C4 Dispatches programme-price of veg

gailey_2

Last night on c4 at 8pm might be on od.

Was bit flipping obvious.

Dident think was very good programe at all yes food prices rising but supermarket making massive markup and confusing customers on these lines.

They sent several volunteers all over country to buy same item at

fruit and veg stall/shop
express type place
large supermarket

They argued that was hard to work out how to compare fruit as best value as some by weight and some individually.

That lots supermarkets ie locals dident have scales.

Must admit its been while sice I weighed anything or seen anyone weigh anything.

It focussed of course on the big supermarkets.
Dident mention aldis or lidls at all which think was odd.

Its hardly surprising the smaller stores more expensive our new sainsburys local not a success as makes large co-op look cheap!

The mark up supermarkets make on spring onions they sell at main fruit market for 20p and get solds for 70-80p bunch:eek::eek:

They argue that fruit and veg buying in decline and how will kids manage get their 5 a day.

The healthy start vouchers people can get on low income they cover fresh fruit and veg now not just milk but rarly saw people use them for fruit and veg when worked in supermarket.

Im sure expensive farm shop offer better prices.

Here we do our best to make sure kids have fruit.

apples and bananas and oranges sem to be cheapest so i fruitbowl.
berries -when on offer or reduced as so pricey.
we growing rasberries in garden, forage fruit and go strawberry picking lots of fun.

we also keep dried fruits and some tinned fruits in own juice.

Kids also like carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes as snacks.

Again we try grow tomatoes our selves in year.

We go mostly lids/aldis-buy hardly anything in main supermarkets.
The carboot i go to has veg man.
If pass green grocer as in new area I always have a look.

Aim this year is to eat more veg so going to compare

farmshop
green grocer
find a market
and maybe order a veg box.

I do get veg boxes from dairy non organic loacl fruit and veg in season which is always ohh whats in veg box.

Hoping weather and veg patch better this year.

Trying to decide what to grow this year.

We do like frozen veg too ie peas, sweetcorn, broccoli, cauli.

Chris25

thanks, didn't see it, may have a look on OD

Lynsey

A possible way to get cheap veg is to buy sack of potatoes, carrots, onions etc. from a wholesaler and share among family/friends/neighbours.
Not an option for all and I don't do it.
We are lucky and have options to wholesalers who sell to the public and may be an option the way things are going - 75p for a small swede and carrots around 80p per kilo at the cheapest.

Just a thought?? 20kg sacks etc or boxes of fruit and 4 sharing should be feasible.

Lynsey

gailey_2

I like the idea of food buying co-op but noe of our freinds are as thrifty they all seem to waste money.

avantra

This program was for general consumption, loyal users of this forum will already be familiar with the issue raised.

Surprisingly for C4 there was little of the usual scare mongering so I rate it ok.

As for the public health statements in the program, can someone explain why is it 5/a day in the UK, 7/day in Denmark or 20/day in other countries?

If you need to buy loads of fresh veg and fruit simply go to Lidl and Aldi, usually 20%-30% cheaper and no shareholders to satisfy, this will keep you close enough to the price C4 were paying in the market.

We have a green grocer that operates a small chain of 4 shops in our area but I don't buy there anymore as he simply can't keepup with the quality you get in Lidl/Aldi due to the small volume he sell, it is disheartening to give the money to some EU company and not a local trader but even I have limits on how many rotten examples or unripened fruits I get in my weekly shop week in and out.

gailey_2

Blimey 20 a day thats mad. Sometimes hard to get 5 think as much as you cam.

I think theres bit of weird phychology with veg.

Reason i say this is in supermarlet shop of olden days when we did supermarkets

hubby would woould whing in fruit and veg ailse.

spend double on meat


ad thinking nothing of filling up biscuits and crisps.

Hes not huge fruit and veg person which infleunced our shop.

He likes cherries i say lets get them as treat-no they too expensive even when they on offer.

Pre getting together I ate loads of fruit and veg as my ex liked stirfrys and loads veg whereas husbands been brought up in nuclear bunker where his mum only buys tinned, frozen or uht milk.


Now we have kids I try hard make sure we have enough in but full fruitbowl dont last long.

We tend to buy lots frozen veg as cheap and doesnt go off.

tried buying potatoes in bulk but they always sprout.

really it needs to be brought weekly.-which means extra effort from me to do that.

Ken68

Yes agree Gailey, I thought it not a good programme, concentrated on convenience stores and such an irritating voice.
Grow my own fruit and veg so not my problem, but when I do buy, I buy BULK as onions at Lidl £1.32 for 5kg earlier on then £1.52, now £1.99 for 5kg.
Definitely shop around, Sains worst here, typical ...swede is £1.20 and pineapple £1.50 Bananas 79p. (Lidl 75p/99p/68p)

avantra

Not sure about spuds myself, unless you have a proper storage facility and space ie bury the damn things in cool sand.
I stick to the 2.5 kg and stick this in the veg draw. Last for 3 weeks which is what's works for us. I have the space to grow spuds and the taste is superior to anything you get in the shop however I end up with way too much (we are not big spuds eaters) and most goes to waste. I find growing onions was fairly easy and had a good supply that store well, this until Lidl started to sell big fat spanish and UK onions for 25p/kg on offer or 50p/kg not on offer, made my growing efforts worthless so no growing onions last year and probably not this year either (tho I really like the Walla walla onions which you can't find in any shop).

hilstep2000

I buy mine at the local butcher/greengrocer. Being on my own I can buy two large potatoes, or three apples if I want, and so there is no wastage, and it's cheaper.

Edwardia

Had Ocado delivery Saturday, medium organic veg box 11 varieties (Portabello mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, aubergine, onions, fennel, Jerusalem artichokes, broccoli, batavia lettuce, bunch of carrots, leeks, chard) 20% off 14.39 box was stuffed to the brim. Also got organic swede 10% off with total savings pass, 88p

Lidl sells 5 organic Fairtrade bananas £1 often sell out so second cheapest place surprisingly is 1.50 for 5, Sainsbury's.

gailey_2

We deciding what to grow as want to grow something that we will eat and use. not had much luck with pumkins or carrots they always go wrong and wonky , skinny and tiny.
grew potatoes in tubs but worked out cheaper to buy them
lettuces easy, runner beans and sweetcorn.
tomatoes definate going to try grow cherry tomatoes and cucumber.
so hard when hubby detests most veg.

Dident like our home grown peppers have no idea why.

want to grow more herbs.

Threre was programme on bbc about 4seasons of the garden and winter vegetables would love to grow things all year round.

done really well with rasberry plants as they spread like blackberries ad grown some off shoots.

I found it most odd no mention on programme of lilds and aldis as not everyone has market/fruit and veg shop.

A lot people wised up they cheaper especially with the super six.
struck me as odd.

I would never go to tesco express but fruit and veg unless i as desperate.

The veg box that comes from dairy is mixed ad local cant pick stuff want to opt out or in sometimes its like ready steady cook trying to work out what to do with things but makes it fun as kids get exited and get to try new things.

we normally buy same old things every month

bananas-only middle child likes and I like sandiches
apples ad pears for luncboxes
satsumas -in season only
cherry tomatoes, cucumber, carrots for kids.
everyone likes carrots apart from oh.
salad stuff just normally adults and some sometimes goes to waste.
As ots only me who liked stirfrys buy prepacked stuff normally reduced but its not as nice.

Everyone likes cherries, strawberries and rasberries so pricey.

kids love grapes-again pricey
prefer tinned pinnaple
frozen peas.

im only one who likes mushrooms.

onions, garlic and lemons for cooking with mostly or dressings.

in summer we buy more salads.
new potatoes.

kiwi-kids like and is least cheap.
They love peaches/apricots as discovered with last veg box.

want to try new things this year be more variety eating less meat buying more veg but last place i would think to buy it was sainsburys sometimes get reduced bargains in co-op.

might try more fruit desserts this year like apple crumbles. bluberry muffins,bakes pears/peaches, carrot cake, banana bread.

Also do more soups.

I dident realise ocado did veg boxes.