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

competitionscafe

Sounds like Ipswich has been turned into a Tescotown already

You could try typing your postcode into bigbarn and see what comes up:
(Should display local butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers, farm shops/mkts etc)
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/

Also for butchers 'Real Meat' (not organic but high welfare standards and very, very tasty!) have a list of stockists of their meat here:
http://www.realmeat.co.uk/acatalog/How_To_Find_Us.html

And also check Rick Stein's local heroes list of small British producers:
http://www.rickstein.com/rickstein_foodheroes_produce.asp

Categories:
Eggs
Cheese
Vegetables and Fruit
Fish
Poultry and Meat
Game
Fruit Desserts, Cakes and Bread
Special Ingredients
Farmers Markets
Restaurants, Cafes and Pubs
or search by keyword
http://www.rickstein.com/rickstein_foodheroes_produce.asp

lil_me

CTC convert them into deals, even if it's the days out ones so you and the kids can have a day out somewhere on Mr T. That's what I am doing with mine, saving them for our little break in Blackpool. F & V delivery tonight, I was out when she came earlier but she called back, which is why I am more than willing to spend with her. For local mums near us who get the F&V tokens she can now accept them so said I will put word about for her at parents groups etc. Had an issue with milk this morning, mistake or local kids pinching it I don't know, only one bottle there instead of the ordered 4, hope to catch milkwoman tomorrow, paid in advance so she won't just call as tried phoning today but no answer. Think I have enough meat etc for this week, will do fridge/freezer check later as farm shop only open 2 days a week, something I tend to forget about!


Bigbarns one of the only ones with places in my area, several of them recommended by me to be included on the website inc my fave farm shop/butcher recently added

kethry

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

hi.. kethry....... i was a right tescohead...... everything evolved round tesco and points...lol......but now i have seen them for what they truely are.....imo.....

but thanks for the advice........i want to try and spend ALL my grocery money in local/independants.... as far as poss.......and not just for the month... now that i have found these brill shops etc...... plus i am spending less every week on my shopping..... its now def... a perminant change......

that's fair enough, Cooltrikerchick.. and i certainly respect you for trying to do this (its not as easy as it sounds, for sure). My thinking was more for those who perhaps get clubcard points for things like spending money on gas/electric through powergen, or have tesco credit cards.

good luck with it!

keth
xx

rach

i can't wait to use up my frozen meat so i can try the local butcher, but as i've spent all my feb budget it will have to wait til march (and til i've cleared the freezer!!!)

just had a thought if anyone is in Harrogate (north yorks) my mum uses a fantastic butcher in Starbeck called Elite Meat. their sausages are award winning and are to die for

rach

also, i shredded my tesco bonus coupons but i will use the clubcard vouchers for deals (probably bella italia as its cheap and cheerful). might even get RAC cover then i can jack in the ridiculous £10 a month i am paying for my bank, the motor cover is the only 'freebie' i use!

catznine

Feeling quite sad tonight as today I walked through our town on way to hairdressers and I realised that we had lost virtually all our independant stores, butchers, bakers, greengrocers, independant department store all gone and all we have left are the chains!:eek: I have lived here for 25 years and can still remember all those little shops as they were. Don't let this happen in your home town!

competitionscafe

rach wrote:

just had a thought if anyone is in Harrogate (north yorks) my mum uses a fantastic butcher in Starbeck called Elite Meat. their sausages are award winning and are to die for

There is a good fishmonger in Harrogate too, Ramus :
http://www.ramus.co.uk/shop.cfm

By the way for sausages, try sausagelinks - they have customer reviews of suppliers and butchers and chances are that if a butcher does a decent banger their other meat is good too. Here is their top 10:

Michael Kirk, West Midlands
Crombies of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Graig Farm Organics, Powys
Real Meat Company, Wiltshire
Heal Farm, Devon
Hinchcliffes Farm Shop, West Yorkshire
FC Phipps, Lincolnshire
The Ginger Pig, Central
Sillfield Farm, Cumbria
Lishmans of Ilkley, West Yorkshire

http://www.sausagelinks.co.uk/producers.asp

(Elite Meat of Harrogate is on there too - gets great reviews):
http://www.sausagelinks.co.uk/producer_detail.asp?id=143

kscour

Went to local shop to get potatos & tomato sauce
Some of their prices on tinned and packets are quite high (obviously they need their mark up so I don't begrudge it but I couldn't shop there on a regular basis for that kind of stuff) Also they are serving the needs of their customers so everything is mostly small sized. The stuff they sell more of is cheaper (again makes sense) so I came away with:-

3.5 kg of new potatoes (proper new potatos not greenhouse jobs or imported so they are bigger if you know what I mean) £1.70
.328kg extra mature cheddar £1.64
342g Heinz squeezy tomato ketchup 99p :eek:
2 carrots
doz eggs £1.50
1 creme egg & a freddo frog chocolate bar thing (yep DD's came too!)
came to £6.38
so I didn't mind - it was quick & local but out of curiosity I compared it to Tescos online to see how much extra it had cost and now I honestly can't understand this

tescos
3.5 kg of new potatoes £1.74 (even if I went for good but not "new" potatoes it would be the same or more
.328kg extra mature cheddar £2.51 used farmhouse if it had been welsh cheddar (as I purchased) it would have been more
342g squeezy tomato ketchup 35p - but I priced up for a bigger bottle of tesco own brand that I would have been happy with and worked out the cost of the 342g - so again been over generous
2 carrots - 14p
doz eggs £1.72 ( & they aren't as nce as the ones I got!)
1 creme egg 38p
freddo frog chocolate bar thing - don't do them so I put as 10p
which comes to £6.94 = 56p more.
How

competitionscafe

organic semi-skimmed milk (2 pints)

Tesco (own brand) = 84p
Marks & Spencer = 89p
Sainsburys (own brand) = 81p
Sainsburys (Rachels Organic) = 93p
Local Wholefood shop (Real Food) = 69p
Local convenience store/grocer = 99p
Newsagent / corner shop = [still need to check]

So - so far in the milk price comparison - local shop is winning! (It is Real Food, Broughton St, Edinburgh if you live in that area - one in Bruntsfield too)

rach

woohoo bet you felt good, kscour!

and you'd probably have ended up with a whole pack of freddos at Tescos.

i remembered we have an independant discount store (called G&Ts)right next to my work (so, 5 mins walk from my house). i reckon if i keep my eyes peeled i can find tins of toms, ketchup, etc there.

also been looking more into the food coop, they have literally hundreds of things - i think you could do all you non-fresh shopping there!!!