Five explanation why LEE BOYCE has fallen out of affection with supermarkets and is buying native as a substitute
What is it with supermarkets nowadays? It feels like the very presence of customers doing their weekly shop is a nuisance to the big players.
I half expect someone to tap me on the shoulder and ask what I’m doing there, as under pressure staff buzz around fulfilling online orders.
They’ve increasingly stripped out manned tills (no, I’m not self-scanning a whole trolley of items), the quality of produce seems to be doing downhill and don’t even think about entering without a loyalty card, unless you want to pay over the odds.
Add to the mix the shoplifting epidemic and arguments over whether staff can tackle the offenders, and incoming ‘dynamic pricing’ and I’ve genuinely had enough.
If they don’t need me, I don’t need them.
Last year, I started to occasionally pop to two local farm shops, both within five minutes of my home. One, I like for fruit and vegetables, the other for meat.
You stroll in with your wicker basket, exchange pleasantries with staff and crucially, they know where the produce is coming from.
No tricks, no gimmicks, no self-scanning machines and an overwhelming feeling of being wanted as a valued customer.
Crisp: I have ramped up my fruit, veg, meat and diary buying purchases from local farm shops this year, where I feel like a valued customer
For that reason, I decided my New Year’s resolution was to start doing as much shopping in them as possible and cut out the supermarkets. And it has been a rare beast… a resolution I have stuck rigidly to, and I’m glad I have.
For meat, I go every fortnight, stocking up on chicken breasts, steak, mince (no nasty vacuum packs here) and lamb for fridge and freezer.
For fruit and veg, I go once a week, buying what’s in season locally.
We’ve all become accustomed to having whatever we want on the supermarket shelves, but so much of it comes from overseas.
When I mention my move to farm shops to friends and family, the natural response is: ‘Cor, you must be loaded… prices are so expensive.’
I disagree. I’d rather buy four fantastic quality chicken breasts for £9 and make them stretch a little further, because the difference is night and day.
I’ve found that one chicken breast is big and doesn’t shrivel – for that reason, it’s better than two supermarket ones.
Indeed, there has been a social media trend recently of butchers explaining the quality difference.
Another trigger for me to do this was a steak I bought from a major supermarket last year. I cooked it and it was inedible.
Chewy, tough and not even the cat could battle its way through it. She sniffed it and strolled off.
I enjoy going to the counter, asking what steak cut looks best and having it prepared in front of my eyes, and also seeing which fruit and vegetables have come from near-by farms.
The same goes for local milk, honey, eggs and buying other products less mass-produced.
We haven’t completely weaned ourselves off the supermarket. We have young children who still want household staples that are simply cheaper – and always the same – in the supermarket, alongside the toilet roll, toothpaste and tablets for the dishwasher.
For me, it has been a joy voting with my wallet and supporting local businesses, not out of pity, but because the quality and experience is far superior.
Let me know if you’ve started doing similar: [email protected]
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