how are you all getting on

[jenk1]

with not buying food from supermarket anymore? i did the weekly shop but only bought dried goods nappies etc and we are really enjoying fresh veg,fruit and meat from local farmers,markets

[TwinSetAndPearls]

We are enjoying it and we are eating fabulous food. But it is easier if you are a SAHM and have the time to shop every other day, some of our farmers markets are during the week as well, so again someone in full time work couldn't get there.

[LilacLotus]

actually we bought a lot of fruit & veg on friday from the grocer and the quality was quite poor. not esthetically, but off. i will try the market next time.

[jenk1]

tsap-am i right in thinking u live in lancashire and if so which farmers markets do u go to

[fruitful]

Well, I went to the only farm shop in the area this morning and bought the week's fruit and veg. Its not that close but its near dd's swimming lesson so I'm going there anyway. I spent half as much again, as I would have if I'd bought the same stuff in Tescos. And I'm going to Tescos this afternoon. And by the time I'd got to the shop, got the kids and pram out of the car, bought the stuff, got them back in again etc - it took maybe 40 minutes. 40 minutes of one child or the other whinging or crying - its not that easy for SAHMs to do this either!

So, we'll see how it tastes. And I'm going to email them to see how much of their stuff is actually local.

And I'm going to see what the veg on the local market is like. I looked at the local veg box services but both would cost at least twice as much as I currently spend, and not contain everything I want anyway.

There is a farmers market once a month which I'm going to try for meat, but there are no butchers round here or anywhere except Tesco & Somerfield to buy meat. I'm not sure I'm organised enough to buy all my meat once a month.

[swiperfox]

Still doiung pretty well

Having trouble with meat as the meat wqe got from Dewhursts was rubbish - so not sure where to get meat from at the mo.

Fruit and veg are brill though

DD is becoming slightly nicer as well since she hasn't had any supermarket junk

[jenk1]

swiperfox-do u mean u thhink its affeting your dd in a positive way eating organic?

[swiperfox]

yes definately

[jenk1]

it cant be a conicidence then, my dd has eczema and all sorts of allergies, we have given her only organic veg and her special food that she gets on prescription and she,s like a new baby,she has developed this new personality,she,s into everything and has just started crawling,shes 16months by the way and hasnt done anything up to now just lay on the floor crying a lot, she has just been referred to a dev paed,i was only saying to dh something we,ve done has made a difference if only we knew that it was,the only thing is feeding her organic veg and her special food...spooky!

[swiperfox]

That's fantastic!! I honestly think that changing their food makes a world of difference and I would never give dd or ds (3.7 and 13 months) any supermarket rubbish again.

[NomDePlume]

We tried the whole 'farm shop for fruit and veg' thing, but when we got there we found that 90% of the stuff was all imported from exactly the same places at Tesco import from, only the farm shop was charging 50% more. Unless the farm shops (tried all 3 local ones) can stock local produce then I may as well save some money and buy it at Tesco !

[DissLocated]

Hi - hope you don't mind me butting in. I try to buy as little as possible from supermarkets as I like to support local businesses instead, partly for moral reasons and partly because it's more interesting. I think I'm lucky that I'm a sahm because dd and I are able to walk into town every day and do a little shop.

I'm veggie so don't buy meat but I've found it's best to just 'cherry pick' from different shops. It seems to be quite common for smaller shops to keep their fruit and veg on display until it's almost rancid. I tend to pop into a couple of local grocers (who I know source from local farms) and buy whatever they've just got in which looks nice.

This is supplemented by an organic box delivery once a fortnight and occasional trips to farmers markets, wi markets and the normal Friday market they have here.

I think it's just a matter of getting used to a different way of shopping. I now like the flexibility of picking up whatever looks appetising instead of planning a week's menus, doing a 'big shop' and sticking to what's in the cupboard.

[jenk1]

am off to post a thread on behaviour/development about how eating organic food changes your kids i cant do the link thing though

[swiperfox]

With the organic box deliveries, can you pay them cash when they come to the door or do you have to have a card to order it?

[jenk1]

i pay either cash or cheque

[swiperfox]

brill - i'll have to order one then - i hadn't bothered because i assumed everyone was ordering online with credit cards and we dont have one

[diapergenie]

I used to work in a 'farm shop' but as NomDePlume said, all the produce was sourced from the same places as supermarkets but the prices were that much dearer. Also the woman who used to run the fruit and veg used to leave the produce on the shelves until it was nearly rotting. They should not have been allowed to call themselves a farm shop, but it is obviously a loophole.
I gues the only farm shops to trust are the ones where you can see there are fields of produce at the back, and where the produce looks knobbly and interesting.

Are any of you guys working mums?
I am not, and often wonder if the only reason supermarket-avoidance is (almost) possible for me is because I am at home, and what would happen if I tried to go back to work?

[jenk1]

i am a SAHM but get my organic food delivered anyway so dont suppose it would matter if i was working or not, got a question for anyone in the know : DH wants to know can you get organic pizza anywhere?

[frannyf]

Hiya, Goodness Direct do loads of organic and healthy foods, including organic pizzas...I do most of my shopping through them or local organic shop and love not having to go to the supermarket any more!

goodness direct

[frannyf]

Here's the pizzas:

organic pizza

[mrwonderful]

was going to order but the delivery charge is £9.00....

[frannyf]

Mrwonderful, if you mean the Goodness Direct delivery charge is £9, it is in fact free if you order over £30 worth of stuff. There is however a £3 charge for the coolbox they deliver the frozen stuff in, yes, so it's worth ordering a lot of stuff at once, not just one pizza.

[jenk1]

what sort of things do u buy from them franny that are good

[frannyf]

Through shopping with Goodness Direct we now eat about 90% organic food I would guess. I don't buy their fresh fruit and veg as the prices are horrific! Much better to buy local if you can find it. But they do all the staples I need e.g. frozen organic veg such as sweetcorn and peas, soya milk, tinned beans, rice, pasta, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, lentils, margarine, flour, chocolate etc. which are all available as organic. They also do nice ranges of things like organic pasta sauces, mayonnaise, ice cream, jam, fresh things like hummus, even some organic ready meals which I think are pricey. Toilet rolls, eco-friendly cleaning stuff, deodorant and so on...there is very little we need that I can't get from there. They even have frozen organic oven chips LOL!

Not everything they sell is organic but it is a great way to avoid the supermarket. I do a huge order when I am virtually out of everything and save loads by buying in bulk (eg 3 kg raisins) but you could just get a few bits if you don't mind paying the delivery charge. A lot of the companies whose products they stock are either co-operatives such as Suma, or otherwise ethical, environmentally-aware producers such as Doves Farm, so I do feel like I am contributing to a real change in the way food is produced and marketed. I also use them to get ideas for new products to try, and then order them through my local organic shop, this way I can support the local community too.

Hope this helps! I think it's wonderful so many people are questioning how we buy food. Good luck to everybody trying to make a change.