Fruit and Veg

ag359

Just a quickie - apologise if this has come up before (I can't find it anywhere, though)

Are supermarkets still the cheapest place to get fresh produce, or do any of these farm-based box delivery schemes offer better value for money. I did try a bit of research, but the delivery schemes seem to just say "x kg of fruit and veg, including a, b and c, for £z" so it's hard to work out the individual prices.

myriadabellium

This is a tricky one! We get through absolutely LOADS of fruit and veg (both my children would eat nothing else if I let them) and used to spend about £20 on f&v at Asda, mainly on fruit. Recently (about 6 weeks ago) we changed the way we shop and we've started getting a weekly organic box delivery, paying extra for bonus bags of bananas and apples (and eggs). This works out at about £25 per week, so slightly more expensive, but there is sooooooo much more veg - more than I can comfortably use, sometimes! - so it's reduced our overall spend because there is a base for a meal every night, rather than just using veg as a supplement to something else. There isn't quite as much fruit as I'd have bought at Asda, but so far that hasn't been a problem as it tastes so much nicer, one piece is enough at a time. I really like getting an organic box and although there's probably slightly less for the equivalent money, it's better quality and feels more economical!

squeaky

I find that my fruit and veg from my box keeps far better than the stuff I was getting from Asda. Tastes nicer too

Iona_Penny

If you have a local market you will find that htey are way cheaper than the supermarkets and you can choose exactly what you want. I also find that if you go towards the end of the day you can get real bargains- I have had a dozen bananas for £1 and a small netted bag of onions likewise. Mushrooms ( which I use a lot) are likewise cheap as are other fab fruit and veg.

Yes it is more hassle than buying during one trip to the s/market but really worth the savings.

Ted_Hutchinson

ag359 wrote:

Are supermarkets still the cheapest place to get fresh produce,

I don't think Supermarkets ever were the cheapest place to get fresh produce. I buy potatos by the 25kg sack direct from the farm for £3 or so a bag these I share with a couple of neighbours. I usually also get a couple of 10kg bags of onions a year for £2.50 each.

Apart from that the local greengrocers and market stalls are always cheaper and better than our local supermarkets.

A couple of courgette plants will produce enough courgettes to see you through the summer and no garden should be without a rhubarb patch or a parsley/mint/sage/thyme/basil bed.

black-saturn

Where do you get these boxes of veg from then?

squeaky

Type your post code into https://www.bigbarn.co.uk and look for box schemes near you. You might also like to look out for farm shops etc near you as well.

If you can't find anything to your liking post back in here and we'll see what else we can find for you

BungleGirl

There are several 'not for profit' vegetable/fruit bag schemes around the country. In particular there a plenty in Cumbria and Wales and I have just set one up in Lowestoft (Suffolk). You can usually get a decent mixed bag of either fruit or veg for £2 or £2.50. They are not organic, but the produce is usually from local suppliers. They are run by volunteers which is why they are so cheap, they keep 'food miles' to a minimum and also the farmers get a 'fair' price for their produce which is much more than they would get by selling to supermarkets.

If anyone wants more details let me know and I will find some links for you.

jobbingmusician

Please post some links - I do believe there are a lot of people out there who would click through, but wouldn't necessarily PM you!

BungleGirl

Okay, the biggest scheme is in Cumbria, here is the link to their website, there is an email contact on there, if you email them they will be able to tell you if there is one close to you if you live in Cumbria
Cumbria Food Coops

The same people are involved in the coops in Wales - this link is to an advert for farmers to supply the coops but the contact details are the same - again email them with where you live in Wales and they will tell you if there is one near you
Wales Food Coops

There is a scheme in Newham (London) which is very successful, but I think it more like community stores where you can buy what you want rather than having a set bag. I'm not sure if their produce is local - I seem to think not but I will update you next week as I am going down there next week for a course that they are running. Newham Food Project

My project is in Lowestoft only and hopefully will spread throughout Suffolk, we have no website at the moment, but anyone in Lowestoft or Suffolk that wants to know more can PM me and I will get in touch.

I will post morelinks if I find them, these three are the biggest ones that I know of but that doesn't mean that there aren't hundreds of small coops all over the place!

Edinburghlass_2

Interesting links Bunglegirl, thank you

Would be interested in any links for Scotland and for family in NI.

I only get to visit a lovely farm shop when across in Fife as my local one turned into a b&b