The Rising Cost of Food

FoxFace

catznine wrote: »

I was treated to a toby carvery roast dinner last week and saw the chef/carver get a new freshly cooked turkey from the kitchen and just chuck the older one into the bin! :eek: It still had loads of meat on it and could have fed us for a week at least!!!! They must be throwing away so much meat over the course of a day, it didn't even get to the kitchens for stock for the gravies! I had to bite my tongue I was so shocked! My dh just laughed as he is often amazed at my os ways but it was the way I was brought up. When are they going to wake up to the fact that this kind of waste is senseless?

I am not sure I could have held my tongue, that is an obscene waste! You would also think that businesses would want to get the biggest profit out of the ingredients they buy, so the fact they didn't whip up a batch of stock or turkey soup or something, it doesn't make sense morally, economically or financially does it?

Although I love Parsons' idea about using waste food to feed people at drop in centres too! :T

lillylei

I just want to say a massive thank you for the tip about deli cheese, I would never think to buy it there but $.99 p/kg is half the price of say cathedral city.

Will read this thread with interest as Ive noticed that in just 2 months my shopping has jumped up by about £20, not so much a problem now but Im loath to spend that much more when a bit of frugal and smart shopping could save me pennies

ceridwen

bonnie_bumpkins wrote: »

Fabulous advice!! This is a really good way of looking at things. I will write ADDED VALUE in big letters on the top of all my shopping lists and put a post it on my PC for when I do an online shop.

:eek: Please tell me you mean odds and ends of cheese and not anything else _pale_ I can't imagine any bits of cheese I wouldn't use, unless it had mould on it - I put the 'crust' of stilton into soup and when whizzed up with the veg it tasted lovely

[/QUOTE]

Re "ready grated" cheese in supermarkets - I am now racking my brains as to where I spotted comments from peeps working in cheese factories about them basically regarding "grated cheese" as a good way to flog off bits of cheese we wouldnt take by choice <ahem>.

I just recall the general message and thinking "Noted - no ready-grated factory cheese for me then....".

Is there anyone out there reading who works in a factory like this and can tell us the facts on this please?:) (ie to make up for my memory on this....)

ceridwen

parsonswife8 wrote: »

That's a disgrace. I wish that there could be a scheme whereby some towns could have a big drop in centre, with some cooks and chefs who could make meals from food left over in places like the Toby and supermarkets.

Cooked meals like soups and stews and bread and bread rolls, to be served at the drop in centre, especially in the winter.

Even if only a few supermarkets and restaurants got involved, it could make such a difference to the wastage of food and people going hungry.

Could be run by local councils.

There is....

...at any rate the "makings" of such a scheme:

www.foodnotbombs.net/

FoodnotBombs is very much a group that is in process of trying to take off in Britain at the moment - but I see it personally as the basis for something like this.

On the other hand - some peeps will live in a big enough/urban enough location that there might be something like a Hare Krishna group there giving out free meals when needed. There are also various more "radical" type Christian groups that might possibly have something going along these lines.

EDIT:...and in the "Food not bombs" handbook link on their website are various recipes for large groups (copy duly printed off by me some while back for when this became necessary - oh I can be such a pessimist/realist sometimes.........).

www.foodnotbombs.net/bookrecipes.html

euronorris

Reverbe wrote: »

we would send plates of biscuits for meetings that would come back totally untouched and we were not allowed to put them back in the tin. i actually wept after my first day to think of all the waste and starving people in the world.

That is one of the reasons I always take what's left away with me, and encourage others to do the same. Even if it's sandwiches I don't like, or they have cheese in them, I know OH will eat anything I don't.

I just know they'll be thrown away otherwise and I can not bear that thought!

valk_scot

euronorris wrote: »

That is one of the reasons I always take what's left away with me, and encourage others to do the same. Even if it's sandwiches I don't like, or they have cheese in them, I know OH will eat anything I don't.

I just know they'll be thrown away otherwise and I can not bear that thought!

Hubby is notorious for taking away plates of sandwiches etc from meetings and stacking them in the staff room fridge for his lunches over the next couple of days. He even asked me for a couple of ice cream tubs to keep in his office for this. He also takes all the biscuits back to the staff room for general use. The catering staff don't mind a bit about this though I do wonder if they think I don't feed him at home? :rotfl:

Confuzzled

wilding_arms wrote: »

If there's a Mr M by you check the prices in the deli counter. I have been buying their Canadian mature cheddar for a few months now. At £4.99 per kilo it's less expensive even than their Value cheddar and tastes a lot better. Often less expensive than things that are on special too, they're having Seriously Strong on half price now and the Canadian is still cheaper.

actually i've often found the deli counter has sale items cheaper than packaged stuff in the chiller cases. i used to just avoid the deli but after comparing prices one day i now make a point to check on the times i actually visit a shop (i shop online) because you often get far nicer cuts of deli meat and/or cheese cheaper if you look at the price per kg than if you buy if packaged (often 'formed' meats) in the chiller cases!

Confuzzled

lyn735 wrote: »

I used to buy pre packed bananas at £1 a bag at Mr M's but one day decided to weigh a bunch of bananas same number of bananas as in the pre packed bag but 70p istead of a £1.

i've been known to weigh bags of apples etc to see which is the heaviest. also, out of curiosity i weighed all four of the 4 chickens i got in a mr t's deal from my last batch cooking big shop. they all were over the minimum amount of 1.4kg but one was a full 1.68kg, just think if you always got that extra 200+ grams extra (in this case i got a total of 500+grams extra free)

now i'm not as likely to go to the effort of weighing chickens as they tend not to be near the scales in the shop (these were from an online order so i didn't pick them myself) what i would do is to always go for the biggest looking chickens. by law they must weight at least the weight stated but many are more

also don't assume that bags of fruit/veg are cheaper, always look at the price per kg that's where the true prices become evident. many times it's cheaper to buy loose rather than bagged.

and if buying items that are bagged by numbers ie 10 fun sized apples,weigh the bags and take the heaviest! might not sound like all that much for each item but it really adds up over the course of a year!

Confuzzled

abaxas wrote: »

I cant imagine a world where everyone uses tumble driers.

Think of all that extra ironing work just to 'save time'.

:rotfl:

i have a way around ironing... i buy clothes don't require it

i realise some people can't do that due to their jobs but line drying will cure most ironing woes, honest guv!

Gigervamp

I've found it often works out cheaper to buy the pre-packed fruit and veg than the loose. A currant example is Asda white potatoes 2.5kg bag is £1.35 (54p per kg) or loose Asda white potatoes £1.25 per kg. That's a big difference!