Using the local shop for local people needn’t cost you the earth, says Melissa Blease.

Taste, conscience, convenience, novelty, an attempt to beat the battle of the bulge: all manner of influences conspire to dictate your food shopping habits. Right now, however, it’s likely that one overriding factor is dominating your checkout choices: that old devil called cashflow.

In 2005, the Soil Association published the results of a nationwide survey concluding that the organic food market had grown by a massive 30% as more and more people chose to reduce their environmental impact, avoid pesticides and additives and enjoy “better taste and quality of food”. Five years on, and a similarly extensive survey conducted by the Food Standards Agency (December 2010) proved that scruples have largely been thrown out of the window as an increased demand for big brand BOGOF and frozen convenience food deals offered by the multi-national supermarket conglomerates has forced our principles into disarray; desperate times, it seems, call for desperate measures. But do they?

Not all the big deals offered at the supermarket necessarily represent a massive slump in domestic larder/fridge/freezer standards – it is indeed possible to buy high-quality, locally sourced, organic and free-range produce in most of the major shrines to Mammon, often at bargain prices. In the long term, however, filling up a superficially wallet-friendly goodie bag at TesDaBurys will inevitably force a drastic negative impact on the local shops, businesses and producers who, more than ever before, need your custom in order to survive. But here’s the good news: contrary to what is sadly still a popular belief largely endorsed by massive (but often misleading) national advertising campaigns, there are huge benefits to be reaped by avoiding the supermarket in terms of your own budget too.

Using the basic ingredients for an average Sunday roast for six people as an example (a 3kg chicken, 1.5kg potatoes, 800g carrots, a couple of bunches of broccoli and a heap of apples ready to be crumbled for pud), a local shops/supermarket price comparison exercise offered some heart-warming results. Leaving the bargain bucket frozen chickens out of the equation (tasteless on all levels) and even using fresh, free range and preferably organic as a yardstick for everything on my list, my bill came in at almost 15% cheaper than I’d have paid for the same produce at my nearest big-name supermarket. 15%! That’s hardly small change. OK, I had to put a bit of legwork in. But I didn’t have to spend 20 minutes deciphering the hidden meanings behind the EC regulation terminology labels on supermarket chicken (‘Fresh Country’, 'Freedom Range', 'Traditional Free Range', 'Total Freedom', etc... say wha-a-a-at?) and a further 15 struggling with “unexpected items in the bagging area”, nor was I subconsciously drawn to buying three salad bags for the price of two (of which at least one, according to the lovely people at the invaluable resource that is www.lovefoodhatewaste.com, would have ended up in my food recycling caddy – or worse, the bin); shop local, and it is indeed possible to munch your way through the credit crunch in fine style.

Local lovelies

Bartlett & Sons (butchers) 10-11 Green St, Bath, BA1 2JZ, tel: 01225 466731, web: www.bartlettandsons.co.uk

The Better Food Co Proving House, Sevier St, St Werburghs, Bristol, tel: 0117 935 1725, web: www.betterfood.co.uk

Earthbound 8 Abbotsford Rd, Cotham, Bristol, tel: 0117 904 2260

Prior Park Garden Centre Farm Shop Prior Park Rd, Bath, BA2 4NF, tel: 01225 427175, web: www.priorparkgardencentre.co.uk

T & P Murray (butchers), 153 Gloucester Rd, Bristol, tel: 0117 942 4025

 
Farmers’ markets

Farmers’ markets promote and support the small, independent local businesses and producers who use far less energy- and waste-intensive production, transportation and packaging methods than their corporate cousins; visit www.bathfarmersmarket.co.uk and www.stnicholasmarketbristol.co.uk for further information. Bristol also regularly hosts three community markets (Whiteladies Road, the Tobacco Factory market and the regular Love Food festival) that bring authentic local character to the scene, while Bath’s Guildhall Market is becoming increasingly foodie by the day.
 

Copyright Melissa Blease 2011

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