Fresh, Local Food Shopping in Bideford

I have to admit to being rather lazy when it comes to shopping and although I'm really fussy about what I buy in terms of food miles and animal welfare I usually find myself in Bideford Morrisons label-reading and comparing price per 100g.

I'm an avid bargain hunter and do get a thrill from BOGOFs and TWOFORs but these days these cheap tricks don't seem to be helping me keep my food bills down.

According to the latest retail price index (RPI) statistics, in August 2010, the price for domestic food and drink rose by 4.1%.  I used to have a budget of £100 per week for my shopping for our family of four (plus dog).  This included mid-week top-ups of bread, milk etc.  Over the last year I've found I'm spending about 15% more on a supermarket shop.  Things like fruit and veg are noticeably more expensive and I do dither over the tomatoes wondering if I could just leave them where they are but how do you substitute a tomato?

I'm often horrified and bemused by the food miles incurred in getting an onion to Bideford.  Why on earth would Morrisons want to get their onions from New Zealand when we can grow them in our own back gardens?  A lot of supermarkets to make an effort to sell local (ish) produce.  However, according to an article in the Guardian earlier this month Cornish clotted cream makes a 340 mile round trip to be sold two miles from where it was made.

The silly thing is that I really don't need to go to the supermarket at all. I work from home and, if I'm honest, am never really too busy to do 'proper' shopping.  It is easy to take a walk down Mill Street in Bideford and pop into Honey's for some sausages and nip in next door to Kellands for some fruit and veg.  I often fancy a veggie meal and visit Bideford Health Foods for some tasty little extras.  There's nothing quite like fresh bread either and Mill Street has that too.

I've recently found somewhere though where I can get all this in one shop.  The Real Farm Shop up at the Big Sheep in Bideford sells delicious fresh local food.  I popped up there a couple of weeks ago and the Lang's Scotch Eggs alone were enough to keep me going back regularly.  Phoebe Gibb, who runs the shop, says she wants to keep her prices affordable.  She doesn't want to make fresh, local food an expensive option.  They keep an eye on Asda up the road and with the meat she sells, for example, she can match prices of Asda's top of the range goods.

Last weekend I bought everything I needed for a Sunday roast up at the farm shop and it cost me £12.99.  I thought the price was very reasonable but the taste was incomparable to anything I could get at a supermarket.  Back to the subject of tomatoes ... the Real Farm Shop's tomatoes came from a polytunnel just outside the back door and they were the sweetest, most delicious little toms I've had for a long time.

So, yes, I will try and mend my ways and shop more locally.  It can be done with no more than a little effort but it's definitely well worth it.