a month without supermarket - new challenge for 2011 starts at post 1013

mama67

hex2 wrote: »

Thanks Phizzimum - I mean when does the cheese go on offer though, I used the £10 off and had my first delivery yesterday. Carrots I think need to be kept somewhere dark and frost free, just like potatoes
mama67 -I am envious of those cucumbers. 67? we got two! Still eating the courgettes though......

I have done an online order for pet food, looks like it will be at least Monday before I have my car back so holding off to go to the farm shop isn't an option.

We did have 5 plants though!! They were half size ones so approx 8" long when fully grown, but ideal for a meal for the 4 of us.

bramble1

I think it's a shame i have no local shops to buy anything from. All we have now in our village is a waitrose! There used to be butchers, bakers, the lot but all have gone.

dollydaydream07

mama67 wrote: »

Hi, the butchers is Pettits on Bethlehem Street, and yes they do deliver free if order over £25; they have a website as well as being able to phone for orders.
http://www.johnpettitbutchers.co.uk

the veg box scheme I use do also deliver into GY and Clee as my driver does the deliveries.
http://www.woodlandsfarm.co.uk
the veg box only missed one delivery to me when we had all the bad weather. I can tailor it to suit my needs, so if I have leeks in the garden ,can ask for them to be subbed for something else. I also buy sacks of potatoes (£6) from Robinsons Farm Shop (near TollBar school) rather then get the ones in the veg box.

hth

Thanks for this, it's a great help! will be off to go and have a nosey at their websites once DD is in bed!

Lily-Lu

Caterina wrote: »

The most challenging thing was walking past the M&S food store, knowing that I could have got a 20% discount with the leaflet and that I would have found all the organic stuff I needed, but walked past and went to offer my custom to the local shops instead. I suppose this is going to become a habit soon and I sincerely hope to leave supermarkets as a thing of the past.

Oh, well done Caterina:D

Well, as I've previously said, I've only been visiting the Supermarket once a month for flour, pasta, rice and a few tins (I say a few tins, because we eat very little tinned food, maybe 4-5 a month). Anyway, the last time I was there was early December and although I've still got some brown rice and pasta left, I've run out of bread flour.
I went to get my usual fruit, veg, fish and meat from the local shops today, and find that one of the two fruit and veg shops also sell rice :T
No luck finding bread flour as yet; but I'll keep searching and only try the co-op if all else fails. Pasta, I can get from the local independent, family run newsagents-come-grocers; so the possibility of not needing to use any supermarkets for food, is looking promising:D

loocyloo

my current 'village' has a tesco and a couple of smaller 'co-ops/equivilants, plus an independant butcher ( and charity shop, newsagents, 3 estate agents!, boots chemist, post office and hairdressers ) but to reach any other independant shops, i would have to travel a fair way, and its not financially viable.

however, we are shortly to be moving about 200 miles away ( to a 'town' that is smaller than my current village ! :huh: ) it has a small co-op and thats it, EVERY OTHER SHOP is an independant! :ji am so excited that i am going to be able to use a butcher, greengrocer, baker ( although i bake everything myself! ) and the rest! there are supermarkets, but about a 40min drive away! i suspect i may well end up doing a huge storecupboard shop every couple of months, but i will probably do that online too! i can't wait !

mama67

Well I had the meat delivered yesterday, all looks as very good, I have used this butchers for a while now but never had these meat packs; now only need to get some fish, then we are set.
The veg box for the week came today, normally comes Wed, but with the bank hol they are running a day late.

I have meal planned for the month ahead and will see how long I can last without using a supermarket, by using what is in my stores .

Caterina

Still going, but I can see that this challenge is going to bankrupt me if I give in to DS's demands (DH and DD are much more adaptable). I would normally get on with grains and pulses from the wholesale bulk buy (I have a well stocked cupboard at the moment), veg and fruit from the organic delivery and make do or make without for all other things.

DS wants frozen peas, fruit juice, peanut butter and other items that are easily obtainable at the local shop but at incredibly inflated prices - basically anything ready-made and manufactured is bound to cost me a fortune, whereas when I got these things at the supermarket I could just buy the basics and be done with it - and he was ok with it.

I would find it difficult to say no because he is a tall, thin 21 year old, always hungry and he does a 4-round newspaper round early in the morning that takes him 2 hours in the cold and wet weather and I feel I need to feed him well.

He is not normally a very demanding person and gives me a small amount of money for his keep, so I don't really know how to say no.

I do not mind using the local shops for bread (more expensive than supermarket but very nice), extra veg on top of my usual delivery (encouraging organic and local agriculture), milkman's milk and butter (supporting the local milkman as a useful member of the community), beer and wine (the occasional treat for the rest of the family as I do not drink alcohol) or chocolate (me!), but buying manufactured foods from the corner shop is going to put my budget on its knees!

Any suggestions gratefully received! Thank you.

greenbee

Caterina - can the milkman supply you with fruit juice at a more acceptable price? I'm obviously very lucky with my village shop - it seems to stock everything in value/basic or own-brand variety, mid-range branded and organic/premium brand. They only have a couple of each thing on the shelves, so you do sometimes have to ask, but it allows them to have a huge range available, and they just refill the shelves from the stock room regularly. It seems to be a very successful business model for them. Although they sell F&V they also act as a delivery/collection point for a local veg box scheme and in the winter act as an outlet for the garden centre for logs & kindling.

There was a discussion on the radio earlier today about how local independent shops are the first to suffer when trading is bad (such as over christmas), so if we want to save them, now is the time to be showing our support - although it may be too late for some.

You're all doing really well. So far this year I've only been to the village shop and the farm shop, but then that's pretty normal for me. Laziness more than anything... I can't bear to drag myself round the supermarket, and it's 8 miles away anyway.

hex2

Caterina - similar problems here. For example DS1 takes fruit juice carton in his packed lunch - the value type ones come in at around 13p, Aldi/Lidl at 20p, the ones from the milkman are closer to 40p which is a huge increase. I want him to have the juice, he needs the calories and the vitamins but I am too much of a miser to pay that difference.

I know you can make peanut butter yourself - I think it is just peanuts and vegetable oil whizzed in the processor. I am lucky and have a decent juicer and several apple trees so I have quite a bit of that frozen that cost nothing but effort.

I think what I will end up doing is a big bulk buy every three months or so of the stuff that I cant get economically otherwise, and I will do that online so I can't be tempted by stuff I don't need.

ETA what I am really liking about the milkman is the ability to decide at 8.55pm that we have run out of bread/milk/onions and be able to have them delivered for 9am tomorrow. Before I would have taken the car to the co-op (scared of the dark so I wont walk) and got the milk plus 3 impulse buys and a bottle of wine

jjef

Veg delivery arrived today and I made sure I was up in time to catch the fish van, I have also been to the butchers and have stocked up on meat for the coming week. Need to get some fruit in will visit the greengrocer beside where I work tomorrow.
Have been having a look at milk deliveries but we dont get through that much milk so dont now if it would be worthwhile will keep an eye on it.

So far havent visited a supermarket this year, not even the local co-op as cupboards are quite well stocked hoping to keep this going into next week as well.