Reflections on a week @buylocalnorfolk

By Mrs Pigman

Our week of not entering a national or multinational retail outlet finished a day early as I had a long established shopping date with my daughter who at fourteen did not want to be restricted by the foibles of her already embarrassing parents - and besides she argued Jack Wills is made in Britain!

So did I cheat?

Only once - Paddy our son had a very sore throat the morning the Food Awards judges were due to visit us - not able to fit in the 20+ mile round trip to our nearest independent pharmacist in Watton I popped into Boots. Oh Ye of little faith, my husband got an identical packet of strepsils from our local garage and paid the same price

Did we Starve?

Not at all although I did miss avocados and crisp lettuce. We are however not a typical supermarket shopper - we produce most of our own meat and neighbours supply us with eggs and veg. Our main supermarket purchases are non consumables, bread and dairy products. As a result of 'Buy Local Norfolk' we have decided that  instead of buying supermarket bread each week for convenience and each week moaning about it's quality we will get organised and support the bakery in Hingham which is near my work. Dairy products and salad are more of a quandary - Where possible I buy organic milk and yogurt (although ironically my scruples do not stretch to butter and cheese!) and I do like fresh, crisp veg even if it has been microwaved!

Was it expensive?

On a like for like basis the food we bought was the same as I would have paid in a supermarket - the additional and considerable added cost came in time and fuel costs.

What are our conclusions?

There was an interesting article on You and Yours today featuring Nigel Harris, the boss of Fresh Direct who has been running a village shop for nearly four years. Despite his buying power and vast experience his shop has still not made a profit. He is convinced that it will and when it does there is a model that could be rolled out. In the meantime we must ensure that the butchers, bakers and candlestick makers that are left in rural England- providing they offer a good product - continue to receive our full support where possible, equally we should not crucify ourselves if we upon occassion take advantage of the convenience and price competitiveness offered by the 'Big Boys'