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Original poster

Why is it so hard to get fruit and salad?

279 replies

ItWillWash · 21/02/2023 05:45

Is it my area or a widespread thing?

I'm trying to order a small same-day delivery so I have lunches and breakfasts for today and tomorrow until I can do a big shop.

Morrisons have suspended deliveries on Uber due to low stock. Tesco is sold out of all varieties of tomatoes, pineapples and grapes and also don't have the yogurts I like. Asda has sold out of lettuce, cucumber, and grapes. Iceland have sold out of lettuce and cucumbers.

It was the same last time I tried to order food online. What's going on?

OP posts:
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5
Cherrysoup · 21/02/2023 09:43

How are we being gaslit when the fresh produce shelves are empty in some supermarkets? Hilarious!

Onesmallstepforaman · 21/02/2023 09:43

Also related to production costs here. With energy prices as they are, shortage of skilled staff; and supermarkets unwilling to increase what they pay the producer. This has led to British salad growers not sowing crops as their overhead is greater than the payment they receive. The resultant strains on other sources leads to shortages. The food chain is quite fragile.

WrinklesShminkles · 21/02/2023 09:44

From February the Tories massively increased the fine for lorries being found with clandestine immigrants, further disincentivising hauliers from serving the UK. So the difficulty in buying fresh produce has yet again increased to make a few xenophobes happy.
Enjoy your sovereignty salads.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/02/2023 09:44

Needed spinach and eggs yesterday, not a one to be had in Aldi or Lidl.

Brexit, mostly.

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 09:45

Gwen82 · 21/02/2023 09:43

500g cherry tomatoes at Waitrose for £1.50

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For 500g. That's a good price. I'll have a call in when I go that way. Thanks.

Gwen82 · 21/02/2023 09:48

I try to be flexible but I have issues around food and when I am restricting I can only eat "safe" foods. It's stupid I know, but I'd honestly probably just fast if I couldn't get any of my "safe" foods.

are you receiving any professional support OP?

Hollyhocksandlarkspur · 21/02/2023 09:48

Get Riverford vegetable box delivered. Supports local organic farmers and always amazing tasting veg.

Gwen82 · 21/02/2023 09:48

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 09:45

For 500g. That's a good price. I'll have a call in when I go that way. Thanks.

Show quote history

Wasn’t even on sale.

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 09:52

Needed spinach and eggs yesterday, not a one to be had in Aldi or Lidl.
Brexit, mostly.

Can't speak for spinach, but the eggs is avian flu and the consequent culling of flocks. Such a shame. The supermarkets have been rationing for a couple of months round us. Fortunately a friend of mine keeps chickens in her back garden so we've been OK.

kimchifix · 21/02/2023 09:52

In the past 2 weeks I've been to Lidl, M&S, Asda and Waitrose and didn't notice anything out of stock vs what they usually have. Waitrose have lowered some prices too.

jays · 21/02/2023 09:55

No tomatoes, cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli or carrots in supermarket. More was kissing but I was in a rush so that was at a glance. Poor guy replenishing stock was refilling chillies and potted herbs as that’s all there was to put out. Been like this on and off for weeks.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/02/2023 09:57

MarshaMelrose · Today 09:52
Needed spinach and eggs yesterday, not a one to be had in Aldi or Lidl.
Brexit, mostly.

Can't speak for spinach, but the eggs is avian flu and the consequent culling of flocks. Such a shame. The supermarkets have been rationing for a couple of months round us. Fortunately a friend of mine keeps chickens in her back garden so we've been OK”

The impact of avian ‘flu wouldn’t have been quite so bad had not so many poultry farmers thrown in the towel, post -Brexit because it messed up their business model. Same is happening with British fruit growers now, more and more just giving up.

flatpack1 · 21/02/2023 09:57

Why is all the celery so green now? Its very bitter

halfsiesonapotnoodle · 21/02/2023 09:57

Bad weather in Spain has led to this.

leithreas · 21/02/2023 09:58

It's the same in Ireland. In my local aldi the other week the only veg left in their super six for days was a great big pile of turnip. No berries. No salad.
It was the same this time last year until local salad started hitting the shops. I'm presuming it is the same this year, things that are home grown like sprouts and turnip there are loads of, things that have to be shipped in not so much.

So1invictus · 21/02/2023 10:06

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 09:38

I mentioned on the other thread about this- about £3-£4 for a tiny punnet of cherry tomatoes.

I love cherry tomatoes, but that's... woah! Certainly cheaper than that here. I think we've been spoilt in the UK with prices for so many years. Normally a pack of 6 salad tomatoes is 69p. Has been for more than a couple of years. I paid 85p a couple of weeks ago. And on Friday they were 94p. Just leaping up.

In the interests of this thread, I've just been to the supermarket 🤣 I was going to take a photo but the shelf stacker was there so I daren't. Ten different kinds of tomatoes- the cherry ones the cheapest at €2.99 but a tiny punnet of 8-9. The most expensive were "salad" tomatoes are €5.49 a pack of 5 tomatoes.
I bought two courgettes at €1.49 (but they're the cheaper big ones rather than the smaller ones) I wanted aubergines but at €4 for 2 I didn't want them that badly!

I think, in fairness, what happens over there is that the big chains cover some of the price hikes which makes it ridiculous but true that stuff here, grown/made here, costs less there. (Giovanni Rana tortellini is always a case in point. I've just bought a bag of that: €3.49, last time I was in Sainsbury's in November it was on offer at 99p)

The biggest price rises we've noticed here are butter (now at about €3.50 for 225g block) and vegetable oil for frying. Unsurprisingly it's now definitely cheaper to fry in olive oil than sunflower.

So1invictus · 21/02/2023 10:07

flatpack1 · 21/02/2023 09:57

Why is all the celery so green now? Its very bitter

It's a different type- UK fenland celery is the big, whitish, celery and the smaller bright green celery is cheaper and easier to grow. (Delia said so so it must be true!)

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 10:12

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/02/2023 09:57

MarshaMelrose · Today 09:52
Needed spinach and eggs yesterday, not a one to be had in Aldi or Lidl.
Brexit, mostly.

Can't speak for spinach, but the eggs is avian flu and the consequent culling of flocks. Such a shame. The supermarkets have been rationing for a couple of months round us. Fortunately a friend of mine keeps chickens in her back garden so we've been OK”

The impact of avian ‘flu wouldn’t have been quite so bad had not so many poultry farmers thrown in the towel, post -Brexit because it messed up their business model. Same is happening with British fruit growers now, more and more just giving up.

I don't know about business models but I never saw any rationing notices on eggs before this flu outbreak in December/January. There always seemed to be plenty of eggs on the shelves when I shopped for my mum. Have you been having shortages for a few years?

I do know that some businesses packed up because they didn't want to move away from the colony system as everything became cage free. It cut their profits. But I'm glad they've gone. The more humane we can be in egg production the better.

LadyKenya · 21/02/2023 10:15

Sadlifter · 21/02/2023 08:49

Exactly. Eat what you can buy, preferably seasonal and UK grown.

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I agree. I try to buy Uk grown as much as possible. I am always looking at the packaging to see where the food I buy has come from. I wish that I was able to buy all my veg/ fruit from a local farm shop. The problem is that I do not have one🙁

flutterbyebaby · 21/02/2023 10:16

My local tescos have been out of all tomatoes for weeks now

Sunnysal · 21/02/2023 10:27

I live in Spain and we've plenty of fruit and veg. And the weather has been OK.

MarshaMelrose · 21/02/2023 10:27

@So1invictus €5.49 for 5 tomatoes. 😲 I know they'll be better than the ones we have here, but I can't quite get my head round it.

Butter has shot up here too. I used to pay 3.89 for 500g of Lurpak, and it went up to 5.00. It's dropped a bit back now. I understand energy costs have gone up, so food prices go up. But will they fall when energy falls? Highly unlikely!

We've been so lucky with the cost of food in the UK, we sort of take it for granted. When I look back on how much food I used to waste, I feel quite ashamed. I'm so much more careful now and I intend to try and keep that up going forward.

Original poster
ItWillWash · 21/02/2023 10:28

@Gwen82 I don't feel I need any support at the moment.

@Hollyhocksandlarkspur That salad box seems expensive. I don't normally buy organic so that might be why, but wow, £15 for what amounts to a couple of meals! I can't afford that.

OP posts:
OhNoNotThatAgain · 21/02/2023 10:29

The supermarkets seem to be being over-cautious when it comes to online ordering and home delivery. Go into a shop, and they have stock. Random odd absences at times, but then there always have been anyway.

Marshmallowmountain · 21/02/2023 10:31

Can never get salad here, drives me mad