The first is a comparison of prices between supermarket and farmers market, I didn't believe it then - about 15 years ago- and its even more unlikely now.
The pages come from the NFU (National Farmers Union) magazine I think and show two baskets of produce costing almost the same. There are no farmers markets close to me and those a bit further away are just once a month........and expensive, but probably the price we SHOULD be paying..........compared to supermarkets - who bulk buy and push down the prices they pay to farmers.
The second are pages from the East Anglian Daily Times - also from many many years ago when they ran a campaign called "Shop Local", and are comparing the miles food travels to reach our plates. Comparing supermarket to the authors local farm shop on the Suffolk/Norfolk Border. Over 13,000 miles for the basket on the left and 173 miles for the local produce.
I thought it would be interesting to see if I could manage for a week with local produce from Suffolk mainly but adding Norfolk and Essex if necessary (plus spices from distant lands). I won't compare costs as I already know that local will be about double the price of supermarket for some things, which is why this will just be for one week!
Of course Summer or early Autumn would have been a more sensible time to eat local - more food from the garden. Eating local was something that was commonplace at the smallholding when we were mostly self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. But Hey-Ho....I'll give it a go!
So I started at the Car Boot sale with local apples from a private seller's own orchard - Eating Apples 8 for £1 and Cooking apples 5 for £1. Eggs are available from several farms withing a few miles and are £1 for half a dozen.
That's the beginning
More Tomorrow
Sue
I wish our boot sales kept going like yours do, Sue - round here they stop mostly September-ish.
ReplyDeleteThe big car boot is on a slope of light sandy soil, which has been hardened with stones on the pathways so dryish. They finish mid-december until February.
DeletePretty easy with farm gate stuff here and farm shops in abundance and markets. Plenty of pheasants to buy in the local butchers too, one makes an excellent meal and much cheaper than a lump of meat or chops. Also local duck and pigeons all cheap meat.
ReplyDeleteA lack of farm gate sales round me nowadays.
DeleteI do like pheasant and used to have them given us regularly. I'm wary of buying in case they've been hanging around too long (pun intended!)
The ones's I buy around here have never been hanging very long, if at all.
DeleteI don't think we have car boot sales around here - I never see any adverts for them anyway.
ReplyDeletexx
There are a couple of BIG ones up the A12. Marks Tey is one and the other I can't remember. They are massive - went once - never again!
DeleteIt's great you can access some good local food from the car boot, great for the taste buds as well as the wallet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the price we should be paying for things, I tried to keep that in mind yesterday when I went to Aldi with my friend and I looked at the prices there compared to what I pay for my veg box, although I have started spending less overall so it's been worthwhile.
There's also someone at car boot with a big veg stall but they come all the way from Lincolnshire every week. Not many local growers - sadly.
DeleteI would be inclined to say that you could make an exception for Lincolnshire as it is such a big "local" vegetable growing area for us.
DeleteNothing better than eating produce either you or your neighbours have produced...a sort of pride that nothing can beat. x
ReplyDeleteI miss the smallholding produce, no one doing what we did around here
DeleteA lovely thing to try!
ReplyDeleteYes, we should all eat as local as we can. And organic also. Which of course is more expensive, since organic farming does not use chemicals to maximize their yield. And summer is easier.
But then, in the old days, people "put up" summer's bounty, to have it, for winter. People then, did not have the questionable luxury of buying summer produce, from all over the world, all year long.
Some still do this! At my age, I can not. But we do try to eat as organic and grass fed meat and cage free chicken meat, as we can. Just the 2 of us. A big family would have a harder time.
Best of luck with your experiment!!!!!!
Bravo to you for this post. I learned new things from it.. like how far some of our food travels! I will be visiting our closest farm shop more often. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteOur large village has a smallish but well stocked general store (Premier) and a Farm Shop with cafe. Nearest supermarkets are 6 miles away by car or 50 minute bus ride ('cos it goes through several small villages en route.) I had run short of milk recently so nipped to the Farm Shop. £1.95 for a 2 litre 'bottle'!!! The Premier shop has them permanently on offer at £1.09 each or 2 for £2 - guess who will have my custom in future emergencies.
ReplyDeleteI sure understand about only doing it for a month. For me, even if the cost was not more, there would be the time and gas to find food to buy local!
ReplyDeleteI would love to do that - in theory - but as you say it is far too expensive - sadly - and money is something that has to be taken into consideration. Looking forward to seeing how you do!
ReplyDeleteWhen I did my year without supermarkets we ate lots of local produce, plus of course our own home grown stuff. And I found that eventually prices levelled out to almost matching my previous housekeeping amounts. Mostly though because I wasn't tempted to overspend with 'must have' offers at the supermarket. Milk was the biggest price hike once we started buying from the little village shop, but we thought that was actually only fair as farmers are ripped off so much by the supermarkets. Now of course that wouldn't be a problem for me as I don't use the stuff :-)
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