Breaking the Tesco habit. Day 7...

[BrummieOnTheRun]

Two things kicked off this experiment:

1. A growing discomfort at donating almost our entire household budget (and some) to a retailer I feel more and more dubious about. A documentary on their food quality was the nail in that particular coffin.

2. An urgent need to cut the household budget!

But can I boycott Tescos - one of the cheapest retailers - AND reduce our spending? Hmmm.

Day 1: go to Neville's shop. Asked why veg box hasn't arrived as ordered. Neville tells me he's been burgled by kids and they've cleaned out a lot of stock and the money he had on the premises. Neville's nearly 70. He looks like he's been floored. Wonder what would happen if we all just channelled a proportion of our spending to people like Neville. He gives me a free real nappy to try and we have a nice chat!

Next day, run out of washing up liquid. Go to local corner shop. And buy...washing up liquid. NOTHING ELSE!! That's a first.

Over the week have shopped at about 7 different stores and stalls for things I'd have bought exclusively from Tescos. 2 were a complete rip off, with food that went off immediately. But found a couple of stars.

There's no way I could do this if I was working full time. Wish more small shops would do home delivery.

Gave in and went to Tescos on B/Holiday. Bad planning.

But at the end of the week:

• Our bins, for the first time EVER, are not overflowing on collection day.

• We seem to be almost completely vegetarian, which is difficult because we don't eat pasta/bread much. good meat is far too expensive, and not sure i trust local butcher.

• I've used cash almost exclusively. That wasn't the plan but I now think me and DH should start setting a weekly budget in cash and stop using debit cards.

• I don't know yet if we've spent less money, but we've definitely wasted less.

But now I have to load 2 kids + baby into the car to go and find nappies. They would normally have arrived on the back of their own lorry with guilt-ridden regularity.

And next week will be a challenge. The big stuff - washing powder, dishwasher powder, shampoos, etc - are running out. Tesco very cheap for this stuff. Do I give in and give them my money, or spend more money somewhere else? Hmmmm....

Really compelling article about shopping in Lidl in the Times topday (I love Lidl too):

Lidl in The Times

4 new Tescos have or will open within walking distance of my place in the last ?8 months (time flys) that's not counting the one we had allready!!
Personally I shop locally as much as poss

FOUR?! That's ridiculous, but they'll all be packed. We get hooked on the convenience. They are SO good at what they do; and I used to think they deserved their success.

But you wouldn't bother even trying to open a 'competing' small business in that area would you?

So much small business is going to be killed or be subsumed into this homogenising machine, and we'll be left with a choice of 3 or 4 huge shops with nothing to differentiate them but their logo.

Their suppliers will be cheap overseas producers. UK producers that survive will be huge factory-style operations. The rest will have given up, there just won't BE small, innovative little companies.

And we'll all be Tesco's employees or suppliers! Paid a pittance and unable to fight because Tesco will be more powerful than the unions. They'll build houses for their employees to keep them on minimum wage and 'own' them. (okay, all that's clearly ridiculous, but you get my point ).

I really hope enough people seek out good little independent businesses and trying to keep them going. We'll be living in Tesco's country if we don't all go down the farmers' market!

Brummie read your thread with interest - If I remember right you're really local to me I think - nr Sackville Road no? - I too try to avoid Tesco whenever possible but haven't managed a total boycot yet - Co-op (Blatchington road and also by the greyhound stadium) are really good nowadays - fruit and veg much nicer than Tescos and much more British stuff than the George St grocers. Supermarket leaders in Fairtrade too I think. We have an allotment too but we're nowhere even approaching the road to self sufficiency! Still makes us look like ecowarriers on paper, particularly as we dont run a car either. Wish we had a decent farmers market near us - the hove stn and george st ones are very pricey I think and not so great on choice either. The fish man in the shed along from the king alfred is great though as is RC Seckers the butcher in Richardson Road - its a bit of a treck mind you. I'm quite looking forward to having a buggy again when new baby comes in August - have to use an old lady trolley for big shops now if I want to avoid an online one and DH is too embarrased to use it!

Old lady trolleys are set for come back you're just ahead of your time, treacletart!

(tks for the local tips, btw, I've been looking for a half decent butchers... and good luck with the baby! how exciting!)

umm the 'big' one isn't often packed the express I visited once for juice on a very hot day whilst 'making' kids walk home was pretty empty (just realised I forgot a fifth but it's in a garage and has been there for 2/3 years). This prompted me to the farmers market today got 2 meals and some delish goats cheese. BUT I am really disappointed with fruit and veg, Sains. is all imported, guy on market stall was rude to my kids (no they weren't touching his stuff and no provenance),farmers market REALLY expensive and no provenance and all sellers Polish so can't ask where from, local organic shop very expensive and still imporst loads, end up eating seasonally from Sains. with a bit of frozen and a bit extra any one any ideas? Looked into organic boxes but suspect they don't deliver after work!
Yeah several shops local to these have shut down and opened as ...... Cafe Nero so that's alright then. (Used to like them but fed up of all the smokers so it's local independent cafe for us for now)

fruit & veg is a difficult one.

-the box people DO tend to deliver late in the afternoon, but not sure how late. worth asking the question, because this must be a problem for most people.

• larger national companies like Abel & Cole may be in a better position to do that???

• is there a local greengrocers who'd be willing to deliver if you ordered all your stuff from them? A £10/£15 order might make it worth their while, particularly if delivering to businesses near you?

• is there a co-op near you, as per treacletart's suggestion?

small companies are going to have to step up the market and realise the world's fundamentally changed for them.

they MUST have good service, and home delivery is going to have to make a resurgence because people who work will not spend their entire weekends sourcing food...particularly from rude market stall holders!

www.vegboxschemes.co.uk

1Dilemma, is there anywhere a vegbox company could leave your box? Ours asks for instructions as to what to do if you're not in (eg garage, by back door) as they can't guarantee what time of day they will be delivering. Obviously that depends what sort of a place you live in though....

Re. farmers' market and provenance, I'm sure you could get the info if you pushed a bit - say if you left a note for the seller to give his boss? Because they are small companies they are likely to be prepared to go to more trouble for an individual customer than a supermarket. (Though if it is overpriced anyway I see why you may not want to bother.)

Lovemybed, there are 2 fabulous books about supermarkets, Shopped by Joanna Blythman and Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence if you are interested. Sounds like quite a heavy topic but I was gripped by both.

Brummie, have been reading this thread on and off and you have raised some very interesting points and given me lots to think about.

Have been thinking about using Tesco online for a while but looked at your veg box link and there's a very local place which will deliver or i can order online then go and collect it so will be giving that a try.

Thanks

thnaks guys will look at links was going to call them and see have even thought about work.. and trying to start them delivering to the kids nursery. I just need some more choice looked at some boxes at weekend (had to stop to shout at dh lol) will try again.
I did see a 20 pound orgsnic chicken there at the weekend!!
No no where to leave it I worry about leaving the post on the inside here !! Our milkman delivers at 2 am I guess that's why! (either that or the poor guy works vv hard doing 2 jobs)

Interestingly, I went to a local farmers market last weekend (we used to go all the time before we moved house). Among other things, I bought a lot of very good beef mince, some braising steak and some burgers from a local beef farmer. I worked out yesterday that it was actually cheaper than if I'd bought inferior stuff in Tesco.

great idea, 1dilemma, about getting them to deliver to the nursery! They could get the kids to sort the veg into the boxes for them. Actually have they got room at the nursery for a veg patch? I'm a big supporter of slave labour particularly if they're too short to answer back.

The 20 quid chicken's a shocker. (Better have been a bloody happy chicken).

It's a real treat now when we have meat...I sound like a 1940s housewife: greeting the veg man at the door, cooking what I can get on deals and savouring meat when I get it!

So either it's profoundly stupid to deny 60 years of progress, or they had it right in those days, spending more time and money (in relation to their income) on feeding themselves and less on chasing some consumer dream which you have to work all the hours god sends to afford, and cutting corners on the important stuff. I'm starting to get a kick out of NOT spending money on non-essentials! How's that happened?!

I guess the cost of housing has a lot to answer for. That's where most people's money goes.

We had a £12 chicken once and it was enormous and absolutely fantastic - we got so many meals out of it it will have come in at less than £1 a portion not including the lovely stock I made from the carcass. It's a lot of money if you compare it with a £2 chicken but if you compare it with, say, an evening at the pub or an item of clothing it works out quite well in terms of the amount of pleasure for your ££££.

A £20 chicken would have to be massive, though - practically a turkey.

A £20 chicken would have to have been reared in its own penthouse apartment on bleedin' caviar IMO

feathers shampooed and set daily by a celebrity plumage-dresser

I have my veg box left in the children's play house. DD (aged 3): "Mummy somebody's put something in my house" in most indignant voice. It works fine for me. I have started using Asda less, but not enough less, and trying to buy meat from farm shop and some fruit/veg, with bulk from the box and some still from Asda. I need to get a milkman. We only have a corner shop locally and the quality/variety of the fruit/veg is a bit dubious. Although they have bottles of wine for £10 deal on similar brands to Asda's deal. So my issue is having to drive to farm shops etc.

My dd and I spend half of Friday guessing what vegetables the vegetable man is going to bring...
'Bring onions?'
'Yes, he will probably bring onions.'
'Bring tauliflower?'
'Yes, he might bring a cauliflower.'
'Bring bagpipes?'
'No, I don't think so.... and they're not really a vegetable.....' - we have no idea where she gets this one from.

Shouldn't have started reading this. Will have to have a good look at my shopping list and work out an alternative route for tomorrow morning now. It was going to be: Fabby local-ish Wholefood shop for fruit, veg and some other stuff, followed by Tesco for everything else.

Will now have to feature the butcher's, and a little wander up the road in search of limescale remover and milk formula!

Enjoy, purpleturtle! I found the best bread in the world today at a bakers I'd totally forgotten existed, got a mega-deal on my facial cleanser then picked up fantastic gourmet sausages (for under £2) from the butchers for dinner.

And then I lost 5lbs pushing it and 3 kids back home! feeling very good about the world.

(Kathy, thanks for that post about your veg box discussion. it made me grin)

I've already had to change my planned meal for tomorrow night because there's no fishmonger very locally anymore. It does get complicated avoiding supermarkets, doesn't it?

Should be able to combine a trip to a good fishmonger and Wilkinsons on Thursday though, I think.

I loved Kathy's post too.

We are very fortunate to live over an hours drive from our nearest Tesco!!
I save money by not going there by just buying what we need rather than just because its on offer.
Our local Co op is fab and although meat from the butchers is more expensive we need far less as quality beats quantity

sshhhhh notasheep! they'll find you!

It was an orgsnic chicken!!
You guys seem to get some really good deals .
I too am beginning to get a kick out of not buying things!! sometimes dh and I list off all the things we didn't buy to each other! Then I like to buy some things that are really nice eg fab banana cake from local farmers market lasted 2 weeks, or TTD biscuits (from Sainsburys) at least that way I don't eat the whole packet or if I do it's a small packet.
There is a website that will tell you who your local milkman is and how to contact I found it just by googling milk delivery or similar.

1dilemma you're a star - I'd been looking for a milkman for ages and I never thought to Google