Breaking the supermarket habit...

[Julian]

Why do you think I have so many raw beetroot recipes? 

[Charlotte]

Will you help me eat it?

[Kathy]

I have a problem with Abel and Cole, 'cos I don't think they're very local - they still ship stuff all around the country (and from beyond, looking at some of the fruit they stock).

There is a farm shop very near me which does a veg box scheme, and I keep considering it, but (a) it seems silly for a man with a van to deliver a box when I could pick up the veg by bike if I left work half an hour early to get there before they shut, and (b) I'm not sure Tim and I could get through a boxful of their veg a week anyway because (c) we live near a town supermarket, and so pop in before it closes a couple of nights a week and we largely live on still-fresh-but-reached-its-sell-by-date vegetables for tenpence.

I have taken to buying free-range (and cheaper than the supermarket's) eggs from a market stall which sells produce from a local farm, and if ever I needed jam or marmalade I'd go there too (but I largely operate on the "trade" system and swap home-made jams with other friends, so I always have more preserves than I can eat anyway).

[Julian]

Will you help me eat it?

If I can put carrot and caraway seeds and olive oil in it, thus completely emasculating* it as a beetroot, yes.

Do I have to grate it?

And if so, can I outstretch my beetrooty hands, glaze over my eyes and stagger elaborately round your kitchen pretending to be a zombie and scaring the cat?


*Or whatever the de-vegging equivalent may be.

[Charlotte]

And if so, can I outstretch my beetrooty hands, glaze over my eyes and stagger elaborately round your kitchen pretending to be a zombie and scaring the cat?

The cat's got wise to you.  Besides, he's a fully trained anti-zombie ninja attack cat 

[Really Ancien]

In the North West we have Booths which is a sort of upmarket Waitrose with better local sourcing. To see the 24 different types of Lancashire cheese is a bit bewildering, Company Chairman Edwin Booth is a keen cyclist and the company has sponsored the round Windermere Time Trial. E H Booth & Co Ltd - Business in the Community

Damon.

[Chris S]

Chalk up another Abel and Cole customer, I've just signed up for a small mixed box once a fortnight.

Will I grow to love beetroot?

I believe it makes a pretty good hair dye when mixed with henna.

*Runs away*

[Julian]

I have a problem with Abel and Cole, 'cos I don't think they're very local - they still ship stuff all around the country (and from beyond, looking at some of the fruit they stock).

They do.  It's still closer than most of the Tescoids stuff, and they treat their suppliers better.  It might not be such a good bet if you have a local farm shop, but in the People's Republic of Islington, they're a much better option than the alternatives which are Tescoids or lunatic expensive and not-always-accessible farmers' market.

[Ian H]

...lunatic expensive and not-always-accessible farmers' market.

Those profiteering Islington farmers, eh.

[juliet]

I asked the Organic Delivery people about the shipping thing.   They have this page: The Organic Delivery Company. Local organic food delivery to you. London, UK.

So yeah, What Liz Said. 

I am happiest when we are eating off the allotment, which has food miles total about 0.5 & those on foot/bike

[Notsototalnewbie]

Juliet, their opening hours are on their webpage FARESHARES: South London Food Cooperative

I can't get veg boxes delivered cos there is nowhere to leave one while I'm at work, and work would get sniffy if I got it delivered there regularly. It is a shame. But at least I'm not far from Brixton market or the posher Clapham Farmer's Market of a Sunday.

[Mr Larrington]

Good point. Actually, I'm more in sympathy with the Lidl style of supermarket than the Tesco model.

Lidl and Aldi, thobut, have a long history of being beastly to their staff too (at least in Germany).

There is a small Co-op just up the road from me, but it seems mainly to be used by the local [<i>"Oiks" - The Invigilator</i>] for supplies of industrial-strength lager and alcopops.

[Kathy]

Good point. Actually, I'm more in sympathy with the Lidl style of supermarket than the Tesco model.

Lidl and Aldi, thobut, have a long history of being beastly to their staff too (at least in Germany).

In this country too, at least last year when this report was written.

[Really Ancien]

It's a curious place Lidl. our Leyland branch has been open since 1999 and there are staff there who have been there for 9 years. They have to look after the store, tidying, cleaning, topping stock up, but not shelf stacking which is done by a mobile gang. It seems to suit a certain type of worker, someone who has worked in a self managing environment such as agriculture. The staff like to have a moan but they are actually very lively in comparison with Tesco which seems to zombify its staff. I find them intelligent and chatty. The pay is also good, especially Aldi which is currently paying £7.95 an hour for store staff. Lidl has an organic range and a Fairtrade range. A feature of the stores are very low staffing rates. There will be 3 people in the shop as opposed to 200 in a big Tesco so there is nowhere to hide if you don't like to work.

Damon.

[Notsototalnewbie]

I do like Lidl stuff but I did feel sorry for the staff of the one in Bognor.

They didn't seem to have a security guard (unlike my local Brixton one!) and the manager was telling off his staff (in front of us) because someone had nicked a DVD player and he'd found the empty box. He was telling them they had to be vigilant etc - but they had their backs to the door where they were sitting at their checkouts doing their checkout thing and I thought it was a bit much.

[Quisling]

Hi Blip - you have similar aims, in as much as I bought a tandem and trailer this year so I can combine less motor vehicle use with more exercise (with built in childcare) and local shopping.  I reckon I've at least halved the spend at Tesco and saved about 150 miles driving so far.  It also gives time doing an activity with my daughter rather than just sitting together in a car which is great.

Our nearest village shop is a smallish Co-op, so there are inevitably trips to Tesco, but our local garden centre now contains an Eco-St store where I can refill Ecover bottles and recycle light bulbs, CDs and all sorts.

I still use the car too much, but that's work related.
Q

[rae]

Agressive is a bit of an understatement.  Tesco forced me to go in to work some years ago on Boxing Day because a load of soup had not been delivered by my company and if I did not sort it they would not be ordering any more.  Lovely people to deal with...NOT.

On another occasion the port of Felixstowe was shut due to high winds meaning we could not collect a couple of loads of tinned tomatos..Tesco's response..that is not our problem just get them delivered NOW !

OK, so in the first instance your company said they would deliver something on a certain date and they failed to do so.  Are you surprised that Tesco demanded delivery?  Heck, if I pay for 24 hour delivery on an item and it arrives in 36, I raise hell with the supplier.   Why should the customer (Tescos in this case) accept poor service?   On the Felixtowe case, it depends on the point of responsibility.  If your company had said "we'll get these from Spain, and ferry them, then drive them to you by date X", then they should have allowed for inevitable delays.   If your job was solely to pick them up from Felixstowe, then it is Tesco's problem, and your management should have defended that position.    I had the same problem with a supplier and stuff getting caught up in customs - they should have thought of that and shipped them earlier.  Not my problem. 

If they then decide not to buy whatever it is from the supplier that week (say because it's not selling so well) then the supplier is left with a huge investment in producing a Tesco-spec product and a warehouse full of food that's not going to sell. 

What would you rather they did....take the hit and pass it on to you?   Of course, we're never price sensitive, we always consistently support providers, regardless of the price.   Oh, no, we don't, as you can read in every Lidl "cheap crap" thread on this (and previous) sites.