If local food is cheaper, and better, how do we get more people to switch from the supermarket to buying local.

Many of our previous blogs have talked about saving money by switching from the supermarket to local food producers and small retailers.

Buying seasonal food, direct, means saving money by cutting out the supply chain cost, and not wasting money on ‘temptations’ like DVDs and special offers.

In these austere times you would expect this to be the major factor in getting people to change. Especially when 80% of people say they want to buy local food. So why do only 25% of people actually buy local food, and what will get more to switch?

Knowledge
Perhaps people don’t know they can save money. Or don’t believe supermarkets are more expensive. “How can they be, with all that buying power”, I hear people say.

Another problem is that most people know where their nearest supermarkets are, but not their local producers, farm shops, or friendly butcher.

Answer: There should be more media coverage, social networking, and price comparison in shops.

And a definitive database of local producers and retailers on many websites, so that people can find their local food suppliers. Like the BigBarn Local Food map. This map has now been packaged so that any other website can have it to look as though it is theirs and earn a commission on trade.

Frightened
Many people also feel safe in the supermarket and are worried that the local butcher or retailer will laugh at them if they ask a silly question.

Answer: Local food suppliers should make a quick You Tube video to show how friendly and enthusiastic they are about their produce. These videos can then be seen on their BigBarn page.

Loyalty schemes
Millions of people are obsessed with their loyalty cards and points.

Answer: People must realise that any loyalty points are given are paid for by higher priced products.

Convenience
It is great to go to a shop where everything is in one place and you can wheel your trolley back to the car. You can pick up things you did not have on your list.

Answer; Supermarket meat is not good, and veg not fresh, a local producer/small retailer might be closer and cheaper. Do you need, everything every week, switch to buying local every week for fresh food and leave the supermarket to once a month.

Special Offers
When supermarkets buy so much they have to clear their shelves and often have great bargains.

Answer; Yes, sometimes. More often however they use ‘offers’ to get you to spend more than you wanted and many ‘offers’ are actually more expensive; One 185g pack foe 2.75 or two for £5. Just below a 250g pack is not on offer at £2.50 cheaper!

Trust
With their big business status, their constant marketing & UK food standards you can trust supermarkets to look after you.

Answer; when offers are not ‘special’ and very little of your money returns to farmers & your community, do supermarkets really deserve your trust? A local business who’s reputation is at stake will reward your trust and will grow more and employ more local people as his/her business grows.

And now for some reasons to shop locally where the supermarkets can’t compete:

The Story
Wouldn’t you like to know the story of the food you buy? What’s in season, how fresh, animal welfare, where and how the animals have been produced, the best cuts of meat for your recipe, how long has that beef been hung,recipes for seasonal fruit & veg, why is that bread so tasty, what’s so special about that product

Leisure
Many farm shops have animals for the kids to look at, play areas, picnic sites, tractor rides and some even pig or sheep racing. A great day out while doing the boring old shop!

Selling Grow your own
Many local retailers will be happy to sell food that you have grown. This is a great way for small shops to get fresh fruit and veg and for you to join the food industry. Look for rossettes on icon on the BigBarn local food map for BigBarn ‘Crop for the Shop‘ participants.

Events and celebrations
Many farm shops have seasonal food celebrations and events like ‘Apple day’, ‘Asparagus week’ or regular Farmers Markets to meet the local farmers.

So, some great reasons to try your local producers and make the switch. If I have missed any other reasons please comment below.

New Year’s, food, resolution

Findwine.co.uk

A fantastic new year to everyone from us all at BigBarn. We hope that in the hard times to come you will still be able to eat great food and save money.

The best way to do this is to give up the supermarket and shop locally for seasonal foods that are nearly always cheaper. (You will also avoid the bogofs and DVDs you don’t need).

Buying local food means getting a bit more organised with your shopping list and dusting off a few recipe books to make the best of what is available.

And please don’t treat cooking as a chore, it can be a creation experience to be proud of and worth celebrating with family and friends.

It is always really worth while to get the kids involved, they are the future and should be much more creative than us oldies. They can even watch video recipes to feel more 21st century!

We also hope you, and the kids, can join our Crop for the Shop scheme and grow some fruit and veg to supply the dinning room table, as well as earn by selling through the local shop. Growing veg is a great way to get kids interested in proper foods and trying natural foods raw.

2012 should be a great year for BigBarn now that local food is cheaper, and better, than the supermarket. We will be making big changes, and adding more features to help reconnect consumers with producers and encourage local trade. The more trade the more food local farmers will produce, and the cheaper it will become.

We really hope you will get involved, grow and cook, and email us with any news, errors, or omissions relevant to our local food map.

HAPPY 2012 TO YOU ALL!

Supermarket arrogance; picture of asparagus on the back of Tesco vans

planetgreen.discovery.com

By promoting Asparagus on the back of their delivery vans Tesco is telling customers not to worry about food miles, or British seasonal foods. To me, another sign of their arrogance and complacency.

The UK asparagus season is normally from mid April to the end of June, and should be eaten the same day as picked to get the full flavour and goodness. This is true of many other seasonal fruits and vegetables, and is part of the rich variety of tasty nutritious foods available to us all in this green and pleasant land. As many seasonal foods mature they are very often plentiful, and therefor cheap, especially if bought direct from the producer.

The supermarkets would rather we did not buy seasonal food, unless they have them in stock, and can make their usual high margin. Only giving the producer less than 20% of the retail price.

By persuading customers to eat products, like asparagus, all year round they can make their usual high margins and plan their shelf stacking and sales in advance, without having to worry about when seasonal produce is available from local farms.

This is always obvious when English apples are in season, you will see plenty on local trees, but none on the supermarket shelf. A few weeks later some English apples will appear but only about 10 of the 1,000+ varieties we have in the UK. Only those varieties that have a long shelf life meet the supermarket specification.

We consumers really must realise that supermarkets do not care about; 1. supplying us with quality food at the right price, or, 2. giving British farmers a fair price.

They simply want us to become addicted to their loyalty schemes and making as much profit as possible from every shopping basket.

The great news is that most of us have an alternative. There are thousands of other places to buy food on BigBarn’s Local food map. Many places are cheaper than the supermarket, with most promoting local produce that is fresher and more nutritious.

Edible Todmorden, Veg in the Church yard

The tide is turning and there are places where no one shops at the supermarket, and many foods are free, yes free! Like edible Todmorden

In a these austere times what a fantastic way to save money and pull communities together. One of BigBarn’s jobs is to help many more communities follow this initiative with so many positive outcomes, including, cheaper, better, food, improved diet and knowledge of food +++.

Exciting times, as always, your comments are welcome below.

BigBarn and Positive Luxury

With its emphasis on home grown produce, support for British farmers and fresher, cheaper food, Positive Luxury is proud of their collaboration with BigBarn. BigBarn aims to reverse the ‘anti-social’ trend of the UK food industry by connecting consumers with local producers and encouraging local trade.

Choosing locally sourced produce not only reduces your carbon footprint and helps to support smaller business, but often tastes better too as you can buy fresh goods rather than those than have spent hours being shipped. The idea of making informed choices about the products you buy is central to our ethos, as we believe everyone can contribute to reversing environmental damage by selecting more sustainable brands.

Our blue butterfly icon was inspired by the story of the Large Blue, a species of butterfly which was driven to extinction in Britain as it was once highly collectable. In what would come to be called one of the world’s most successful insect reintroduction programmes, scientists were able to import them from Sweden in 80’s.

There are now tens of thousands living across the south west of England, in what Sir David Attenborough called “…a remarkable success story illustrating the power of ecological research to reverse damaging environmental changes.” At Positive Luxury we believe everyone can create a blue butterfly story by making careful choices about what we buy.

BBC: The end of ‘cheap’ food. BigBarn: Nothing to worry about.

Photo: koshercomputing.blogspot.com

If you listened to Radio 4′s Food Programme today you may be worrying about the end of cheap food and rising prices in the new year.

Don’t worry, just change.

Grain prices have been pushed dramatically higher by increased demand from China and India, stockpiling grain in Saudi Arabia, and cancelled exports due to drought in Russia.

As grain goes up so does meat, as the cost of feed increases. (It takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef.)

Likewise prices will increase for all dairy products, as cows, need to be fed on grain. And bread, biscuits, and cereals, come from grain.

We are told by the media and the Food Programme that the pain of higher prices is being held back by a huge supermarket price war currently being waged. As usual it is not the supermarkets cutting their margins just their suppliers forced to take a hit. Some suppliers such as Premier Foods have been delisted for trying to increase their prices.

Eventually prices will rise and consumers will have to start making choices. Many will do what the retailers want, and become even more addicted to bargain hunting, like supermarket offers or Pound shop outlets. These people will save very little.

Photo; shenzhenstuff.com

When I say ‘don’t worry, just change’ I mean, change from supermarkets, ready meals, and discount hunting. Avoid any products where a lot of businesses in a supply chain have added a margin

We can all eat very well, for very little. Any Scotsmen will tell you the fantastic nutritional qualities of porridge. Whole Oats boiled in water cost around 5p a portion. We could all survive on 15p a day! And probably be healthier than someone spending £200 per day in fancy restaurants.

We really must get things in perspective and a rise in prices may be good to encourage change, and perhaps improve diet. Change like;
- eating less meat
- cooking with cheaper fresh ingredients, instead of buying expensive, salty, ready meals
- cutting back on biscuits and high sugar foods
- shopping locally where offers will be on fresh produce instead of a BOGOF on something you don’t need
- growing your own for a bit of garden exercise and enthusing the kids to eat fruit & veg
- growing to sell to other people via BigBarn ‘Crop for the Shop‘

Photo:. unlikeschool.com

We must not let the forthcoming rise in food prices give the supermarkets a marketing opportunity and chance to increase their profits. I think they are already using the current price war in their long term marketing plan to increase prices and profits in the new year.

So CHANGE! Please pass this on. Use our local food map to find your local shops to buy fresh cheap locally produced ingredients and get digging to allow your veg patch to weather down for next seasons planting. And dust off those cookery books, or join the digital age a watch a video recipe.

Supermarkets are Complacent and have had their day

If you saw Panorama’s The truth About Supermarket Prices Wars you will have noticed that supermarkets are treating customers like ignorant, idiots. When making profits of over £1billion I believe this complacency shows they have had their day.

The programme started by showing that despite huge marketing campaigns saying that each was cheaper than the other, non were forecasting a drop in profits. What annoyed me were the ‘special offers’ that actually worked out at the same price, or in some cases more expensive. Like 1 unit for £1 or, special; 2 units for £2.

Is that a joke or a sign to tell me I am stupid.

Luckily a recent survey showed that 47% of people find these offers misleading, proving they are not as stupid as supermarkets think.

What is very exciting is that they are mad to be complacent. 65% of the grocery trade goes to the ‘big 5′ but consumers do have an alternative, in particular, local food, that traditionally, has perceived to be less convenient and more expensive, but is actually the opposite.

By cutting out the middlemen and retailers local food is now cheaper, fresher and better, with many green and community benefits as well. Such as, boosting local economies, creating jobs as more crops are grown, decreasing imports, etc.

The more we buy local food the more, and diverse crops, farmers will be encouraged to grow and the cheaper it will become. Some people can even become small farmers with our Crop for the Shop Scheme.

So spread the word and stick two fingers up to the supermarket by trying your local producers and retailers. Simply type your post code in the BigBarn website to see your local food map

And if you do find yourself in a supermarket and see misleading sign, tear it up, you have every right to react when called stupid.

Christmas present ideas

	A very happy festive season from as all at BigBarn.  We now have 410 producers in the BigBarn MarketPlace with over 10,400 products, many with some great Christmas presents.  To see producers for each product simply click on the links or photos and buy, to collect, or get a delivery.  Or browse producers offering a discount using code BB1. Free Range Turkey for the whole family. Regional Hampers
	Chocolates from artisan chocolatiers using real carefully selected ingredients for incredible flavour. Or for the real chocoholic try a chocolate making course. Specialist coffees whole whole beans to grind fresh or special grinds for different uses.   Or for tea lovers, find some real tea not factory floor sweepings.
	Chilli sauce some like it hot, a great present for real men. Rape Seed Oil; buy it in 5l cans for cooking, salad dressing or bottle it with herbs or chilli to make chilli oil for pizza. Cheese; Direct from the producer or expert, with a the story of why the product is so good.
	Christmas cakes and puds made using special recipes and carefully selected ingredients. Gluten Free bread and cakes Real home cured bacon and ham (not the stuff injected with salty water) Quality sausages Matured beef
	Health and natural beauty; including soaps, creams, lotions, honey balms and remedies Beers, ciders and English wine Mutton; not from a 8 year old barren ewe but from a lamb that has been allowed to mature to give better texture and flavour
	Haggis and black pudding direct from artisan butchers. Marmalade, jams and chutneys; from people who carefully select their ingredients for real flavour. Courses; from cookery, to chocolate, sausage, bread or cheese making, to foraging. Or browse all those producers offering a discount with the BB1 discount code. Simply click the discount code page and click on any producer of interest, fill to your shopping basket to the require value then type in BB1 to get the discount.

Curing a Mad, Mad world with Food

I think most people agree we live in a mad world. 10% of the worlds population owns 85% of total assets, over 3 billion people (nearly half the world) live on less that $2.50 per day, and in the UK milk is cheaper than water in some shops.

People are starving when, according to expert Colin Trudge; ‘everyone who is ever liable to be born could be well fed, forever, not simply on basic provender but to the highest standards of nutrition and gastronomy.’

I strongly recommend you read his article ‘Feeding people is easy‘

According to Colin; ‘If we get the food right then everything else that we need and want in life—good health, fine landscapes, the company of other species, peace, amity, personal fulfilment can start to fall into place.’

Wow, his article certainly makes sense and with facts like; ‘We currently feed well over half the staples that could be feeding us, to cattle, pigs, and poultry. So instead of helping us to feed ourselves, our animals compete with us. By 2050, on present trends, the world’s livestock will consume enough to feed four billion people.’

Madness. But what can we do? Quite a lot, and hopefully start a trend that could spread around the world. The three main problems we have at the moment are; 1. appalling animal welfare making meat too cheap 2. in this country, only 9p in every £1 spent of food going back to the farmer and 3. lack of cooking knowledge and enthusiasm (despite all the shows on TV)

The corporate world has acquired the food industry, taking the other 91p in the £1 and is milking it, for all it is worth.

The exciting consequence is that the corporates have become greedy and complacent, thinking they also ‘own’ the consumer. Luckily, in this green and pleasant land, we have an alternative; Local food producers, who are cheaper and better.

If we switch to local nearly all of the £1 we spend goes back to the farmer and community. This encourages greater production and diversity, increasing employment and getting people involved in their local food industry. Sharing recipes, cooking, preserving and even cider making.

With our Crop for the Shop initiative local people, kids, or schools can even join, and earn, from the industry. Food could become the community builder for the future.

And animal welfare? Successive legislation has not been enough. We simply don’t have the right to keep animals the way many are ‘farmed’. Corporates have taken over and show the consumer great packaging and the tasty, sauce covered, product on a plate. Carefully hiding the story of its production. To see an example of this and the horror of pig farming click The Pig Business

If we embrace, and switch to, a local food industry, we may need to pay a bit more for really good meat and perhaps cut down a little. We will however save money, have a clear conscience, and in time, be healthier, and live in a better, more sustainable, community.

Or am I just dreaming? Your thoughts are very welcome below. Or if you agree switch to local using the BigBarn local food map, and tell your friends.

Great British Food Revival – Turkey

Great to see the Great British Food Revival raising awareness to real tasty free range Turkeys. And, this time, not making the mistake of telling viewers to visit their supermarket, as mentioned in our previous blog.

It was especially interesting for me, to see that bronze turkeys have faded from popularity because supermarkets do not like the dark feather stubs left on the bird. As usual nothing to do with flavour or quality! A typical consequence of the modern food industry disconnecting producers from consumers.

So if you are looking for a great Turkey this Christmas use our special Turkey map to find your local free range turkey direct from the producer.

In most parts of the country you can order now for Christmas delivery. Or you could pay now and collect your turkey and meet the farmer, so you can get the full story of how your turkey has been reared.

Once you have organised your Christmas meal centrepiece you can use BigBarn to get all the best trimmings and some brilliant presents.

Simply click to view our special discount code page and browse 50+ artisan producers offering 10% or more discount. Once you have found what you want use code BB1.

Cancer Cure and Cheap Veg?

I was phoned yesterday morning by a lady wanting a large bag of organic beetroot for her sister who had cancer. She wanted to make juice every day and it had to be organic as root crops absorb any nasty elements in the soil.

After a quick search in the BigBarn MarketPlace I found an organic supplier and was quoted £25 for a 25kg bag, as the Tesco price was £1.80 a bunch, and the delivery cost £6.10, our customer was very happy.

So we are now thinking of asking veg suppliers in MarketPlace to sell 10 or 25kg bags of root veg. Especially onions, beetroot, potatoes, parsnips and carrots, that store well in a cool larder. Your feedback below is very welcome.

To buy the organic Beetroot and other root veg online and get a delivery, visit Ashurst Organic or use our local food map to find your nearest supplier and ask if you can pay a lower price if you buy a large bag.

For more on Beetroot and cancer there are many interesting articles on the internet. click here for articles. If I was unlucky enough to get cancer nutrition is definitely one of the first things I would change.