Where can I get cheap fruits

mamamia

I spend about £30 on fruits every week for a family of five. We tend to buy a variety of fruits (melons, apples, pears, mangoes, oranges,banana, grapes,nectarine, plums, and lychees when available). Does any one know I can cut the cost or any alternative to fruits. I would have considered having a fruit orchard but my garden is on a small size.

tr3mor

Where are you buying them? Try local markets or cheaper stores, Lidl often have fruit at half price.

otterspasm

Hi Guys,
I have found a local grocer who will pick up fruit and veg for me when he goes to the wholesaler market. So I buy eg. a box of 48 large Navel oranges for £10, a 20kg sack of onions for £5.50, a box of about 100 or so bananas for £11. I then share them with friends and we split the cost. He delivers for 50p too! I keep the stuff in the garage and it keeps for weeks. It might be worth asking your local greengrocer if they would do the same for you. HTH.

Penny-Pincher!!

OH normally goes to the market and we can pick up when in season:

12 apples-75p
12 bananas-75p
25kg spuds-£3-£4
grapes 1kg-£1
12 oranges-£1
Melons-50p
Kiwis-15p
15 Plums-75p
2kg Carrots-50p
5 Sweetcorns-£1

Tons more.

PP
xx

Debt_Free_Chick

mamamia wrote:

I spend about £30 on fruits every week for a family of five. We tend to buy a variety of fruits (melons, apples, pears, mangoes, oranges,banana, grapes,nectarine, plums, and lychees when available). Does any one know I can cut the cost or any alternative to fruits. I would have considered having a fruit orchard but my garden is on a small size.

If you had an orchard, out of that list you could grow

Apples & pears (available from Aug/Sep and you would need to store them overwinter)
Plums (available from Aug/Sep and they don't store)
Melons - in a greenhouse, but not easy. And they don't store.

Part of the reason your fruit is so expensive is that it's all imported from parts of the world where it's growing now and you pay to have them shipped here. The apples could be English that were picked in September and then stored - but I somehow doubt it.

Others have suggested where you might buy cheaper but, to be honest, most foods are only "cheap" when there in abundant supply. Usually, when they're grown in the UK and in season.

We eat far less fruit when out of season and simply up our veg intake instead. Current veg in season and should be cheap ...

Leeks
Kale
Calabrese
Cabbage (Spring Greens or Winter cabbage)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Winter lettuce
Lamb's lettuce
Chard - if in a cloche, polytunnel
Parsnips

And a few more that were lifted in the autumn and then stored e.g. carrots.

HTH

calleyw

I would say if you have a local market try there.

As at my local one 3lbs of Bananas, Apples are £1. They put a lot of the fruit out in only what I can describe as mixing bowls and then pop it in a carrier for you.

Some of the bowls have a couple of cauli's and a cabbage for a £1. Or this thursday they had a couple of pineapples in there for a £1, as well as bowl full of plums.

My mum buys bananas nearly every week and my dad eats 3/4 apples a day and he only likes royal gala.

Yours


Calley

Austin_Allegro

I buy from markets. One near me does offers like 20 apples for a pound, etc.

mamamia

otterspasm wrote:

Hi Guys,
I have found a local grocer who will pick up fruit and veg for me when he goes to the wholesaler market. So I buy eg. a box of 48 large Navel oranges for £10, a 20kg sack of onions for £5.50, a box of about 100 or so bananas for £11. I then share them with friends and we split the cost. He delivers for 50p too! I keep the stuff in the garage and it keeps for weeks. It might be worth asking your local greengrocer if they would do the same for you. HTH.

Thanks all for your contributions. At the moments, I get most of my fruits from Tesco and from Lidl when they are half price. It never occured to me that I could get them at wholesale price from my local greengrocer, I will give this a try. Does anyone know of any fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Manchester or Kendal area?

aussielle

It really is worth checking your local green grocers. I was buying all my fruit and veg from Tesco or Asda but recently compared the grocers, I can't believe how much money I've been wasting..

Just a few off the top of my head

Large strawberries Tesco £1.49 - grocers x2 for £1

Vine tomatoes Adsa £1.18 - grocers x3 packets for £1

Mangos Asda 2 for £2 - grocers 2 for £1

grapes aren't cheap in the supermarkets either but in the grocers a big seedless box for £1

I know where I'll be shopping in future and it aint Asda or Mr T's!