![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Food purchases
Jul. 5th, 2011 09:50 pmWe acquired a milk delivery last week. Milk and local free range eggs delivered in the mornings, milk three days a week and eggs on a Friday. This inspired me to investigate veg boxes in the locality and look at local suppliers, and I ended up taking a spin to the farm shop at Blagdon on Sunday.
I feel like it negates the purpose of buying local by using the car to go shopping, but the only choice in the town is in supermarkets, we have no butcher, greengrocer or fishmonger. There are bakeries, the ubiquitous Northern Greggs among others, but no fresh produce small businesses. There is a market once a week, on Wednesdays, but the choice is greatly reduced from what it used to be ten years ago.
The farm shop had a nice selection, substantial choice of meat and reasonable choice of fruit and vegetables. I got some beef mince, pork tenderloin, venison burger and lamb steaks, as well as some veg and local milk. The meat has been exceptional so far - very tasty. The veg is fine, but nothing exciting. When I used to get a veg bag at work it was the unexpected nature of it I liked, the fact that you never knew exactly what would be in it. I don't get the same kick out of picking my own carrots, parsnips and potatoes!
So I think I still need to find a veg box, but for meat I may well splash out on the farm. If we can manage it, I'd rather pay more for local, good quality food than buy supermarket mass produced stuff.
I feel like it negates the purpose of buying local by using the car to go shopping, but the only choice in the town is in supermarkets, we have no butcher, greengrocer or fishmonger. There are bakeries, the ubiquitous Northern Greggs among others, but no fresh produce small businesses. There is a market once a week, on Wednesdays, but the choice is greatly reduced from what it used to be ten years ago.
The farm shop had a nice selection, substantial choice of meat and reasonable choice of fruit and vegetables. I got some beef mince, pork tenderloin, venison burger and lamb steaks, as well as some veg and local milk. The meat has been exceptional so far - very tasty. The veg is fine, but nothing exciting. When I used to get a veg bag at work it was the unexpected nature of it I liked, the fact that you never knew exactly what would be in it. I don't get the same kick out of picking my own carrots, parsnips and potatoes!
So I think I still need to find a veg box, but for meat I may well splash out on the farm. If we can manage it, I'd rather pay more for local, good quality food than buy supermarket mass produced stuff.
