30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (Review)

Yesterday was the last day of my challenge.  Today I went out and celebrated ... no, not by dashing into the nearest supermarket to stock up on all the goods I'd missed, but by buying my first mince pie of the season ... from one of our local independent bakers.

Because you see, this challenge has been much easier, and more enjoyable, than I feared.  True it's required more forward thinking, and seeking out alternative traders and ingredients, but even on days when I haven't had time to give it much thought I've managed to put something on the table.

A few observations:

I am very fortunate to live within walking distance of a not just one, but two thriving high streets and a couple of markets, without which I would surely have failed in my challenge.

It's difficult to tell whether I'm better or worse off avoiding supermarkets.  Independents can't always match Aldi & Lidl prices but I've been more discerning in what I buy and haven't been tempted to buy more than I needed or give in to irresistible special offers.

I've eaten even less processed food than usual, preparing meals from scratch based on grains, pulses and vegetables, with fish and meat thrown in at the weekends.

The percentage of Bristol Pound payments has increased.

I've discovered a new supplier for the Indian dishes I enjoy preparing, as well as a new baker and cafe.

There is a sense of satisfaction in supporting local traders and keeping my local high street alive.

So although I'll eventually return to some of the smaller supermarkets it will only be for the handful of items I can't buy elsewhere.  I'll also be setting a weekly limit to prevent me from succumbing to old habits.

Perhaps you could give it a go.  If you do I'd like to hear how you get on.

30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (The Bristol Pound)

One of the benefits of going supermarket-free is being able to make greater use of Bristol's local currency.  Launched just over two years ago the £B supports local independent traders by ensuring that every £B spent continues to circulate within the local economy, creating jobs and fostering links between local businesses, long after its sterling equivalent has flown the city.

There are now over 750 traders accepting £B in paper or digital form, including cafes, chimney sweeps, brewers, photographers, web designers, health food shops, publishers, plumbers, accountants, cycle couriers, buses ... but no supermarkets!

To find out more log on to www.bristolpound.org, open an account and see where it takes you.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

Oh, and look out for the brand new Official Bristol Pound Directory 2015 hitting the streets as you read this.

30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (Homemade Alternatives)

I've been using up opened items of supermarket foods but a few of these are coming to an end and I'm going to have to find alternatives - or make them myself.

Pesto: As well as stirring this through pasta and chucking in a handful of pine nuts, half a dozen olives or crumbled feta, I've also been known to use it to to add flavour to sauces or a zing to a weekday sandwich.  Pesto is traditionally made with basil.  Now I don't know about you but I've never been very successful in growing basil, however we have kale in our back garden, and I'm told it is a reasonable substitute.

Mayonnaise: Mayo is the essential partner for tuna in sandwiches and baked potatoes as well as my favourite potato salad (along with crispy bacon, spring onions and mustard).  However, despite following various recipes to the letter, I invariably end up with a curdled mess at the bottom of my bowl and enough egg whites to make a dozen pavlovas.

Yoghurt: Yoghurt is something I have made quite successfully, using a a spoonful of live yoghurt, warm milk and a thermos flask.  The consistency differs from shop bought varieties but I prefer it.  I've also strained it to produce a soft cheese.

So I've got a bit of experimenting to do.

Have you any tried and tested recipes to share?

30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (Local High Street)

I didn't do much in preparation for this challenge, apart from making a trip to Bristol Sweet Mart, a veritable Aladdin's cave, to stock up on flours, pulses and spices.

I'm lucky to live within walking distance of that increasing rare phenomenon, a thriving high street, boasting two butchers, three bakers, a greengrocer and a deli.  We also have a weekly Sunday market.

So I've been able to buy croissants, liver, eggs, cheese, fruit, vegetables, split peas, dried fruit and nuts without darkening the door of a supermarket.

I've used up a few odds and ends from the freezer, clearing a space for stocks of sauces and soups.  Having the basis of a meal in stock should save me from an emergency visit to a supermarket after a long day at work.

30-day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge

Today is the first day of my 30-day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge.

Three and half years ago, following a couple of (ultimately successful) campaigns to prevent the construction of a megastore in our area, I vowed never to darken the doors of the Big Four (Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys & Morrisons) again.  With a handful of exceptions I have managed to do so (or should that be 'not to do so'?).  I have, however, continued to do some of my shopping in other supermarkets (Waitrose, Co-op, Lidl & Aldi).  But from today onward, at least until the end of November, I will be avoiding even these.

That's the history, but I'm anxious that this should be a positive, rather than a negative challenge.

• I see this as an opportunity to explore the growing number of options to the supermarkets - local independents, fruit and vegetable box schemes, buying groups ...
• I'm going to take a closer look at what I eat, how much I eat and how I prepare it.
• I'd like to try and grow some of my own food.  November is not the obvious time to be out and about in the garden but I'm going to investigate winter salads and windowsill herbs.
• I'm hoping to learn new skills.  If I'm unable to source an item from the supermarket, can I make it myself?  Will I be able to break my jinx on homemade mayonnaise?
• And finally, at a time when (almost) everyone is tightening their belts, I'd like to  see whether I spend more or less money on food.  Can I bust the myth that supermarkets are cheaper than their alternatives?

For the avoidance of doubt (and waste!), I'm going to use up any opened packets of supermarket food and the contents of my freezer, which I'd like to clear ready to receive tubs of batch cooked sauces etc.

That's it for now.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.  And it goes without saying that any advice you wish to give me will be gratefully received.

Blog Action Day: The Power of We

Today's Food Programme was about food waste.  15 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year.  Tristram Stuart interviewed a variety of people involved in trying either to reduce this mountain of waste or at least divert it to people who need it.

There are a number of reasons why food is wasted.  Some of it remains unharvested, some is rejected because it does not meet quality or aesthetic standards, some is damaged in transport or storage, some is surplus to requirements, some exceeds its best before date ... The list goes on.

But there are also a variety of organisations dedicated to rescuing waste food before it is dumped in a landfill site.  Volunteers harvest unwanted crops, collect rejected food from the back doors of supermarkets, pass it on to vulnerable people, use it to prepare meals for the homeless, make it into jams and chutneys ...

It was fascinating listening but the bit that caught my attention was right at the end, when Tristram Stuart observed that the most effective food related campaigns in recent years (ie GM, sustainable fishing, free range poultry) have been largely consumer led, and suggested that if we, the customers, were to ask supermarkets to stock knobbly fruit and vegetables and make more of their food waste available to charities, then they would more than likely do so.

So, if you are concerned about the amount of food being dumped in landfill then exercise 'the power of we'.

PS  It is worth noting that almost 50% of food waste is in our homes, and 60% of this is avoidable. So 'we' could launch our campaign in our own trolleys, kitchens and dining rooms. For tips on how to do this log in to Love Food Hate Waste

Trinity

Yesterday revolved around food.

I left work on the stroke of midday and hared up the road to Bristol University's Great Hall to listen to one of my heroes, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.  The talk was part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas and Hugh was using it to promote his new book Three Good Things.  He shared his observation that some of the best dishes he cooked at home or enjoyed eating out were 'little more,and little less than three good things on a plate'.  He cited fish and chips and mushy peas; scones, jam and clotted cream; rhubarb, crumble and custard ...  I have come up with a few of my own: the classic French steak, frites et salade; rice, dal and pickle; haggis, neeps and tatties ...  Feel free to share your own personal favourites.

I admire Hugh not just for his culinary skills, but for his passion, his language and his efforts to persuade us to  consider where the food on our plates comes from.  And I'm not alone.  The Great Hall was packed to capacity.

Then it was back down the hill to so some cooking of my own.

For some time now I have been cooking for our local church's Messy Church, which is best described as an extended Sunday School on Friday afternoon with tea attached!  Parents bring their children along after school for a carousel of crafty activities, followed by singing, a story and a simple meal.  Which is where I come in.  I arrive shortly before the children, offer a welcome cuppa to the mums and dads and set about preparing tea.

Yesterday I abandonned the relative safety of supermarket convenience food to cook from scratch.  I was rather nervous at having to produce two plates of food for up to 30 children, so I decided to keep it simple.  The menu consisted of pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese followed by  pear and apple crumble with ice cream (from a tub!).  (Coincidentally three good things each!)  The sauce and crumble topping were prepared the evening before so all I needed to do was to cook the pasta and prepare the fruit.

Despite a few moments of panic when I leaned that there were in fact 44 children to feed I managed (with the help of a willing parent) to get the food on the table in time.  What's more, it went down a treat, with children - and adults - coming back for seconds.

I've now got a month to come up with another suitably versatile menu.  Any suggestions?

Use it or Lose it

On last week's Would I Lie to You, David Mitchell mocked the suggestion that Sue Perkins paid regular visits to her local butcher, describing the practice as a '1950s idyll' reserved for 'posh' people because 'most people buy meat at supermarkets, don't they?'

Well I have news for David.  I'm not posh and the last time I looked it was 2012, and I buy most of my meat at my local butchers.  I realise it's only a comedy programme but I get sick and tired of people assuming that supermarkets are the only place to shop and that people who do otherwise are slightly odd.

I was therefore delighted to read Steph's account of the Totally Locally Leek first birthday party.  Totally Locally is an organisation committed to celebrating the wonderful independent shops, business and people of our towns.  It provides a free award winning marketing and branding campaign to any local community wanting to breathe life back into its high streets.  I love their manifesto which you can read here.

And, according to their online calculator, if every adult in my district, spent just £5 per week in local independent stores, instead of in a supermarket or on the internet, it would plough £2.3 million into the local economy.

As they say, it makes you think.

The photo is of a blackboard in my favourite (yes, we are lucky to have more than one!) local butcher's showing where all his meat comes from.

A Month of Dinners - 14 June

There was cause for celebration this evening

So I chilled one of the miniature bottles of Prosecco we'd been given by Good Energy

While my husband picked up one of Waitrose's £10 Dinner for Two on his way home

We started with venison pate with Shetland Gin

Followed by steak with peppercorn sauce and parmentier potatoes

All washed down with a bottle of Italian red 

Life without The Big Four

On 2 March 2011, following the second application for permission to build a Sainsburys megastore at Ashton Gate was approved by Bristol City Council, I vowed never to darken the door of any of the Big Four (Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons) again.  Although there had been no conflict of interest in my campaigning, the arguments revolving round the scale of the development, I finally decided that I no longer wished to support businesses who I believe exercise a detrimental effect not only on our high streets but on our way of life.  One year on and I am pleased to report that, with one exception (when helping my daughter to stock her cleaning cupboard in Glasgow) I have succeeded in my resolve.

Does this mean that I no longer frequent any supermarket?  No, I'm afraid not, but I have switched my loyalty to those whose ethos is more acceptable to me and where I try to restrict my purchases to items I can't easily find/afford elsewhere.  Every couple of months I place an internet order with Waitrose and in between times I pop in and out of our local Co-op and Aldi.   

So where do I buy most of my food?  Well, I'm fortunate enough to live within walking distance of two thriving high streets.  My meat comes from a butcher, my vegetables from an organic box scheme, my milk is delivered by a milkman, my bread comes from one of three bakers, my coffee is bought and ground in the deli where I also refill my cleaning product bottles.  A weekly market keeps me in fish, local cheeses and speciality sausages.

There have been compromises and a way to go before I'm happy with where all my food comes from, but I'm satisfied that I'm heading in the right direction.

To read Henry Porter's damning indictment of supermarkets in last week's Observer click here.

If at first you don't succeed ...

On Wednesday 2 March, at the third time of asking, Bristol City Council approved an application for a superstore on the the Bristol City Football Club site at Ashton Gate.

The first application by Tesco was withdrawn following an independent report that found there was no need for a new store (we already have an Asda, a Sainsburys, an Aldi, a Lidl, two small Tescos and an Iceland). The second application by Sainsbury's was recommended for approval by the planners but turned down by the councillors for unacceptable level of development, unacceptable increase in traffic and detrimental influence on local retail. Sainsbury's lodged an appeal against the first decision, while at the same time submitting a second revised application. This was recommended for refusal by the planners, on grounds of retail impact, but finally approved by the councillors, for reasons which were not obviously apparent to me on the night and are still to be published by the council.

This decision, in my opinion, is wrong for so many reasons. We don't need a new store, and certainly not one billed as the largest superstore in the southwest. It poses a real threat to our local high streets (trade diversion anything from the applicant's 3% figure to the independent consultant's 7% figure). It will lead to an increase in traffic (anything from the 20% predicted by the applicant to a possible 65% predicted by another consultant) and encourage car dependency. It will have an adverse effect on the quality of the lives of the residents adjacent to the store. It will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. It will encourage reliance on food produced hundreds, even thousands, of miles away rather than local produce. It will not deliver the number of jobs promised and may eventually lead to lower employment in the are. It is ultimately not future proof.

I've been involved with the Stop Sainsbury's campaign and its predecessors (Berate and Basics) since July 2009. I'm no expert in planning law, retail development, environmental science etc but I've worked alongside people who are, to mount a campaign against all three applications. I've leafleted flats. I've stood on the street engaging with passers by. I've emailed my MP and councillors on numerous occasions. I've blogged about it. I've made placards and demonstrated. I've invested time, money and emotion. And then came the decision on 2 March.

It hit me harder than I thought and is the reason I haven't blogged for over a week now. I couldn't bring myself to write about it but neither could I let it pass without comment. I couldn't have campaigned against these applications had I not been convinced that they were wrong and I guess I find it hard to accept that there are other people, including friends and acquaintances, who can't see how potentially damaging this superstore will be, not just to our local community, but to all our futures. We can no longer go on doing business as usual. However my greatest disappointment is in the people who couldn't care one way or another, who refuse to engage, who are prepared to allow events to take their course, who can't see the point in becoming involved. I just don't understand them.

Of course it's not all over yet. The decision, which is contrary to the council's own Local Plan(!) is automatically referred to the Secretary of State for approval and the call has gone out to all Stop Sainsbury's supporters to write to him asking him to 'call it in'. There are grounds for this. All 5 of the LibDem councillors on the committee were substituted less than a week before the date of the meeting to save them from a repeat of the abuse and intimidation they suffered following the hearing of the first application. Too much weight was given to the enabling argument (the sale of the old stadium ground to Sainsbury's will help finance the construction of a new stadium on Greenbelt land!). It is contrary not only to Bristol's Local Plan but also to National Policy and Bristol's emerging Core Strategy. The reports were inadequate and the traffic assessment was flawed.

Appealing to the Secretary of State is a long shot but well worth taking. If Sainsbury's can keep coming back, then so can we.

Besides, even I'm able to concede that it's not all been doom and gloom. This campaign has been instrumental in my forming new friendships, becoming more involved in the local community and renewing my passion for localism. It has also prompted me to do something I should perhaps have done much earlier ie renounce my membership of the Labour Party and join the Greens!

Never give up!

Didn't you hear us the first time?

Between 2004 and 2010 a total of 57 new supermarkets opened in Bristol. We went from having 19 to 76(!) in the space of 6 years. That's 9 a year. With 11 approvals between November 2008 and November 2010 our city ranked 4th in the list of Approved 'Big Four' Stores (ie Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco & Morrisons). What an honour, and I don't think! I believe there is an 'app' to find your nearest Tesco store. Why bother when you can be sure of coming across one round every corner!

In just over one month's time Bristol City Council's planning committee will hear Sainsbury's latest application. It's to build a 9,000 sq m superstore at Ashton Gate. This is not the first, nor even the second application to build a supermarket on this site. Tesco's application was rejected by the planners. Sainsbury's first application was recommended by the planners but turned down by the committee. Unfortunately for us some people won't take no for an answer and they're back again. Unfortunately for them, we'll be waiting!

If you live in Bristol, or somewhere else that's being threatened by the relentless march of the supermarket giant across our land you may be interested in the Stop Sainsbury's website or the Panorama website from which I pinched the statistics and the photo.

I reproduce below the text of the objection I submitted this afternoon.

Watch this space!

I object to Sainsbury’s planning application for the following reasons:

Sainsbury’s describes their proposal as a relocation. While this is technically true it is far from the full story. The distance between the existing and proposed stores may only be 500m but the move is from Ashton Vale, an isolated area with few other shops, and for whose residents Sainsbury’s has become the local retailer, to Ashton Gate, a residential area with a thriving local high street. Relocation implies a simple move, but here too Sainsbury’s have not painted the whole picture. The proposed store will be almost double the size of the existing one with over 200 more parking spaces and a 50% increase in the number of petrol pumps. The ratio of food to comparison goods will be altered, with much greater emphasis on the latter (4% increase in convenience goods as opposed to a 240% increase in comparison goods). This is not a relocation. This is a new store and to describe it otherwise is both inaccurate and misleading.

Sainsbury’s assert that their proposed store will create 450 new jobs. However, given that there are 29% less jobs at Sainsbury’s since their last expansion in 2001, when they promised a 50% increase, it is hard to believe them this time round. The existing store has already installed a number of automated check outs and it is likely that these will feature heavily in the proposed store. There is no account taken of the number of jobs that might be lost in the area if businesses close as a consequence of this development.

Sainsbury’s claims that the proposed store will better meet the needs of its customers. While they may be able to offer the residents of Bedminster a wider range of products and an enhanced shopping experience, they will be unable to offer them a better quality of life. By Sainsbury’s own admission the proposed store will lead to a 20% increase in traffic in the surrounding vicinity. However if the proposed development was treated as the new store it will be, rather than as a existing store with an expansion as claimed, this figure would increase to anything between 45% and 63% at peak times. Duckmoor Road, one of the most congested routes in Bristol, is likely to grind to a standstill under the combined impact of traffic to the proposed store and the new stadium at Ashton Vale. Air quality will deteriorate and roads will become more dangerous, particularly for children and the elderly. The walking route to Ashton Park Secondary will be ‘unsafer’ and access to Greville Smythe Park will be more hazardous.

Sainsbury’s will make their existing site available for housing and employment development. However, in order to do so, the existing store will need to be demolished, as will the existing stadium at Ashton Gate. It seems to me to make far better sense to keep the store where it is, serving the needs of Ashton Vale, and locate the housing and employment development at Ashton Gate which offers both better access and infrastructure for such a project.

Sainsbury’s states that their proposed store will help to bring a new regional stadium to Bristol. The council have already dismissed the enabling development argument and, given the fact that the World Cup will now not be coming to England, let alone Bristol, this is a spurious argument. If Bristol City Football Club, despite their position in the lower half of the Championship League and their precarious financial situation, wish to pursue their dream of a world class stadium, they must do so without holding the local community to ransom. It is grossly unfair and deeply divisive to equate objection to a superstore with opposition to a new stadium.

Sainsbury’s have come up with measures to make it easier for people to reach the store without using their car. These are apparently in response to points made by the committee and feedback from the community. Unfortunately they amount to no more than window dressing as they make very little difference to the unsustainability of the application. The proposal to double the number of existing bus services and introduce three new ones will indeed make it easier for people in areas such as Long Ashton to reach the proposed store but will encourage them to do so at the expense of their own local shops. Likewise for the 100 cycle parking spaces and new cycle path and enhanced walkway.

Sainsbury’s have revealed themselves to be very disingenuous in these revisions to their original application. Their proposed store was never meant to attract shoppers on foot, by bike or on buses. If this were the case why would they need a car park with 200 extra spaces for vehicles or a 50% bigger petrol station? The truth of the matter is that this store is designed for the car owner to drive in, park, shop, consume, load up and drive off. It is a one stop shop for ‘everything’ a shopper needs, literally all under one roof. The suggestion that a visit to the proposed store might be combined with a visit to North Street is fanciful. And, the notion that improved pedestrian features on Ashton Road and Winterstoke Road would make the application more acceptable is insulting.

Sainsbury’s have raised the proposed store’s BREEAM rating to excellent. This is quite frankly the least they could have done but if Dartmouth’s experience in 2008 is anything to go by then they will fail to deliver. In any event, even if it ensures that the building itself is the most sustainable Sainsbury’s in the South West, it does nothing to mitigate the damage from the intolerable levels of carbon emissions generated by the hundreds of vehicles that will flow through its car park every day.

Bristol City councillors have to face up to their responsibility. It is all too easy to pay lip service to initiatives such as the Green City Momentum and the 10:10 campaign. It is much harder to take the decisions that make an actual difference. This is one of them.
Sainsbury’s are developing a package of support for local retailers. I find it impossible to believe that the traders have not already considered these suggestions themselves. Indeed some of them are already being successfully addressed. I were a local trader I would consider the best support Sainsbury’s could give me would be stay where they are in Ashton Vale and leave North Street to continue to flourish as it has been doing over the past years.

The planning committee rejected Sainsbury’s application on 21 July 2010 on grounds relating to traffic and threat to local retail. This revised application has not only failed to address these issues satisfactorily but has, in some instances, only exacerbated them.

It is for these reasons that I urge the Council to reject the application.

Stop Sainsbury's

The Stop Sainsbury's campaign was launched by a group of local residents opposed to the prospect of a Sainsbury's superstore at Ashton Gate in south Bristol. At 9,290 square metres, the largest superstore in the south west, we believe it will have a negative impact on our community and pose a threat to local independent retail.

The website (http://www.stopsainsburys.co.uk/) provides details of the application, grounds for objection and how to contact the Council.

If you are affected by this proposal and wish to support the campaign we suggest 7 ways in which you can do so:

1 Send your objection to the Council (see http://www.stopsainsburys.co.uk/take-action-now/ for advice on how to do so). If you could copy your objection to the website it would be useful.

2 Write to the local councillors and MP (see http://www.stopsainsburys.co.uk/what-else-can-i-do/ for contact details).

3 Advertise the campaign on your blog, your Facebook profile or Twitter.

4 Email all your friends with a link to the website and encourage them to support the campaign.

5 Ask sympathetic websites to post a link to the Stop Sainsbury's website.

6 Print one of the posters on the website and display it in your window, or use your leaflet (delivered with this month's Pigeon or available from many North Street shops).

7 When you've finished with your leaflet pass it on to someone who may not have seen it.

If you can only do one thing, do No 1!

We have successfully opposed two earlier applications from Tesco and Sainsbury's and are determined to do the same with this one.

The time has come for local people to halt the relentless march of supermarkets across our land and support a more sustainable way of shopping.

BERATE

This evening I attended the first meeting of BERATE (Bedminster Residents Against the Expansion of Tesco into Ashton Gate). It was convened by a couple of local residents and was encouragingly well attended. The group pledged itself to provide a forum for the residents of greater Bedminster to be kept informed of developments and to give them a voice. I was greatly impressed with the level of experience and commitment and came away feeling very optimistic of our chances. Ialso rather rashly put my name forward for the steering committee!