Samuel J. Thayer (born 1976) is an American wild food forager and author.
[5] In 2001, Thayer founded Forager's Harvest and acts as editor and director of the institute.
[5] Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, to Richard and Ellen Thayer, he was raised in Madison and graduated from Madison East High School in 1994.
[5] Thayer has published three books: The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants;[6] Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants[7] and Incredible Wild Edibles: 36 Plants That Can Change Your Life.
[9] He has won three awards for his book Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants First Place for the 2006 Midwest Book Awards in the category "Nature"; First Place for the 2010 Midwest Book Awards, Midwest Independent Publisher's Association,[10] and second place in the category "Gardening/Agriculture" for The 2011 Benjamin Franklin Award.