I really want to avoid supermarkets as much as I can because I think they are deceitful places!

[LauraNorder]

After watching channel 4's food programme last night and finding out Oakham chickens don't come from Oakham, there's no such place as Willow Farm, most of our cheddar is imported I have decided to go local as much as I can.

Does anyone else do this and how easy/difficult do you find it? Is it going to be loads more expensive?

I don't go to the supermarket much because I am lazy

Eat fresh and make use of farmers markets, green grocers, fish mongers and butchers.

I think the only thing you will struggle to find locally produced is things like cereal. The sarnie shop/local bakery will have homemade bread.

I know, supermarkets/companies get away with far far far too much. I was disgusted at the aberdeen angus (I did know it was a breed, but I always pick this over argentinian beef and there was obviously no point!) - I only had one eye on it, what is waitrose like then? I can't imagine them being so sneaky. I wish I had time/££ to go around all the local farms etc. for local stuff.

We don't have a butchers or a green grocers in the town I live in which is such a shame. Half an hour away there is an abattoir and I thought with a bit of menu planning I could go there once a month and stock up.

There are a couple of farm shops fairly close to DC's school so I could visit them regularly.

We have a veg box once a fortnight and I could get milk from the milkman.

I thought an Internet supermarket shop monthly for washing powder/cleaning products etc might work.

That is the problem for me - is it going to be £££££ more?

Me too

I use a local butcher, baker, greengrocer, newsagent, hardware store, petfood shop and the market once a fortnight. I have to go to the supermarket to buy pasta, tinned tomatoes, teabags etc but will not feel bad about it. I have found the co-op are the best for clearly labelling products and sell a lot of fairtrade stuff. However, some items need to be cheap and you have to do what you can.

Check out whether you have a local milkman, loads of places do but don't know about it. Often they will deliver eggs and fruit juice too.

If you do your weekly/fortnightly supermarket shop (for dried foods, cleaning products etc) online you can often get discounts on products that are not in store and free delivery so could use some of that money to spend a little more on local fresh produce?

I have found using a butcher is actually cheaper as you get better quality meat for a better price, eg shin beef is nice and cheap and delicious, hard to get in a supermarket. To keep your trade local butchers will often advise you on the cheapest cuts and how to make the most of them

Sorry for the essay

Don't apologize Serendipity that's was great! Really pleased to hear you make it work - inspiration for my new cause!!

Sorry Serendippy

That's ok, silly name anyway! (Wanted to be Serenity but not serene enough)

Also helps to have time on your hands. When I was working full time it was all I could do to get to the supermarket once a week after work, really didn't fancy spending weekends traipsing around loads of different shops, so depends how important it is to you.

Our greengrocer does free delivery seasonal veg boxes, you pay whatever you want and get a 'surprise' of whatever he has in to that value, something else to check out.

If you go to the butcher regularly, am sure you could phone them on a Friday and tell them what you wanted, they could chuck it all in a bag for you ready to collect on sat to save time.

With local shops there is more scope to ask them what is going past its best and have that at a discount, no small business would rather throw someting away than sell it, even at a lower price. I think the trick is to get yourself known as a supporter of local business and produce.

I am a SAHM with 2 school children and a toddler so I do have time to shop locally - no excuse really! The more I think about it the more passionate I feel, I've been such a mug while thinking I was such a savvy shopper

I find it much cheaper getting my staple stuff locally. For example I got two (huge, barn raised) chicken thighs for £1.40 the other day. Dd2 has just bought some strawberries for £2.

I and agree with Serendippy about the butcher having the best cuts and they are always willing to give you ideas on what to do with them/how to cook them best.

It mostly depends on how much free time you have to go to all these places. I can go online and tell the supermarket to bring me things tomorrow and it hardly takes any time at all.

If you want English cheddar - "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" has one of those appelation d'origin denomination thingys (can't remember how to spell it or what it is in English ) such that it has to be made in the a certain place according to certain rules. So does Stilton. And Melton Mowbary pies.

It's easier for me to shop for local stuff because I'm lucky and it's all on my doorstep. The supermarket is further away. When I'm being really lazy if I can't get it from the butchers, allotments or greengrocers than you ain't getting it

I totally accept that Trillion and I am not posting on here to encourage others to shop locally for that very reason.

I just wanted to know from others who do avoid supermarkets how successful they are. I am not going to think I will never set foot in one again as much as I would like not to.

I didn't know that about west country cheddar - thanks! How about things like Wiltshire ham? It's knowing what names are PDO and which ones are being used to deceive you!!!

You have the right idea LauraNorder. I shop on line for tinned stuff, cleaning materials and infact any thing that isn't fresh food. Making use of your local shops if you have the time is the right way to go. I heard recently that loads of independent butchers are shutting down each week. Fortunately, mine is just hanging on. I value him for his advice, cheaper than supermarket meat and also ' would you believe it' he has plenty of free recipe leaflets for ideas. I am fortunate that I live within walking distance of my local shops and make every effort to use them in the hope of saving them from going bust. Serendippy - I do agree with you about the Co-op where I also shop. Out of all the supermarkerts I believe that they try to be the most ethical. The trouble is that they don't trumpet it loud enough. At present they have small market share but I am sure would do a lot better if they 'sung from the rooftops' about their well labelled and mainly British food.
My nickname should be 'grumpy supermarket cynic'. They have a lot to answer for in pulling the wool over our eyes. They are good enough to deliver my groceries but I avoid them for anything fresh.

Found a list of British foods with protected orgin here. It sounds like 'Wiltshire ham' doesn't mean much, sorry, someone could make Wiltshire-style ham not in Wiltshire.

I didnt watch the programme but knew about 'Oakham chickens' and the 'Wiltshire ham' and the 'Cheddar' and 'Aberdeen Angus' issue. Words like free range, freedom food, natural, traditional, low fat, low sugar and so on are also used by food producers and supermarkets to convey a message of healthy nutrition that confuses consumers. None of it is illegal of course.

I do think we should have far far tighter food labelling. Not just precisely what is in the food and which is usuually written in tiny writing on the the back of the pack but the qualitative descriptions that are written in big letters on the front of the pack.

I have been buying Wiltshire ham thinking that not only was I getting a good quality product but I assumed, wrongly, that I was buying local ham!

I've been out shopping this morning and found a lovely butchers and a local market

Getting stuff from small shops makes a huge difference with waste, too. My butcher wraps meat in paper and fruit and veg is loose, egg cartons are reused and bread is loose or in a paper bag. So fed up of plastic conainers! I keep as many as I can make use of but we get through so many chinese takeaways I can't keep them all and end up throwing them away.

So could save you money on binbags...

I am trying to avoid the supermarkets too. Money is tight for us. I budget £200 per month for food shopping ( Inc toiletries/cleaning stuff& cat food) for myself, dh and ds who is 3. I think supermarkets have too much control and are making far too much profit when small businesses are struggling.

Went to my local-ish farm shop today for the first time. Didn't really need much just wanted to have a look and check prices. The beef,pork and lamb is their own. The poultry, dairy, fruit & veg are all local.

I bought 2 big pieces of black pudding, 8 pork & apple sausages, a huge cucumber and a big tub of tomatoes for £6.65.

The chickens (around 1.9kg) we're around £10.

I tend to buy little and often so will definitely try buying local if we can afford too. I definitely wont miss going to the supermarket.

Laura you may have been buying a local product with Wiltshire ham, but there's just no EU rule saying you definitely have been.

Farm shops around here seem to be very pricey, apart from for eggs. I havest moved and don't go home via the 'egg lady's house' any more but I will try to make a detour for eggs that are supermarket size large or extra large and £1.30 for 6. (and extra yellow in the middle) I presume they come from happy chickens too, although I haven't checked.

We get veg from a local orgnic farm and eggs too. The veg is good value, we pay up front for a year and it works out a £7 a week. in summer you get alot of veg (though we eat more between the two of us and BLW ds) but we eat a lot of veg.

There is a farm near my folks that sell eggs, you can see the girls running around, They are in a barn but have access to out doors iyswim. The eggs are really cheep and fresh, £1.60 a doz and obv they keep for a month or so so we stock up there often.

I don't eat meat but Dh has the occasional bit. As it's rare we can afford organic etc and wouldn't buy it if we couldn't

Asian shops and chineese supermnarkets etc are great for lentils, rice, couscous, spices etc Some are also good for past and some canned goods

you may not get fair trade there etc if that's what you're after but at least you are lining the pockets of someone other than the supermarkets

I figure you have to decide what your priorities are. For us that is cruelty free, not battery etc. Even if you then occasionally nip in to tesco for milk or a ready meal you have a bare min you'll accept

At the end of the day it's better do do what you believe in fifty, ninety or twenty percent of the time, than to sack it off because you can't do it all the time iyswim

I get 2 lambs from a farm I know each october, which I freeze as joints. Much cheaper and I know where they came from.

I grow a lot of my own veg.

Have to rely on shops for staples and dairy produce.