British produce

[Nicos]

Interestingly , from what I have seen , a vast proportion of French shoppers demand French produced goods..and boycot foreign foods.
Application contrôle is very firmly adhered to here and isome foods c an be difficult to buy out of season...eg strawberries...produce, unless you know supermarkets which are foreign owned...eg Aldi/Lidl/ Netto.

Supermarkets being led by the punters.....it clearly depends on what the punters want!!!

[bearded bloke]

Sorry but if the place is still in business after 15 years they must have more satisfied than dis-satisfied customers, like I said earlier if enough people vote with their wallets things do change.

[veggiechicken]

Until you can change Joe Public's perception that strawberries, tomatoes and green beans are available fresh all year round, the supermarkets will continue to buy in from abroad.
Maybe I'm fortunate living where I do, because there are local farm shops, organic veg and meat box deliveries, farmer's markets and community supported agriculture schemes (of which I am a shareholder), all within easy reach - and I live in a city
I see little point in complaining to a supermarket about their purchasing strategies, better to shop elsewhere where your custom will make a difference.

[Nicos]

One thing which has bugged me for a while is that I look at a recipe and you can bet your socks that there will be an ingredient in it out of season which can't be stored in it's natural state.
I get the feeling that we are now used to eating what we like when we like no matter where the ingredients come from.
Next time you go to a restaurant just look at what is on the menu , I bet the majority of ingredients must have been imported.

Maybe we all need reeducating on what delicious seasonal recipes are available!

[JanieB]

Sorry but if the place is still in business after 15 years they must have more satisfied than dis-satisfied customers, like I said earlier if enough people vote with their wallets things do change.

Not going to disagree with you BUT if you only have a chance to shop locally and that is in a large town/city it often has nothing to do with wallets but convenience.

Sometimes it has to do with them only stocking some items in their larger stores.

[Jeanied]

I have several fresh fruit and veg shops near me- the ones that open their stalls onto the street so we can all browse. Brilliant for all the imported stuff, but finding British broad beans in season - impossible!
Love the range of herbs and spices but not the limited local stuff.

[Alison]

I got fed up with supermarkets about 10 years ago (I think) and pretty much stopped using them. Certainly never buy meat or veg from them but do occasionally use them for stuff like loo roll and washing powder. One of my concerns about shopping in more local shops was that it would cost me more and take me longer but after I'd got my alternative options in place I found quite the opposite. I buy what is available and good value and cook meals around that taking into consideration what fresh produce I have at the lottie. I prefer to eat seasonally as it genuinely tastes better and means that I have things to look forward to . Obviously I can't say if this is possible everywhere but actually I've found round here the thought of it was far harder than it actually was.

[arpoet]

This has been a great topic.
Having worked in retail fresh food for over 30 years, I know what is in season and what is worth buying.
In the 70s 80s and early 90s I operated a large fresh food store and we had several other supermarkets in and arround Sheffield.
I bought all the fruit and veg on a daily basis from the wholesale market, where most of the veg came overnight from Lincolnshire. by the time my customers bought it it was less than a day old.
I always bought and sold lots of English apple varieties as they were in season (they didn't all keep well) but my best selling apple was always French Golden Delicious. I would buy several pallets of apples every week and no matter what the cost was I sold all the loose apples at the same price per pound. This speeded up things at the checkouts.
Most of the meat came from the local area via a super local wholesale farmer and butcher with his own abattoir. Most of beef and lambs came from farms within 30 min drive, and pork and chicken within an hours drive.

I am now retired but know where to go for good stuff.

I buy meat from a family butcher called Slatterys in Sheffield Market and Pies and Sausages, etc. from a pork butcher, called Wateralls, also in Sheffield Market. Both these sell meat and products that are locally produced and made. Low food miles.

Veg, i grow most of my own but buy sacks of tatties grown on a farm 5 miles away.
Apples. I will not buy imported ones while ever thier are English to be had. Since September my local t£$c0 had stocked several varieties of English apples, so well done to them. In the market, apart from Coxes most of the apples on sale are imports.

If peole was good local stuff they have go out and find it and be prepared to pay a wee bit more for good stuff.
Cheap is only cheap when you buy it.