Avoiding supermarkets for food

Liz3yy

Hi all,

Was wondering this evening whether it's possible to eat well, cheaply and healthily by avoiding supermarkets and sticking with local food producers / butchers, grocers etc.....

I live in Dorset where this weekend the local annual food festival took place, which was packed with local food producers flogging their wares. We stocked up on our faves plus some new items that caught our eye.

Following on from the festival I've been wondering how possible it would be to live on food only that's local? Have other people done or are doing this?

I am keen to eat as healthily as possible, without at the same time spending a packet as I suffer with high blood pressure and need to watch my diet.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

HappyMJ

Liz3yy wrote: »

Hi all,

Was wondering this evening whether it's possible to eat well, cheaply and healthily by avoiding supermarkets and sticking with local food producers / butchers, grocers etc.....

I live in Dorset where this weekend the local annual food festival took place, which was packed with local food producers flogging their wares. We stocked up on our faves plus some new items that caught our eye.

Following on from the festival I've been wondering how possible it would be to live on food only that's local? Have other people done or are doing this?

I am keen to eat as healthily as possible, without at the same time spending a packet as I suffer with high blood pressure and need to watch my diet.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Eat well? YES!!!! Much better than any supermarket.
Cheaply? No.
Healthily? Yes.

You'll have to visit a supermarket for some things but you could visit smaller independent places instead maybe asian supermarkets to get some essential ingredients.

A._Badger

Yes, you could live on local food alone but you wouldn't live well, nor particularly healthily.

Where would you get local citrus fruit, pineapples, bananas etc etc etc if you live in Dorset?

If you mean shop locally, that is different but you would undoubtedly pay more for the privilege.

geordie_joe

A._Badger wrote: »

Yes, you could live on local food alone but you wouldn't live well, nor particularly healthily.

Why not, humans have lived well and healthily for thousands of years on just the food they could find within walking distance.

The only problems have been about the amount of food available versus the number of people needing it.

A._Badger wrote: »

Where would you get local citrus fruit, pineapples, bananas etc etc etc if you live in Dorset?

You can live very well, and healthily without those, and many people do. They say there's a whole generation that never, and never have eaten bananas, pineapples etc. Because they were born/very young during the war years and never had them.

That is also the generation that is living longer than previous generations.

It's only since the government started paying people to tell us things, and they started making things up to earn their money, that the public started thinking they need five a day, can only eat so much meat, salt etc.

Blackpool_Saver

ask Chalice, he knows how to shop in bulk for 5 years with one phone call !!!!!

Edwardia

Yes you could live on local seasonal food from Spring to Autumn but you would have to freeze some for the winter.

Good quality food isn't cheap. If you're prepared to have a bash at growing your own then yes.

Potatoes, runner beans and strawberries can be grown in tubs/towers, tomatoes in grow bags. Herbs in pots. Apples, pears and cherries are all available as standard trees. Lemons and oranges can be grown in conservatories.

If you don't have a garden or a sheltered balcony for herbs and strawberries then maybe you could get an allotment. Some places have garden sharing schemes. Here are details for Dorset.
http://www.sustainabledorset.org.uk/projects/gardenshare

If you live in the country then you can forage crab apples, nettles, fennel, wild garlic, elderberries, sloes, chestnuts, hazelnuts and sorrel for example. You may find foraging walks via adult education classes at community colleges or via National Trust or English Heritage properties.

If you or members of your family drive along country lanes, keep your eyes peeled for surplus produce being sold outside houses. You can often pick up eggs, jam, courgettes, apples, squashes, runner beans, cucumbers and marrows. Country fetes and boot fairs often have produce stalls too.

If there's an honesty box then I'd ask everyone please be honest. If people take produce and don't pay the person tending the garden may just stop providing it meaning no-one gets to buy very cheap good local produce.

Farmers' markets are a good source of local food but it may not be cheap.

veg box schemes Dorset
http://www.myvegbox.co.uk/
http://www.outoftheboxwestdorset.org/
http://www.boxscheme.org/Rural-Foods-Vegetable-Box-Scheme.html
http://www.tamariskfarm.com/farm/
https://www.abelandcole.co.uk
https://www.riverford.co.uk

A._Badger

geordie_joe wrote: »

You can live very well, and healthily without those, and many people do. They say there's a whole generation that never, and never have eaten bananas, pineapples etc. Because they were born/very young during the war years and never had them.

That is also the generation that is living longer than previous generations.

I think you will find that the data suggest that the increase in life expectancy is consistent with better nutrition. If the short period of privation during WW II and the post-war rationing contributed anything positive it was in keeping people's hands out of the sweet jar. People ate bananas and oranges before WWII, you know.

geordie_joe wrote: »

It's only since the government started paying people to tell us things, and they started making things up to earn their money, that the public started thinking they need five a day, can only eat so much meat, salt etc.

I completely agree with you about nonsensical 'health' nannying and pseudoscience passed off as nutrition and have the scars to prove it for having dared explain the exact origin of the 'five a day' scam on this forum some months ago.

Nonetheless, leaving enjoyment out of it, to get a decently balanced diet with entirely homegrown produce isn't easy. In the early Spring it can be almost impossible - which is why gardeners refer to the 'hungry gap'.

Gigervamp

There's a thread here where another poster has done it quite successfully.

brewboy_2

I recently tried to stop going to the large supermarkets as I feel that they are trying to constantly con you with their offers, they are actively encouraging you to buy multiple packs of things that you don't need, resulting in more waste.
They are always encouraging you to buy ready meals and pre cooked food stuffs that we really don't know what's in if we are honest. Good home made food has to be the answer along with a balanced diet
The main reason I have started to buy from my local suppliers is because they are part of my local community, my money is being spent in their shop and they are then spending profits in my community also, the money stays in my community. I also know that local producers are showcased in these shops so again it helps my community if you but their produce.
Altogether its a more personal service albeit a little more expensive per item you save money as you don't buy things you don't need. Local farm produce in a local shop is the way forward!

Edwardia

brewboy I agree wholeheartedly re: the processed food. If supermarkets just sold fresh meat, fish, poultry, game, fruit and veg they wouldn't be able to make a profit. If you look at shelf edge labels you find that these ready meals can be horribly expensive per kilo but they stack in boxes easily and one truck can shift huge quantities.

daveyjp

It has just become much easier for us now we can order from the local market stallholders and have everything delivered for £2.95.

Fresh fruit, veg, meat, fish, store cupboard items. Helps the local traders and their suppliers.