Supermarket veg tastes of nothing – why aren’t more people ordering from local farms?

[Bottlesofrumonthewall]

I have recently been told I am pre-diabetic, so I am kind of forced to change how I eat and cook. Even a few weeks ago I genuinely thought ready meals were great, but now I have realised I need to actually cook properly at home rather than living off beige convenience food.

Chatting to my neighbours, who are also diabetic, made me think even more about my habits.

What has always put me off is that supermarket fruit and veg often tastes of nothing. I ordered a local fruit and veg box a few days ago and was honestly surprised that the veg actually tastes of something.

I did have to wash the veg, which is fine, and I am also going to get milk delivered to my doorstep. I have to admit, though, something felt a bit off about ordering it through a parcel service, you never quite know what might happen. My only worry is someone might nick the milk, but fingers crossed.

I know they are more expensive per item, before anyone jumps on me, but they are also more environmentally friendly. And weirdly, it has worked out cheaper overall for me because I am not filling the trolley with impulse buy rubbish, there is just less for sale.

Just in the last two days I have made a curry and some scones, which is more actual cooking than I have done in ages.

I really do wonder why more people do not do this, do they just not know it is an option? There are lots of farms that will deliver to your doorstep with ice packs so meat and dairy arrive properly refrigerated and everything stays fresh.

I am genuinely curious, is it cost, convenience, or something else that stops more people using veg boxes and milk delivery? Has anyone else found this works for them, or do supermarkets just make life easier?

I'm not convinced we have local farms growing a variety of veg at this time of year.

I've had a look at a "local veg box" provider and they list about 14 vegetables, only 3 look to come from within 50 miles.

They also sell fruit, they could definitely source some of that very locally, but they are getting those bits from about 150 miles away.

Lots of reasons including availability and price.

I used to buy all of my fruit, veg and dairy through our local veg box delivery scheme, and agree that it tastes infinitely better than shop bought, and I’m going back to it from January. But it’s definitely a bit more expensive.

We are quite lucky to have a local organic Co-operative. Like a giant allotment! So long as you do a bit of work in the field you can buy pretty good value seasonal fruit and veg. If not you can still buy the excess but it costs a bit more. The taste is massively better than supermarket. I still had Aldi 8p veg for Christmas as it’s cheap and you can do a lot with a bit of fat and seasoning. Family of five though and we get through loads of fruit and veg. I think I buy about 12-15Kg of veg in the average week I suspect your average farm box would be a bit light.

Because there are none in the centre of massive cities?

For me, price. There are lots available in the city I live in, all far more expensive than Aldi!

I’ve had a veg box delivery in the past.

you get very good at googling “what to make with” the random veg you have never heard of that are in your box.

it was ok when I wasn’t working full time but it’s not compatabile with batch cooking at the weekend.

Yes, supermarkets make life easier. You don’t have to plan around what vegetables happen to be in your vegetable box each week - not always easy if you have fussy children, or a schedule which doesn’t always provide time for roasting a celeriac or making a soup from scratch. Plus cost. We order meat from a farm shop and it’s great meat but I can’t pretend that it’s not more expensive than going to the supermarket.

Erm, none of the farms near me grow crops.
Sheep, yes. Cows, yes.

Because much of the year they would be eating exclusively potatoes and turnips!? I get where you are coming from, I'm a veg box fan (the veg is nicer I agree) but it feels a like a bit of a luxury. I buy one of the cheaper ones and it's still pricey, and although you get some choice it's from a limited range. So if you're short on money, have small/fussy kids (kale for tea kids!!), or cant afford to subscribe to a minimum each week, then it's hard to make it work.

Find a large farm shop (ie the kind that can provide many of your basics, veg, fruit plus bread, milk and other staples) you'll pay a bit more but it's worth it for supporting local business and the taste.
Good luck with improving your diet. It can be a hard change but you've already noticed a benefit in the taste of your food.

It depends where you live. I got a veg box in a previous house, and I remember the carrots were weirdly delicious, and lots of it was good. Not terribly varied. Then I moved and it was crap! I do think it's luck of the draw.

Where I live now I'd be more likely to go to the greengrocer's if I wanted nice veg, and it is easy; again, that's very dependent on where you live.

Loads of reasons...cost, convenience, variety and choice.

How many people live in your household OP?

I know what you mean OP. I found that I actually do like apples when I ordered them from a farm shop. I really struggle with supermarket ones.
One of the problems I found with the veg box was that I got a lot of potatoes. And I don't eat them. One box was pretty much all root veg. Then there's the cost and the lack of convenience. I gave up in the end. Might try again.

I don't think it's difficult to imagine why people don't buy expensive veg and meat. Not unless you live in a bubble.

I buy the meat, fruit, and vegetables from M&S and it’s always delicious and perfectly fine. So that’s ok with me.

I don't order from local farms, as they don't work like that. But my greengrocer where possible does. It costs considerably more than supermarket (which is definitely a reason some people can't!) but the quality is amazing.

There's not many farm shops where I live but we do have fruit and veg shops but they are so expensive, we went for a drive 4 of us and got 4 bananas and 4 apples and they were 15.00 euro that's just crazy money for 8 pieces of fruit, my weekly shopping would be so expensive shopping there, unfortunately shopping local isn't always good value.

I buy from the greengrocer in the village where I live and agree the veg is much nicer and 95% is local. Yes it is more expensive but the advantage for me is I can buy the exact amount I need so less wastage, hence works out cheaper.

I had a veg box for a while but they ended up filling it with celeriac. There's only so much of that you can eat. I just buy a bag of potatoes or carrots as and when.

There is an organic local veg shop in my home town. I buy some veg there, but it’s seasonal and there’s only so much swede, carrot and sprouts I can eat over winter. It’s also not open past 5pm so not actually convenient for me on a working day. It’s also staggeringly expensive. So while I do use it, the supermarket is a lot more convenient and affordable and has a lot more choice in winter.

A 'bit' more 🤣🤣🤣

my local farm shop makes Harrods look dirt cheap.

You honestly think that supermarkets what…..well, what do YOU think plant carrots and spuds in to make them taste of nothing? Cos I promise you it’s soil. All veg is grown in soil and the vast majority of commercial salad is grown hydroponically and that it pretty tasteless.

I’ve got an allotment and the veg I grow is delicious but OSS for multiple reasons. It’s ultra fresh, I can choose the type and grow for flavour/colour/heirloom quality etc and Its organic. That’s what makes it better. In farm shops often they just leave the stick dirty and untrimmed to make it LOOK like it’s farm grown on site and amazing and healthy etc. Often it’s still shipped in from other suppliers and growers. I’m surrounded by little farm shops and every morning on the college run I see this tiny organic farm shop getting deliveries in refrigerator trucks and trays of veg and fruit coming off.

When we had a market l always got mine from there.. but alas more markets are disappearing.. .. if l go to a farm shop with a relative l will buy from there and yes it does taste better.. but doesn't last as long.

Hmmm... location. Price. Opportunity. Time. Knowledge. Availability.

This can't be a serious question, OP surely? You must know, surely, that your own situation is not the same as others. It would be like me asking why can't everyone grow an apple tree or two in their garden, when I can.

It’s partly how you cook vegetables eg roast brings out more flavour. My supermarket veg tastes great