Market Fruit & Veg, Cheaper? Better?

empy

Good morning:wave: well as today seems to be pay day I have been concentrating on my budget for the month ,its looking ok so far, I think:T . Now the question is, I have decided to give the supermarkets a miss and only use local places and the coop to reduce my food miles. Now I am very fortunate that there is a farm literally at the end of my garden that sells all the meaty and chicken stuff that I need.
I plan to get stuff like washing powder and grocery items from either the coop or the old fashioned arkwrights store in my village. This just leaves fruit and veggies, now in my location I have access to a market on a Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, my question is are market veggies and fruit cheaper and better quality than the coop?

Many thanks
empy

Emuchops

I used to live in Coventry which had a fantastic market. The fruit and veg from there was fantastic-fresh and cheap, and loads of choice (but you had to know which stalls were good and which were not so good). It was great for fish and meat and ethnic veg as well. The market is the only think I miss about Coventry.....

itsallinthemind

We have two. The farmers market, lasts well, tastes great but well above supermarket prices. I only buy apples as they are worth the money. The standard market is cheaper than the supermarket but does not last well. Out of all three-the standard market tastes the best.

sinw

Not my market lot stuff is past best, ok if buy as u use

tessie_bear

i find markets to be cheaper on the whole and seasonal stuff is usually great...i sometimes find that the fruit and veg doesnt last that well...but that isnt a problem if u use it up

TravellingAbuela

sinw wrote: »

Not my market lot stuff is past best, ok if buy as u use

As far as the fruit and veg stall in our market hall is concerned, then I am with sinw on this. I rate it as substandard quality and it needs eating straightaway as it is soon past its best. However, last week I visited an open air market in North Yorkshire on market day and the fruit and veg were excellent in quality and very competitive in price. Far superior to the stock in my local supermarkets and a better price too. As with everything else, it seems you need to shop around.

Teahfc

You will have to pick and choose what you buy from market stalls.
The better quality they sell will be product that is generally product that is over supplied at the current time.
The Product that has been reselected and not suitable for the supermarkets quality is sent to wholesalers up and down the country who sell to market stalls. The standards are that high with some supermarkets that the product unsuitable can be chosen because of a blemish or a slight misshape so not really a problem.
Always go to stalls that select your own rather than serve you as SOME show one product and serve you from another !

The Co Op are the worse supermarket for profit margin ! they request 52% which is 20% more than ASDA ! shocking for a company that promotes green issues and fair trade :mad:

jenniewb

I don't think all markets were created equally.

I have a market about 2 buses from where I live (or 1 and a 10 min power walk) and the veg seems to last about 2 or 3 days, the fruit wont last beyond 2 days.

However, if I go to an upmarket market like Borough Market I can get as much as a week out of fruit and similar if not longer from the vegetables. They do cost more but most of the time the quality is fantastic and they are either Orgainic, grown in the UK or both. I do think you get what you pay for but you gotta have the money to spend the money...

The reason for the change in freshness is because many items are frozen with liquid nitrogen or similar. They are then kept in storage and piled high, the stores then have alot of sometimes not even in season fruit and veg, and can sell it cheaply. They tend to keep for longer as they have been kept so 'well' for so long but often lack in taste.

dogstarheaven

i definitely make it a rule not to use the indoor market where i live as yrs ago when i first moved here i thought it'll be the best place. nope, i was completely wrong, not only you cannot touch the produce, but they put out the best-looking ones on the front and in the back, you'd be given all the bruised, battered ones.. thankfully, there's a few grocers i can go to in the suburbs (yes, longer to travel) where i can pick my own. some are English-owned and some Asian ones. These I find most reasonable. Ideally, I would buy from a farmer's market or a farm shop but either they're too expensive or you need a car to get to one.

Sarsie

My partner is a market trader, has been for 30 years.

The answer is it all depends on the stall holder. You are more likely to get good value from a stall holder who is selling thier own grown produce (like your chicken farm) than one who buys from a supplier (because the supplier needs to see a profit too) but even then you may be surprised. Unlike a supermarket of any kind a stall holder is usually his own boss and can therefore set his profit margin where he likes, he could be on 5% if trading in huge volumes or on 500% if he's trading to a specialist niche, there are no hard and fast rules at all. Supermarkets tend to work to a certain amount of rules, even if they are variable to a degree, such as that they will often have certain items on sale below cost price (often fresh produce) to get you through the door.

Most stall holders will try to compete with supermarkets either on cost or quality. With supermarkets getting ever more ruthless (they are selling my partners line cheaper than he can get it from his wholesaler for example) many are now moving to offering superior quality at a fair and comparable price.

On the whole, without being able to see the particular stall you're shopping from, my guess would be they're likely to be close to the cost of Co-Op but they're also likely to be trying to offer you superior quality to keep you coming back because that's where traders find it easier to compete. So if you care about your cookery I suggest trying your local market traders fresh produce, you may like it better.

Sarsie

Having just read the other replie can I also add... I live in a rural area where farming for staple foods is all around and I have never heard of a producer, wholesaler or trader using nitrogen to freeze foodstuffs. Not that I'm saying it doesn't happen, I believe those members who say that it does, but I wonder if perhaps that practice isn't entirely widespread throughout the industry. I also used to be good friends with a wholesaler of fresh produce (fruit and veg) and I know I spent enough time in her warehouse (chatting and selecting my next meal) to have seen how food was stored there and anything she had in a freezer was what you'd expect, for example pre-packed rasperries designed to be sold to the customer frozen. She was supplying the same food to local shops and restaurants as well as to markets. Don't get me wrong, I believe bad practice does happen, but I have to say to be fair in my experience it's not widespread.