People are going local for seasonal fruit and veg, great meat, bread and dairy, and if they have to, the big shop once a month for non perishables.
In most cases, local is cheaper, even with the supermarket’s buying power because on average farmers only get 9p in every £1 spent on food in the supermarket. In simple terms, if a farmer can sell direct at 50p rather than 9p, he will be getting 5 times more and be giving consumers a 50% discount compared to supermarket prices.
This is a rather sweeping calculation but it is the reason why so many producers and retailers of local food on the BigBarn map are cheaper.
Many have flagged their icon, others may be working hard on offering quality food at a fair price and are not sure whether they are cheaper all the time and worried they may get in to trouble if wrong. Quite understandable when supermarket’s prices move all the time, and even vary per kilo on pack size (a common rip off).
So please visit your local producers and ask questions about price and quality, or send us details of any producers or retailers you think should be included.
EXTRA: You may also find by changing your shopping habit to local you will save by avoiding BOGOFs and unwanted DVDs!