Cheap veg this week

I'm a little bit schizophrenic with my food shopping, as we tend to buy from our local farm shop which only has produce from small holders or farmers who are, well local.
But now it's just us two that's fine, we can afford to choose.
But then when out and about we favour Lidl. I would only buy enough to batch freeze for two though.
Oh and some for my vegan family of course. Very useful to them.

Lots of produce can use the emblem of the UJ even if it has been grown abroad, but then packaged here.
Which is very wrong in my book.

Kate1949

I see I started that thread too. Oh well my intentions were good.

Yes, they were.

I did buy some then and I bought some now. They were on my list and I bought no more than I'd normally buy.
Otherwise they go for cattle feed.

I still hope farmers are not being screwed down by the supermarkets.

Doodledog

www.gransnet.com/forums/food/1330648-Cheap-fruit-and-veg

This thread is interesting. Particularly seeing how people's opinions have changed over three months or so.

Mine didn't

I too hope that these are loss leaders by the supermarkets and that they're not making farmers subsidise this. Supermarkets have a stranglehold on the market and make profits at the expense of farmers.

Yes, I did buy some cheaper veg but I know how much goes to waste, at a loss for farmers, because supermarkets reject perfectly good produce.

😊 Kate. Your life isn’t easy but your heart is in the right place.

A usual kind response from you GSM!

I suspect that, coming up to Christmas, people were feeling happy. Certainly so in my case. Not so much after months of miserable wet weather.

Kate, you always have good intentions. 😊

I see I started that thread too. Oh well my intentions were good.

www.gransnet.com/forums/food/1330648-Cheap-fruit-and-veg

This thread is interesting. Particularly seeing how people's opinions have changed over three months or so.

... why I don’t shop in supermarkets because they screw farmers on price and encase everything in plastic.

It’s disgraceful. Very few people seem to care so long as they get their cheap food. Some of the comments on here show that. It’s rarely the supermarket that bears the cost.

Quote from a farmer today who told me one supermarket they supply is planning half price promotions on fresh produce, and he (the farmer) will have to bear the cost:
"It's like having your heart ripped out. All that hard work and dedication and you end up making a loss. The workers need the same pay and conditions, the prices are going up and it's the farmers themselves who are are paying the cost."

Batch cooking.
It's what clever people do.

Germanshepherdsmum

Some of those will come from the UK - no wonder farming has such a high suicide rate. How many people actually need to pay so little for their food, as opposed to being plain greedy?

My husband was waiting in the car for me in a Tesco car park and saw a man loading his car from a full trolley of potatoes and onions . Far too much to feed his family! Greedy?!! There will be always someone to exploit an offer!!

My sister who is somewhat careful with money therefore very well off , took in her hand luggage 15 p bag of onions and other 15 p stuff to her flat in the Canary Islands .

I'm not sure I was blaming him for anything.

At my local Sainsbury this morning, a large notice stated that
All 15p veg monies would be donated to Comic Reluef.

There are all sorts of possibilities, but leaping to the judgement that it was more likely to be taking advantage is deeply uncharitable. Taking advantage of whom? The government could regulate the supermarkets if they wanted to, but that would go against the small state market economy that people seem to vote for, so they don't. The supermarkets could lower their profits, but as soon as anyone suggests this they are ridiculed and told that doing so would lead to ruination as there would be less investment from shareholders who would take their money elsewhere.

Blaming a bloke with a basket full of carrots is entirely missing the point, really.

Kate1949

Perhaps he was yes.

Or the Church or making soup for a drop-in Warm Space.

A local church has drop-in mornings with cakes, pastries donated by a nearby supermarket.

Perhaps he was yes.

Kate1949

I said I tried to be charitable thinking he was buying it for family.

Perhaps he was helping to run a Community fridge.

People may think that people going round with trolleys loaded with reduced cakes, pastries, bread, vegetables and/or fruit are being greedy but they may be volunteers collecting for a local Community Fridge, offering free fresh food near its sell-by date, available for all.

Germanshepherdsmum

I apologise if my post has offended you, Doodledog. There is a difference between needing to buy at these prices because you are poor, and taking advantage by buying a trolleyful to stick in your fridge.

I not only know of my father in law’s truly soul destroying experience with supermarket buyers, in my working life I have been hit with the suicides of two local farmers and that experience will never leave me.

I know how the supermarkets treat farmers. Some of my family are farmers.
I know how costs have risen recently and how narrow the margins are. Some years are better than others. If there is a glut prices are driven right down , sometimes supermarkets offer deals which they expect farmers to fund, consequently some years they barely make enough to pay themselves a salary.
Governments seem to think food arrives on supermarket shelves by magic.
They should be giving more encouragement to young people to go into farming. Years ago a route into farming was to rent a County farm, now few and far between.

Why do people think farmers are protesting here, in Europe, in Australia?

I said I tried to be charitable thinking he was buying it for family.

MissAdventure

I expect the "greedy" people are batch cooking.

Indeed. As so often advised on here, they could be making soup to freeze. There is no point in having a fridge full of carrots, is there? They'd just go off, and anyway there'd be no room for the Extra Strong lager.

I expect the "greedy" people are batch cooking.

Or a soup kitchen? exactly. Emmaus street souls near me run drop in centres where anyone can access a meal and hot drink, clothing, advice, support and friendship. Buying cheap vegetables frees up funds to be used for other needs. The ethics of farmers being paid fairly is another matter. If these vegetables aren't bought then they could finish up in landfill, a terrible waste and farmers not a penny richer.