I REALLY WANT TO KNOW - do you shop locally or in the supermarket???

[muuuuummy]

I am reading a book at the moment which really sets me thinking about whether I really need to use a supermarket for my weekly shopping. What do other MNetters do?

Meat from local butchers,top ups from village shops-major shop from supermarkets-just better choice and more convenient though I hate to admit it.
Do visit farmers markets when time allows but end up spending a fortune...

Feeling like I will trully make the big push to avoid supermarket shopping as much as possible.

How is it that the supermarket shop has become such an issue. I thought that government was supposed to make sure that no single shop got too big. What have they been doing with themselves....

Well I nip down to the local greengrocers for my fruit and veg. Their apples are not very good but I can pick those up after the school run. The meat and dairy produce is locally sourced from an organic producer only nine miles away. I go to small local grocery stores to buy loo-roll and comestibles. I nip into the delicatessen for luscious nibbly things in my lunch hour. THe local wine merchant handles our order for wine. There's a marvellous cheese shop only 18 miles away. Oh and I import my olive oil from Tuscany.

Oh okay that's all cobblers and I go to Waitrose or Sainsburys. Nice though it would be to make a career out of locally sourcing organic loorolls, the reality is that I work so time is at far too much of a premium.

So the theory is nice but in practice I cop out. Don't you?

Within walking distance I have

Somerfield (good for basics interim shopping)
Tesco metro (try to avoid using)
Spar (ok for emergency bits & bobs)
Chemist (sell good range of toiletries, nappies etc but pricey)
Off licence

Short drive but not on my way anywhere:

Butcher

Short drive & pass daily:

Tesco

No baker anywhere nearby, nearest farm shop a couple of miles but in the opposite direction of any of my journeys, so would have to make a special trip, but have recently found out they deliver

In my local town there is a real oldfashioned greengrocer, baker, good butchers etc, but would have to cover a certain amount of distance to shop in all...would need a trolley thingie or go very frequently

then have to pay to park / bus fare

It is do-able but I don;t really bother

And what about things like cheese, youghurt etc......

right, you did ask...
butcher - lots, chicken(fr) beef and lamb but not pork usually because it is british but not free range.
fishmonger - occasionally, i know i am lucky to have one but they only seem to stock frozen stuff
greengrocers - often but not for main stuff and seldom fruit. they stock whatever is cheapest rather than what is actually nice and in season. no danger of organic either.
waitrose - every week.
somerfield - bits and bobs would never willingly eat any of their food.

we spend a lot of money on food (and drink) but we never eat takeaways and seldom eat out

It's not A Life Stripped Bare is it Muuuuuuuumy? That got me thinking but I live in the backward North East where there is not even an organic box delivery in 30 miles

oh, i live in london. waitrose is a car journey, the rest are local.

That's the problem with supermarkets. They're too convenient. And they know it. And the local shops can't keep up with our expectations. Our local greengrocer isn't open at 9.30pm for example. How can he?

Online for most of it.
Milk delivered.
Local butcher and greengrocer maybe once a fortnight, bread from little local co-op, independant chemist. Farmers market once a month but it's quite expensive.

We're really lucky here because the farmers' market is a proper farmers' market, not just an overpriced RiverCottagey enterprise.
Also we have good greengrocers, 2 butchers, fishmongers, health food shop & 2 delis in the nearby market town and some fab shops and market in York.

We have found since trying to minimise our supermarket shop that we eat far, far better and save money (because supermarkets are very good at tricking you into thinking they're cheaper than everyone else).

It has been really fun - it does take a bit of time, but basically you just have to make food a key part of your retail therapy habit.

Think I must be really lucky and I didn't know it. Locally we have several branches of co-op, somerfield, 3/4 farm shops, 3/4 butchers, bakers, delis and that's not the end of the list. Wierdly, as we are on the coast, there are hardly any fishmongers.

We get milk and yoghurt as part of our veg box delivery. Save time that way.

Fish van at market? Is there any trace of a fishing industry left where you are?

I get my fruit and veg from our local greengrocers and we have a fab butchers. I do an online Sainsbury's shop once a month for the basics and have to get milk from our local Tesco since I got rid of the the milkman for being so unreliable. Make my own bread so don't need a bakers.

oh yikes, aspire to have an organic veg box, butchers & fishmonger visit once per mnth and staple groceries from tesco but in reality had to cacnel the veg box as was continually rotten and bad value 4 money ! So now use local farm shop for veg - at least I'm doing the carbon footprint thing, even tho it's not organic ! would far prefer to shop locally, altho I wish waitrose was nearer...

Also - does it count if your local farm shop stocks imported veg (presumably to fill gaps when veg are out of season here?)

Is is in some way a cheat?

Waitrose for most stuff - dairy, veg, cleaning stuff, bread. Fantastic local butchers for meat, ditto fishmarket for fish (well, we are on the coast!)

We don;t have a decent greengrocers or bakers, otherwise I would use them. Hampshire has loads of farmers markets, so we go to them as well.

I did use Riverford, but we ended up throwing stuff away all the time.

Here goes:

Meat: local butcher who sources local meat and farm shop who sell their own beef which is tastier than any other local stuff and much cheaper
Chicken: Farmers market, it's free range and local and resonably cheap ie much cheaper than supermarket free range
Fruit and veg: local shops/market and an organic veg bag (ours was the first delivery scheme in the UK and is fab)
Cheese: market/deli
Stuff not included above comes from Booths (NW supermarket but renowned for their local sourcing) and aldi

Yes it all takes probably more time and more planning but I actually find I enjoy shopping this way and enjoy the challenge of keeping the cash out of the big supermarkets pockets

Hate, hate, hate, hate all the big supermarkets, they have no regard for anyone or anything beyond their profits and their shareholders.

" - does it count if your local farm shop stocks imported veg"

Depends what your aims are in buying local.
I don't think many people could manage without some imported veg (no lemons?). I try to make the most of produce in season but equally I'm not going to do without tomatoes all winter, and I'd rather my organic box people made the money from importing them than Sainsburys.

I gave up supermarkets over a year ago. I shop locally and get fruit/veg boxes delivered.
Go on, boycott the nasty big shops!!

A lot of organic box schemes (including mine - Riverford) will not supply anything which has been air freighted and the emphasis is firmly on as local as possible.

I do costco for meat eg mince stew chicken breasts, soap powder.

fruit market for fresh fruit and veg

asda for bits and bobs

I do costco for meat eg mince stew chicken breasts, soap powder.

fruit market for fresh fruit and veg

asda for bits and bobs

90% in supermarket and 10% my local shop - if i run out of bread, milk and butter..so i cant be bovvered going aaallllll the way to the supermarket for those 3 things