Our Produce, supplying Staffordshire with great value local food

I do try and avoid blatantly criticising the supermarkets but I must admit to gasping in horror as I drove through Lichfield last week at the phenomenal scale of the new Tesco’s. I know local residents have been complaining vociferously that planning permission was ever granted for such a huge replacement to the original store and now they have started to clad it it you can see their concerns are justified. I realise that developments like this bring jobs to an area and councils have to encourage economic investment on their patch, but as I drove on to collect my bread from Hindleys, saw the greengrocers up ahead, then went past the market and Walter Smiths, the butchers I just prayed that consumers understand that these local businesses are the heart of our towns and cities. I then passed a woman on a bicycle with bulging white carrier bags hanging off each side of her handle bars….she’d obviously just been to the market. She made me smile and gave me hope.

for Tesco’s sandwich makers. Apparently it’s so important for shoppers to see the sandwich counter full as they enter the store the day after Boxing day, that all the sandwich makers are back to work at 9.00 pm Christmas Day. And it’s not that the sandwiches get bought and eaten – they are simply there because it wouldn’t look good if the counter was empty. I could rant on for ever about this but I will leave you to think about what the ramifications are for such folly….

The average British family with children throws away over a quarter of all the food it purchases! Pardon?

These are the latest findings from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). They estimate that households throw away over £10 billion of edible food in England and Wales alone.

It’s just incredible in a world of soaring food prices, land shortages and starvation that anyone can be so selfish and plain stupid…yet clearly we are!

Plan your meals, use leftovers, don’t succumb to BOGOFFs. Be smarter. Save money.

 IT’S EASY; DON’T MAKE EXCUSES!!

Post your ideas for meal planning, recipes for leftovers, money saving tips here on the Our Produce blog. Spread the word!!

Why  is it that when you go to the supermarket you can’t buy what  you want? I try to avoid the inevitable visit for as long as possible but needs must, as I do only sell things that are in season and unfortunately grapes and melons are still in high demand by the younger members of our household. So I went to buy a canteloup melon. Not two melons; one melon. Could I buy one melon? Well yes if I wanted to pay more and choose a different variety. But canteloups were on buy one get one free. I DIDN’T WANT TWO….I KNEW WE WOULDN’T EAT TWO….and I refuse to throw food away EVEN IF IT IS APPARENTLY FREE! It’s like when you want to buy a 6 pack of little fromage frais for the one small member of the household who likes them. They sell them in packs of 12 and then do a buy one get one free, and suddenly you’ve got 24!!! You wanted 6! IT DOES MATTER that we throw the ‘free’ ones away because they’re a day beyond their ridiculously short use by date. It’s a blatant disregard for the value and preciousness of food. I bought neither melons or fromage frais on that day and Lizzie didn’t understand why not……