Shopping Local

This has been the first month of a little experiment. We have taken our monthly food budget and split it into two. One half is limited to use in supermarkets whilst the rest is to be used to shop locally.

It was prompted by a trip to a Musselburgh - Transition Town meeting where there were discussions about how to shop locally and retain some of the shopper pound in the vicinity.

Well we tried - and it took some work to do it. We have discovered the delights of our local butcher - particularly for his bacon but the most difficult thing has been access to fresh fruit and vegetables. There is one greengrocer here in Musselburgh and in some aspects it is fine - though it has meant we have to shop more frequently. There are some small greengrocers in Leith which I can visit on the way home from work.

With regard to the supermarket - we have had to be very careful about what to buy - looking for the things which are on a deal - bogof deals etc - and things which are reduced.

The only supermarket that we are using on the local side is the Co-Op - though we don't have a local one and have to use the one in Portobello.

Though we did manage it - and will see how we get on over the next few months.