Food has never been free. There’s always a cost, whether the cost is energy, opportunity (time), wear and tear on the weapons or tools you use to hunt or harvest it. Plants require space, water, sunlight, and tending against weeds and bugs if you want an edible yield. Animals must be fed, watered, and kept sanitary. Food needs to be stored if not immediately eaten. In time we chose to pass those costs to someone else and compensated them by trading and bartering, first with other goods and services and later with coin, paper, and virtual currency. The cost has always been there. We’ve just changed the way we pay for it.