This morning started with a short stint on the radio for me.
BBC Oxford got in touch last night whether I’d be willing to give my opinion on The Earth Trust’s new initiative “Our Footprint” which is looking to address the phenomenal 6,500 food miles our humble Sunday roast can travel before it ends up on our plate.
“We’re asking people to take part in our Friday Footprint Challenge! Once a week, try sourcing your entire evening meal from local producers. There are an array of farmers’ markets, farm shops and ‘pick your own’ places out there to choose from so it may not be as difficult as you might think. Visit our website and take a look at what some our Farm Step businesses are growing – there’s fruit, veg, salad and meat being produced right here on the Earth Trust Farm. Try shopping locally and let us know how you get on,” said Jayne Manley, Chief Executive of the Earth Trust
The principles of sourcing things locally, supporting local businesses are close to my heart. I’d love to know that my pork and lamb is from the farm down the road, as are my carrots and spuds.
However, making this happen as a family, on a single income, juggling and stretching a budget between all that we want to do is a different issue.
Shopping comes down to time, practicality and budgetary constraints.
A good example is savoy cabbage from the Vegvan costs £1.50 but is available from Lidl at £0.49. There is no contest in my mind.
The #VegVan is in Headington today. Pop by from 10.30-2pm and grab yourself some locally grown fruit, veg and EGGS! pic.twitter.com/4GJq5Mm6VS
— CultivateOxford (@CultivateOxford) February 7, 2015
You might argue that the locally grown produce is fresh, tastier and often organic, therefore commands a premium.
As a side issue, I have a fundamental problem with organic, besides the price, namely organic produce cannot fulfill the global need for increased food production.
Is local really more expensive?
It depends on how you define local!
So far, when I’ve looked at shopping locally at the bi-weekly farmers’ market or the local pick-your-own farm shop then the produce was significantly more expensive than at my supermarket. In the interview Jayne confirmed this being the trend.
Jayne did, however, have a very valid point:
“Look at the labels of where your food comes from.”
She brought up an example of her recent shopping experience of a butternut squash from Senegal or other squashes grown in Britain for roughly the same price. She opted for the British produce.
I do the same and have often put some yummy looking veg back on to the shelf because had traveled all the way from far away lands like Kenya or similar. I will draw the line at Spain and the Netherlands for most of my veg, but opt for the British Red Tractor if I can.
So here are my first, tiny steps for my Friday Footprint Challenge:
1. Look at the labels
2. Have at least 80% of the produce in my supermarket basket from Britain
This week I will also look at what my options are for buying locally produced foods.
What drives your weekly shopping decision for choosing the produce?
Image credit: Earth Trust
You can join the Friday Footprint challenge with current blog posts about:
- shopping locally- what treasures are you finding?
- buying seasonal
- meal plans from seasonal produce
- growing your own produce- it could be herbs or salads or keeping chickens for their eggs
- delicious recipes using seasonal produce
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We’re lucky because being farmers, we get beef, sausages, pork (and lamb if we want it) from the farm when we’ve got some in the freezer). But my OH’s really fussy and meat has to be British (I’m one of the ‘slacker’ Red Tractor Recruits so no excuse not to), so I tend to go to the butchers when we run out for gammon (because it’s only ever Danish in supermarkets), and some chicken. Although unless I’m buying enough to get it on a 3 for £10 deal from the butchers in town, we eat quite a lot so the supermarket is better value, and more convenient not having to lug it all the way through town.
Fish is a problem – we have no fishmongers apart from the supermarkets, but I don’t use the market for fruit/veg…mostly because the market isn’t what it used to be, and I like to be able to choose my own stuff, rather than faffing around waiting for them to serve someone else. If I shop in the greengrocers in the tiny town my son has his hair cut in, it’s so expensive. But I do sometimes pick up the odd bit of salad or veg from the local Costcutter…it’s more like a farm shop/deli, because it’s a nice village and fairly well off. It’s not cheap, but the local veg is good. Really should help my FIL in his vegetable garden, then I’d be able to snaffle some of his produce!
I can certainly have a go at the challenge. We could do most meals local or at least British, as long as I don’t want fancier veg than root veg, peas or potatoes. Not that that bothers the OH at all!
Thanks Emma for taking up the challenge! I’d love to hear more of your views and how you make it happen. Feel free to share opinion pieces, a journal style post about how you do it our even seasonal recipes.
I do look at what we’re buying but perhaps not as often as I should. I either do an online shop, where I just tick a box, or I buy locally from a lovely greengrocers. This is food for thought though – please excuse the pun.
Spot on Sarah- Food for thought or thought for food. 🙂
I wish that it was possible to shop local on my budget, but it really isn’t. I do try and support my local shops when I can though
Jen, I think a good place to start is looking at your food labels and trying to buy seasonal produce. That should be a budget friendly way to start.
For us, buying locally is classed as a treat. I have a very strict budget at the moment so have to shop around for the cheapest products possible. I do love to source my food locally though and have done so lots in the past. And I will do in the future, when I get a bit more work coming in.
Bek, if you think this challenge appeals to you start with baby steps, like me: buy British to reduce the miles the food to your plate travels. We too are on a tight budget and that’s my first step.
I do buy all my fruit and vegetables and eggs from our local farm but as for anything else i just cant as it isnt available x
Oh you are so lucky Lisa! I don’t think we have an affordable option.
I am so much more proactive about purchasing local where possible, like you said if its the choice between reasonably priced and expensive i have to go with reasonably priced .. I have discovered a a great farm shop near me that i buy from a lot but i have never done a full meal yet
Here’s a challenge then for you Jaime! 😉 Can you do a full meal?
Really thought provoking, my village greengrocers is really reasonable but the butchers closed a couple of years ago. It will make me think more about where everything comes from, thank you
Thanks! 🙂
I’m not good at this and often go on cost but I have started buying organic and local when I can.
Emma, I don’t buy organic on principle: Though it is better for us, sadly it is not sustainable as a movement. And this is my big bugbear against local: Why does it have to be organic?!
I do go to the Market every Saturday and buy most of my vegetables from there. I believe in supporting the local growers. However, I do end up buying chilies from Kenya as they are the only make I like using for making my chutneys.
Mina, have you ever tried growing your own Kenyan chillies? 😉
I do look at the labels and try to buy British if possible. We don’t have a greengrocer or vegvan where we are so our shopping is all from the supermarkets.
I think that’s already a big step and one that most people can make. It means we also eat more seasonal and fresher produce if we choose British.
I buy local pirates form the farm shop as they are better quality than some of the supermarket ones. We have a local butcher which I go to on occasion as well. Our other local shop are mini chain shop , you have to venture to other villages for a green grocers.
You have local pirates Ninjacat?! 😮
On a serious note though, you are lucky to have a reasonably priced farm shop near you.
I just wish I had more time to shop for better prices, I know it is a rubbish excuse but it is true. I do where and when I can support local businesses to shop x
Rachel, I tend to have a rough idea of the prices of staples- milk, basic veg, chicken, pork, sausages. It helps me manage on a budget.
i buy most of our fruit and veg at the farmers market so i know it’s local
Polly, have you every compared the price and the quality to your local supermarket?
I’m a huge fan of buying locally sourced food wherever possible and I do look out for the Red Tractor Mark too.
That’s great! Thanks for popping by!
I wish supermarkets did more local produce. I prefer doing all my shopping in one place, as it is just more convenient.
I know, VaiChin! Wouldn’t it be great if the supermarkets had like a mini market where local producers could sell their products?!
I do try to visit my local butchers and greengrocers but they are both very expensive sadly
Yes, sadly that’s my experience too.
Hi there! Regarding the price comparison of VegVan versus Lidl, is the Lidl price per cabbage or per kg? The Cultivate price is per kg, but I think the Lidl one is per cabbage, so a price comparison wouldn’t be quite as straightforward as £1.50 evrsus 45p, as cabbages can often weigh half a kg for example, so the prices to compare would actually be 75p and 45p. Be interested to know 🙂
Hi Mira, Good point!
The cabbage we have in the fridge is 605g, so you are right it is under a kg. This works out to 81p/kg. Unfortunately this is still almost half the price of the VegVan. I would love to do a lot more of our shopping from lovely suppliers like the VegVan, however for people on a tight budget these are big differences that add up.
I feel it is important to emphasis that even people on lower incomes or those who are time poor (and have to do a single shop, maybe even online) can take baby steps and buy British and seasonal as a first step.
Are you taking part in the Friday Footprint Challenge? Would love to hear about your journey.
Wow I can’t believe it’s that many miles for a roast??! Supermarkets should each have a section for local produce. I’m in Italy at the moment and SO much here is local, they are all about it, we seem to have gone really wrong somewhere with this in the UK….
I am sad to say that most of our local shops have disappeared – nothing at all in walking distance other than a co_op and a charity shop
What a great linky! We have just recently started using our local market for our fresh produce and found we have halved our shopping bill – if not more!
I don’t buy as local as I should but sometimes convenience wins out. I do use our local farm shops and the local boutiques that sell local made arts and crafts.
I should buy more locally but I usually just buy from the supermarket. It’s lazy and convenient. More effort is required… I do have a local market that does lovely food, but I never seem to find the time to go!
we are lucky that we have great independent food shops in our neighbourhood. It’s so nice to be able to walk to the grocers and by local x