SUPERmarket or SuperMARKET?

frizz_head

In my local precinct, there is a Waitrose and an Iceland.

The Co-op is now B-Wise
The Butchers is now Clinton Cards
The Greengrocers is now New Look

cabbagegreen

I have also emailed Sainsburys and was disappointed with a standard reply. The reply took ages - over a month!
I complained when they took the self-serve bread slicing machine away and said that it takes forever to queue at the bakery counter to ask an assistant to slice my loaf for me. I suggested that they have some loaves pre-sliced to save the wait as they do in Tesco but no reply to this suggestion - just a standard "thanks for contacting us, your views are important, blah,blah". I don't feel very important!!
I shop at my local farm shop for fruit, veg, meat cheese and eggs - I resent giving my money to supermarkets who couldn't care less about me.

marsha8

I tend to use mainly Morrisons & Asda because I like their prices.I would like to see a return to seasonal produce - do we really need tomatoes every day of the year!? I have a farmbox delivered which is full of local,seasonal,organic produce.The difference in flavour & texture is unbelievable.Chicken I will only buy from my local butcher as I do not trust the supermarkets. May I suggest some frightening reading material "Not on the Label" by Felicity Lawrence which tells us how our food is grown & transported to the supermarkets.It has put me off doing a main shop in them & now I shop around for REAL food.

mtc_2

jonny wrote:

What a great post. It sums everything up that is going on in this country and what is wrong in my opinion. I am a farmer who produces primarily beef. Most of this travels live 200 miles to a slaughter house to be then sent hundreds of miles to reach the shelves of that supermarket that made 2 billion. There are no local slaughterhouses left.
I live near a small town that has a butcher left,but that's all. A couple of convenience stores and then we're off 12 miles down the road to Morrison's (not a patch on Safeway let me say).
A huge problem, I feel, is that everyone is getting used to being able to buy most produce all year round. These items that are out of season in this country are being flown in at a big cost, not least in aviation fuel.
Perhaps we need Jamie Oliver to start reminding us that it's OK to eat cabbage.

For a whole host of reasons, society is changing and that includes the way we shop. Do we really want to return to the dark days of the 1970's when shops were open limited hours and the range of produce available very poor? I think sometimes people have selective memories! I was a kid in the 70's and all I can remember is corned beef and cabbage. Yuck.

Supermarkets like Tesco do an excellent job for the vast majority of people. We live approximately 300m from a large Tesco extra, so do 90% of our shopping there (supplemented by Lidl for cheap fruit and veg and on occasion M&S for luxuries). We can shop every day for fresh produce and walk to and from the shop. Personally, I can't abide shopping on market stalls. I like to choose my own fruit and veg rather than have it picked for me. Many stall holders need to develop some customer service skills!!

There is perhaps an issue with supermarkets selling produce flown in from another continent. Simple answer- if you don't like the idea, don't buy it! Just read the country of origin on the label. We try very hard to only buy groceries produced in the UK and Europe and with a little care it is perfectly possible to do, even in Tesco!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Previous Poll Topic: Poll Started 12th April. On Tuesday, Tesco announced record £2 Billion profits for a British company, and are expanding at an exponential rate. But where do you buy your groceries?

A. Stick to one major Supermarket. Everything under one roof. 30.7% - (646 Votes)
E. Pick and Mix local/supermakets. I’m a MoneySaving maniac 23% - (484 Votes)
B. Shop around the Supermarkets. I know what’s cheap where. 20.3% - (428 Votes)
F. Wherever’s most convenient 20.1% - (423 Votes)
D. The local shop. Supporting small, local businesses 2.9% - (62 Votes)
C. The local shop/market. It’s cheaper and better produce 2.8% - (60 Votes)

Total Votes: 2104

competitionscafe

I am surprised that a total of less than 6% went for option D [The local shop. Supporting small, local businesses] 2.9% - (62 Votes) or C [The local shop/market. It’s cheaper and better produce] 2.8%

Is this because local businesses are not competitive or they don't exist because they have been driven out of business by the supermarkets?

Maybe, I am lucky, but here in central Edinburgh I am within 10 or 15 minutes walk from a local butcher and fishmonger as well as several delis, plus a Tesco and a Sainsbury's. The butcher will tell you which farm the meat has come from, how long it has been hung for, etc and give you some good cooking tips - (try asking all that in Tescos!) they (the butchers) are usually cheaper than Tesco, etc too. Same goes for the Fishmongers - fresher, better quality produce at similar price to the supermarkets. After a while local shop owners get to know you and what you like and can make personal recommendations of things to try. So although I still use the supermarkets (for bin bags, looo roll, etc), for bread, meat and fish the local shops win every time. Fruit and veg comes from the local organic box scheme - so it's fresh, in season, and (mostly) locally grown. By the time those out of season strawberries, asparagus or whatever have flown halfway around the world, sat in a warehouse and then sat on the shelves they are probably completely tasteless!

So if you still have local shops then give them a try while you still can - you may be pleasantly surprised by the quality and price. I used to use the supermarkets for an all in one shop but now I have tried the local shops I only wish I had done so sooner - the little bit of extra time is well worth it.

Another interesting initiative I recently came across is community supported agriculture - http://www.cuco.org.uk/ (a relationship of mutual support between a farmer and those who eat the food they produce)

Current CSA farms allow people to:

* Receive a weekly box of vegetables throughout the year
* Help with the running of an organic farm
* Ensure their local farm shop continues to thrive
* Sponsor an apple tree and harvest its fruit
* Rent a plot of farmland and have vegetables grown on their behalf
* Buy shares in a cow and receive interest in cheese
* Rent-a-vine from one of Britain's few vineyards.

Will be interesting to see how this develops...