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

lil_me

I'm hoping for us it'll continue to be a more cultural change. My DP is still coming round to it, he still rolls his eyes when I get excited on holiday finding small shops, farm shops and the such like but he won't eat steak from anywhere but the farm now :rotfl:

I've arranged to meet someone tomorrow and going to pop to where she lives, it's not too far and I can have a look round the local shops where she lives see if I can get the bits I need. I'll pop into another village which has an independant reptile/aquatic specialist on the way home for other pets food, rather than pets at home.

mama67

lil_me wrote: »

I'm hoping for us it'll continue to be a more cultural change. My DP is still coming round to it, he still rolls his eyes when I get excited on holiday finding small shops, farm shops and the such like but he won't eat steak from anywhere but the farm now :rotfl:

I've arranged to meet someone tomorrow and going to pop to where she lives, it's not too far and I can have a look round the local shops where she lives see if I can get the bits I need. I'll pop into another village which has an independant reptile/aquatic specialist on the way home for other pets food, rather than pets at home.

When we went to Cornwall for a holiday a few years back, I had resaerched alot of independant shops and fam shops so knew exactly where I needed to go to buy things, dh and the boys laughed when I said that "such and such a shop is down here"

thriftmonster

Hi, can I join in a babysteps sort of way. We tried last year for a 150 mile diet which didn't last at all - too limiting - so this year I would like to try for a "bullseye" diet. So we'll try for NI first, and then the rest of Ireland, Cumbria and Scotland and finally the rest of Britain. Anything further afield will be carefully considered and/ or fairtrade.

But I would like to also try to stay out of the supermarkets as well (note to self, must watch Panorama on i player).

I already use a local butcher, organic veg delivery and we have two excellent local greengrocers and several good bakers and a hardware store, although we try to make as many baked goods as possible at home. But I also succumb far too often to MrT and MrS. I also will be interested to see how this goes with the grocery challenge we have set.

The biggest issue I can see is milk as ds1 and I are lactose intolerant, loathe soya milk and use lactofree. But I reckon if I can do everything else in the guidelines, it will be a huge improvement anyway.

ETS I also have Jim the fishman who brings fish from Ardglass each Thursday (although he comes at 6am - aagh!)

tryingtobethrifty

It's so interesting to read how everyone is getting on.

Today I had to go to Costco so thought I'd pick up some butter, but felt so guilty that even though it's not a supermarket I wasn't supporting a local shop. So I trudged off to the local butchers and got a free range chicken, some mince, sausages and my butter. No BOGOF's, or impulse buys and had a good wee chat to the butcher about where the meat comes from.

Isn't it nice chatting to people? I really miss that as I don't think strangers over here are as chatty as those at home, or maybe just times are changing. Haha I sound about 80 but I'm only 29!!

I didn't get trying out our local farms market because of the snow but I'll go next week.

lil_me

Wandered around with friend where she lives (Houghton Le Spring for locals) I am ever so jealous of the amount of smaller traders 2 green grocers, 2 butchers, pet shop (got all but live feed and syphon) And more but there are several more. I might have to pop back there. Still a lot of shops closed down but better than Durham that's for sure. Spent £34.95 including coffee and biscuit for 2 inside so not a bad spend as £15.21 of that was at the pet shop needing wormer, turtle food etc. Got some nice quiche from the butchers for tomorrows lunch which I will look forward to. Ham seemed to work out very expensive in the one I used, 1.93 per 100g or is that about right? I think when you're not supermarketting you notice prices more. The pet shop were nice and allowed us to collect the goods later at the back door when we had done the rest of the shopping as my friend got a 10kg sack of food. Doubt MrT would allow us to pull up outside the back door and fill the boot of the car for us?

Anyway so far so good, thought I would have 'fell' today a I needed oxo, yeast and pepsi for DP.... Yeast and oxo they sold at the greengrocer then used the news agents for his pop. Done!

phizzimum

this really is addictive! I had no intention of trying out the challenge when I started reading this thread, but haven't been able to bring myself to go to Tesco.

went to garden centre today and got some fruit and veg while there, and bought tea from the deli we are lucky enough to have in the high street. then this afternoon (with the help of the little phizzies) made bread, jam and butter (from cream that we had in freezer)

think I'm going slightly mad!

hex2

Lil-me - that does seem on the high side but not if it is good quality no added water ham. The decent stuff I buy from the farm shop is about £3 for 3 good sized slices but it is a completely different class to the 'quality' ham in the co-op.

I have been to the farm shop today for layers pellets, but also got some belvoir cordials (£3.60 a bottle!) for DH, plus some carrots (to go with the enormous swede), onions and bird seed. They had seville oranges too but no one in this house likes marmalade. Also to the co-op for yet more fruit juice, on offer pizza (must make my own) and double cream as there was none in the farm shop.

I have convinced DH that a soda stream would be a good investment which should further reduce our reliance on the co-op.

My T&M seed order came today which is an investment for later in the year (and used the second £10 off voucher they have sent me in 6 weeks?) which reminded me that I need to get seed potatoes from the local garden centre this week too. They sell them loose and charge by the kilo which is perfect.

Jolaaled

I am really wanting to avoid Tesco (my previous main food supermarket) for as long as possible...but am struggling with the relative cost a bit.

Today I got:

Potatoes (from local farmer market) @ £1.00 per kilo (Mr T would have been 40p per kilo).
Leeks @ 2.80 per kilo (Mr T is 2.49 per kilo)

but:
1 dozen eggs were £2.00, wheres Mr T would have been £2.98 (free range). Wooo hoooo!

Still a bit 'out of pocket', but at least I didn't have to pass over the Threshold of Shame today. Hope I can stick this out!

Caterina

Hi all,

Just popped in to give an account of the (not so) sad demise of my no-supermarket challenge.

Today, together with a friend with whom I discussed this issue, I have decided to stop the challenge on account of the fact that it is requiring a mad amount of organisation, a much higher spend than I would ever be able to afford in the long term and a degree of patience that I do not have.

So I took myself to M&S and spent the first of my 4-weekly £5 off vouchers, bought 8 portions of (sustainably fished) fish, 3 cartons of excellent quality juice, 6 bottles of beer and a Saturday newspaper and spent £21.

I am going to remain faithful to my ethical stance about buying as much organic and local food as I can, also buying as much as possible and reasonable from local shops (e.g top-ups of vegetables, most bread), still continue to use the milkman for milk and other small items, still order most of my veg and fruit from the organic deliveries, still attend the farmers market whenever I can for extra fruit and veg that I cannot find locally etc...

But honestly I do not have it in me to trek it all the way to the other side of SE London to find a fishmonger who possibly does not even sell sustainably farmed/fished fish, or having to pay way over the odds for a carton of juice because I live in a fairly posh area and the newsagents put a premium on their food.

I shall still use the newsagent as a newsagent and for the most part buy magazines there, certainly most beer as well - today my purchase of beer in M&S was unusual and due to me being tired and in a hurry to go back home - and, goodness knows, unfortunately my DS keeps them in money by the amount of cigarettes and tobacco he buys there.

I shall continue to try and live as ethically as I can and will certainly NOT go to Tesco or Asda (haven't been there for ages!), will avoid other big supermarket chains as far as possible, will try to minimise non-local shopping generally and if really need be I shall give my custom to Co-op, M&S or Waitrose on account of their better ethical stance.

I shall also keep reviewing the balance between wants and needs, keeping in mind that a few treats are what makes life worth living but also knowing that it is possible to live simply and with few extras and still be happy. My main challenge will be, as it always is for me, to try and keep a simple lifestyle but at the same time still give my family good and nutritious food that does not only fill their bellies, but that lifts their spirits, too!

So, here I am to say goodbye for now, to the challenge at least if not to my OS friends on this path, and to wish all who keep going with it the best of luck.

tinkerbellsmum_2

hi all
can I join? I mainly want to join to get good quality and reduce temptation of other unhealthy food plus its a challenge which is always good
heres what i need to source
meat: butcher
fruit and veg: market
toliet roll, wash powder etc: home bargins
milk:news agents
dog food:?
nappies:? maybe hb hes just about to start potty training though
coke: hb
bread: will have to check out bakers
cheese: not sure if butchers do it
tins: hb
i'm sure there will be other challenges but i'm willing to give it a shot