Food - Back to basics!

leiela

I've used a butcher for months, my butchers lovely and all his meats are from local farms and are always great value, they arn't always cheaper on every item as the supermarkets but the quality is much better. last week i got about £60 worth of meat for £30 off mine ... better quality + cheaper = win win

This week i ventured to find a farmers market to buy all my fruit and veg, in the end i came with a local company that works with lots of farms in the region, helping local farmers get their produce out to local customers.

The guy at the company was super nice when i rang him yesterday super confused dead friendly with loads of reccomondations and help ... it was really nice you forget how impersonal supermarkets can be, he was able to tell me where all the items where from, which where "really good" harvests etc

Price wise it was slightly more expensive than the supermarket if you looked and it pound for pound, (cheaper on some items, more expensive on others)however when it arrived i was over joyed, it's all fab quaility you can tell straight away it's really fresh waaaaaaay better than the supermarkets. :T

He also does a "suprise box" which was £15 with loads of random items in it which if you price it up (which i did) did work out cheaper they only snag there is you get what your given.

The food was delivered about 2 hours ago i've had a good rustle though and yes im bad i weighed it all to see if he gave me what he said he did on my invoice, and tbh i got slightly more than he charged me for.

He also gave me a "special offers" leaflet and a leaflet of things that will be available next week... again snag is that it's very much a "seasonal list" they do do imported fruits and vegs but they are all explicitly labeled and tbh they are the items that cost more than the supermarkets so personally i'l be sticking with homegrown, besides i think it might be kinda interesting eating with the seasons.

Looking at the price list he gave, (huge booklet really) i've noticed they also do alot of home bakery stuff, dairy grains, meat, fish etc .... i'll be given that stuff a try next week especially the loaf of homemade granary bread (70p)!!

Tbh all im pretty darn impressed i don't think long term it's going to help me save "much" money the quality and having my money go to the people who produce it rather than huge shopping chains will more than make up for the few extra penny's spent.:A

natc

skintmumof3 wrote: »

you are lucky. i have to get everything from tesco as we don`t have a butchers or greengrocers in my town.
my town is like a ghost town. most shops are closing down. we have mainly charity shops and estate agent.....

Sounds like my town!!! But we still have few butchers and a market.

natc

angelavdavis wrote: »

Hi NatC, I have taken to buying meat from a local farm shop. You order the meat in advance and they have it butchered, hung and then packed into joints ready for the freezer. It works out slightly cheaper than buying free-range at the supermarket (£75 for a whole lamb).

When it comes to markets, you have a choice on what you actually buy. Don't be afraid to stop them if you are not happy with the items they select, just tell them "Oh not that one, thanks, that one, thank you!" Most of the farmers markets I go to, you choose your own produce and then hand them over to pay.

Thanks for that, I did go to a butchers once, cost me a fortune for something, cant remember, think it was gammon, and i didnt want to ask for other pieces so i took it and never went back lol!

natc

mummysaver wrote: »

I find that big supermarket veg can lack taste as it often seems to be picked before it's properly developed and ripened.

Here here!!!

Yes, will be asking them where the meat comes from too, i know its daft, but i thought they might think i was rude!

rachbc

natc wrote: »

Thats very interesting, where in the country are you?

Leeds - we are one of the few colleges that does butchery I think. We also do Hair and Beauty so I get cheap cut and colour and facials for free!

natc

Leila,

I agree with all that you said, i dont mind if the produce is slightly more exp, if its better quality, and its helping local business/farmers to keep going, and sod the big chains!!! lol. What is the company you have found called? I think thats brilliant.

natc

I didnt know leeds college did butchery!!!Well, lucky you, thats brill.

leiela

natc wrote: »

Leila,

I agree with all that you said, i dont mind if the produce is slightly more exp, if its better quality, and its helping local business/farmers to keep going, and sod the big chains!!! lol. What is the company you have found called? I think thats brilliant.

This is the website

http://www.northernharvest.co.uk/

the bloke was really nice, i know this company's still taking a cut out of the farmers pockets but i bet it's alot less than the supermarket chains and the veg is certainly fresher and it's abit more convenient for busy people like me who don't have alot of time to run about trying to work out where all the farmers markets etc are.

MichH

I have a weekly veg/fruit box from Riverford, which I top up with other bits I may need (has to be done by 8pm Sunday for delivery Tuesday). Never know what I'm getting so have to plan my meals around the box, but the quality is excellent and very tasty.

My meat I buy from Sheepdrove, I have this delivered - I probably place an order every couple of months. Because it's organic it is expensive, but I've learnt to use less meat in my meals to make it go farther to justify spending the extra. Again quality is excellent. I've also been to the farm and visited all the animals, they have open days so you can do this. It was brilliant being able to talk to the people that rear the animals, then you can go inside and chat to the butcher - very informative and helpful.

Teknophobia

In case anyone else is looking for local produce, you can try these websites. Just enter your postcode and it will bring up local producers/suppliers:

http://www.localfoodshop.co.uk/
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/