside. So where might you be able to find these wallets? Cricket spokesperson Vickie Jones gave us some clues: "They will be in locations near [our] stores," she said. "Sort of 'hidden in plain view.' On sidewalks. On a park bench or at a bus stop. On the ledge of a window at an office building near the stores. On a flower planter. On a Metro station turnstile." DCist recently noticed that Cricket will be opening up its newest location in the space formerly occupied by Cornerstone dry cleaners at the corner of 14th and U. You can find open locations of Cricket retail outlets near you here. more ›

No Dish of the Week this week, but enjoy your regularly scheduled Small Bites. more ›

Tomorrow is National Donut Day. To celebrate, Krispy Kreme will be giving away free donuts. And so will Dunkin' Donuts, with the purchase of any beverage. more ›

It's been a sluggish hump day, hasn't it? Now we know it's not quite as pleasurable as ice cream, but Au Bon Pain will be giving out free medium iced coffees after 2 p.m. today. And if you don't need the pick-me-up, there is also a decaf version. Check here for a list of locations. more ›

The annual Häagen-Dazs free scoop promotion is tonight from 4-8 p.m. In an effort to raise awareness about the deaths of honeybee colonies, the Dazs will be giving away scoops of "bee-built" ice cream - meaning any flavor with ingredients that would have required a bee to pollinate a fruit or flower. You can grab your free scoop from locations in Gallery Place, Union Station, Georgetown, Pentagon City and Bethesda. While you wait until 4, check out these ridiculous videos by Häagen-Dazs: Bee Dance Disco and Bee Dance Krumpin'. more ›

Ben & Jerry's is hosting their annual free cone day today from noon to 8 p.m. Grab a scoop of Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby or your favorite flavor in D.C. from the Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Old Post Office or Union Station locations. Make sure you get there early in the day to get your favorite flavor, or you could end up stuck with the bottom scrapings of vanilla. And remember, the lines have historically gotten very long, especially toward the end of the day -- plan to wait a bit. more ›

Wow, it's been a while since posting about the last free promo, but Rita's is kicking off the cold treat season with their annual first day of spring promo, and giving away free cups of water ice. Even though it's cold out, who doesn't love them some free water ice? Rita's locations include Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. You can search for your nearest Rita's here. The giveaway is going on until 10 p.m. more ›

Been laid off recently? You and a lot of other people. The Washington Business Journal reports on a recession-themed publicity gimmick from FedEx Office (the old FedEx Kinkos) offering anyone out in the job market the opportunity to print 25 free copies of their résumés all day on Tuesday, March 10. That sounds like a nice idea, but of course the catch is that it would involve having to go inside a FedEx Office location, speak to an employee there and expect them to both be aware of the promotion and be willing to help you print your résumés. Is 25 free copies worth the hassle? more ›

Red Velvet Cupcakery in Penn Quarter will be giving away free cupcakes to the first 500 customers tomorrow. We know that some of you are ready to be done with the $3 cupcake trend, but who doesn't like free cake? Red Velvet offers eight different flavors; we recommend you check out the Vanilla Bean, Morning Call (chocolate with coffee frosting), or Birthday (yellow cake with chocolate frosting). Red Velvet opens at 11 a.m. and is located at 675 E Street NW. more ›

With weather having taken a turn toward the frosty, we might be done with ice creampocalypses for a while. But not to worry, Z Burger in Tenleytown is picking up the free-food-as-marketing-tool slack with a free burger event today. Via NBC4, show up at the store's Wisconsin Avenue location with a coupon that can be found in City Paper and get one of Z Burger's classics for no more than the effort it took you to get there. Maybe pair it with some of their signature peanut oil-fried fries, or a milkshake. If you can't get your hands on that coupon, rumor has it you can partake of the offer by just uttering the "secret" code word. Hint: the word is Foxxy Cleopatra's mantra from Austin Powers III, and rhymes with the title of Shaq's silver screen debut. more ›

We challenged companies for more free stuff. And then they come back with this. Free salad and free salad sandwiches. It's healthier, but you can't help but be just a teensy bit disappointed. Where are our free slabs of bacon? Or our free pints of ice cream? Or free beers? They kept upping the ante, and now the drop. Does this signal the end of summer? more ›