food shopping savings

clutterydrawer

higgler wrote: »

Hi all this is new for me but i always read the threads and i have to say i cannot understand why people are not using their local markets !!

How about because everything I buy from there goes off within two days or less. And some of the things aren't even any cheaper than the supermarket.


Just because your local market is good, doesn't mean they all are.

broclo

I think it really must be area dependant

Where I used to live the farmers market was 20-50% more expensive and really only sold speciality produce.

Where I now live the produce at the local market is admittedly dirt cheap, but it really is only good if you are using the salad that very night, so a false ecomomy if it all needs chucking the next day really.

However, there is a brilliant local Turkish Supermarket and their Veg is upto 1/3 off the main supermarkets and tastes so much better and will last for ages, great as they do massive sacks of onions for £1, 3 cucumbers for 80p etc.

I also find other local Ethnic Supermarkets fantastic for rice, pasta, various grains and of course white vinegar for cleaning lol. You can often get 4 x the amount compared to a supermarket. Plus the basmati rice is of a fantastic quality.

foreign_correspondent

farmers markets are a different kettle of fish to your regular markets - they generally focus on locally produced, specialist produce and are about quality and something different, rather than economy - howevr, the regular markets are cheaper than the supermarkets, that's for sure!

rosalie-lavender

I live nine miles from the nearest town so a trip to the virtually non existent market is quite a time consuming visit and certainly not worth it for the fruit and veg. I tried our local farmers market and although the meat was good the fruit and vegetables were dreadful. The quality was far worse than I had been buying in Tesco's.

When I am in town I try to buy from the fruit and veg stall that is in the local shopping centre. Their quality is generally good but it isn't a feasible option on a regular basis because the petrol/bus fare spent far outweighs the saving.

I have been having an organic box delivered and find that quite good. The quality is so good that it keeps for ages and the lack of wastage offsets the extra cost.
Our village has recently set up a veg scheme where you buy a big bag of fruit/veg for £3 so I am going to give that a go next. Apparently it is a government initiative so it might be worth looking to see if it is being set up in other places, especially for people like me who don't drive.

milliemonster

I live around 7 miles from my nearest supermarket (Tesco) which is open 24 hrs and offers free parking, the nearest market to me is 15 miles away, nearest parking is 1 mile away from it, always full and costs £3 per hour, this market is great but only on on Tues/Fri and Sat (Sat is when you can't get parked), as I work during the the week there is no way I can get there, only on a saturday and I can't get parked!

So it's back to Tesco....

cyclingyorkie

our local daily market has some lovely stuff - if I go after 3pm I'll get the fruit cheaper as they try to get rid of it. Great fish stall too!

carriebradshaw

higgler wrote: »

Hi all this is new for me but i always read the threads and i have to say i cannot understand why people are not using their local markets !! you will find especially with the fruit and veg stalls they have gone to the fruit market early that morning rather being stuck in giant supermarket hubs you are only paying for this mans wages not a conglomerate with boards of directors and shares to divi up....do the maths.. use your local markets it has been proved they are up to 25% cheaper

there are no markets where I live so I can't

tessie_bear

i think fruit and veg from the local market can be great...it can also need using straight away so can be stored easily...seasonal stuff is good on our local market

higgler

I would like to thank everyone for all their comments,and it seems a bit sad that not everyone has a local market,and that some people have had a bit of a bad experience with them,and yes your local farmers markets are normally a bit more expensive, i must admit even when on holiday i try to visit local markets i do enjoy the athmosphere and trying to barter (doesnt seem to work as well in this country) but you can normally tell if you will be able to have a deal or not .... anyway thank you everyone i do get a little angry when we all seem to except the big 4 are the only shopping experience :beer:

mum26

I used to happily buy our fruit and veg on the market, we are a family of 8 and love fruit in particular so I would spend £15 plus at a time... then the stall changed hands and instead of 3 or 4lb apples for £1 you get a plastic bowl full, same with pretty much all the produce - bizzarely including fresh ginger, huge amount! - so t buy what I need would be an absolute fortune and often the quality is a bit hit and miss. It is a shame but I don't want to shop like that and can't afford to spend the money then have to chuc it all and re-buy.