How We Buy Our Food-- Without Going to the Supermarket!

Would you be surprised if I told you that we rarely go to the supermarket?  It's true!  Going to the grocery store used to be a pretty relaxing activity that I looked forward to when I lived in the US.  I mostly shopped at Trader Joe's, and loved going through the aisles to see what might be new, chatting with the people doing food demos, and getting recommendations for wine from their knowledgable staff.  I looked forward to this each week, especially during the months when there wasn't much to be found at the farmer's markets.  On most trips, I ran into someone I knew at our local TJ's, and over time I always became friendly with the people who worked there-- so it felt like a community gathering place to me.

Grocery shopping here in England is just not the same.  The stores are huge, and the nicer ones are really expensive.  Since we have one car, we usually have to go during the busiest times. There is nothing pleasant about trying to find the stuff I need, navigating through crowds of people.  We almost never run into people we know, and the cultural environment is much less friendly.  I don't like it.  The good news is, I don't have to do it anymore!  I'll tell you how, and I will be very candid here, and even tell you our food budget.

We spend about £525 ($800) per month, which breaks down to £105 ($160) per week, generally. This pays for breakfasts and dinners for the three of us, plus lunches for Jeff and me during the week.  I have spent years trying to get by on the smallest food budget possible.  Food is expensive here.  I am glad we have this much to work with, but I know it would probably be tight for many families over here-- especially those that have some restrictions to work around.  That's why I thought it might be helpful to share how I try to get the most and best food I can within a budget.  The quality of food we buy is a big priority for me, and this is a major opportunity for me to make a positive contribution in my community, in terms of how I spend my food dollars.  When I buy ethically and sustainably raised products, I support these practices, and encourage them to grow.  That is exciting!  That said, I am not perfect.  I routinely buy food that is not local.  I am not willing to give up citrus, after all, and after a long winter, I can't wait any more for peppers and eggplants to grow locally-- these flavors have revived me.  We don't buy 100% organic.  One big reason for that is that there are very few vendors at our market who are organic.  That's a huge bummer.  I'd rather buy from a local farm that isn't 100% organic than from a grocery store that offers old organics from who-knows-where.  Now that we've gotten that stuff sorted out, here's how I shop.

1.  All of my meat comes from my local ethical butcher.  I set aside a larger percentage of my food budget for buying beef, pork, chicken, lamb and eggs from my butcher each week.  I usually spend about £40 at his shop each Saturday.  The products he sells are of great quality, and come from good farms who raise the animals on pasture.  I feel great about that, and this is my #1 priority, in terms of voting with my food dollars.  I am very economical about the cuts I buy, and he also gives me stock bones (and cultural advice) for free!
2.  I shop at my local open market once or twice per week.  This is where I pick up massive amounts of vegetables.  I do my best to buy from the vendors that source their produce locally-- some are farmers, but most of the stands there are vendors that sell mainly imported produce.  I buy citrus and the aforementioned nightshades from them, but try to keep my money for the locals otherwise.  We have one organic vendor, and we buy lots of greens from them all year, along with whatever else they may have-- it is more expensive, but worth it. I buy cheese here, too, and sometimes olives.  I spend up to £35 per week at the open market.  I spent a bit more on this day:

3.  I buy spices from a tiny little health food store in town.  They also carry ethnic foods and brewing supplies-- super smart!  The herbs are in packets rather than jars, and are inexpensive.  What I spend varies, but it is reasonable, and I'm happy to support them.

4.  I have groceries delivered from our local supermarket.  I wish I could skip this one completely, but there are some things I just can't get anywhere else.  I actually really love ordering from our local Sainsbury's and having them deliver.  I spend about £40 (less than 10% of our budget) per month on one delivery.  I order fresh herbs (mostly absent at the market, sadly) chocolate (lots of very dark chocolate!) organic cream and yogurt, and lots of good butter, plus condiments like vinegar, olive oil, and cornichons.  I also order the crushed tomatoes I use for Shakshukah.  Once I realized that I could get groceries delivered, it made perfect sense: how much energy is saved by not getting into the car and driving 15 minutes to the grocery store, buying more than I need once there, and driving home?  Lots.  Doing deliveries is so efficient, and wastes so much less fuel (think of all the deliveries made by one van, and how many back-and-forth trips that eliminates for shoppers otherwise!)  Plus, it means I don't have to do time at those stores.  Great!
5.  I order on Amazon.  Again, in a perfect world, I wouldn't.  But we regularly use coconut products and almond flour.  These are the things I order routinely from Amazon-- I can get organic products for good prices, much more affordably than in the grocery stores.  I have an amazon prime membership both for the USA and the UK, and I get free shipping and can schedule regular deliveries of certain stapbles through a service called subscribe and save. I'd guess that I spend about £20 per month on these goods.

These are the standard things that I do, month-in, month-out.  But we often shop in much more fun ways, too. We visit farms and farm shops; we go to specialized markets (like Wyken); we go for country drives hunting for groceries; I have my husband stop by local produce stands on his way home from work; we keep chickens who lay our eggs; we garden, and we forage.  We brew our own beer and wine, ferment vegetables, and we make pretty much everything we can from scratch.  All of these things not only bring us great food for much less money, but they seriously enrich our lives.  I wish I could obtain all of my food in these unconventional ways.  For now, I am happy to do lots of this in warmer months, and gladder still that I don't have to visit a supermarket most weeks.

For me, food and everything surrounding it (growing, buying, preparing, eating) are the best part of life.  I don't believe in rushing through these things-- this is the essence of living.  We all have to eat, and it is a communal act. How wonderful that having to fuel our bodies is also very pleaurable, and builds community.  I derive great satisfaction from buying food from people I trust, and preparing it for the people I love.

 Do you have some unconventional ways of procuring your food?

This post was shared at: Thank Goodness it's Monday, Homestead Barnhop, Family Table Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Scratch Cookin' Tuesday, Frugal Days, Sustrainable Ways, Party Wave Wednesday, Tasty Traditions, Thank Your Body Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Small Footprint Fiday, Fight Back Friday, Old Fashioned Friday.

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