Before I get on with the blog I have just read that Tesco are now planning on buying milk directly from farmers within the vicinity of the store that it will be sold;

"Tesco is also launching a new "localchoice" milk.

Sourced from farms near the stores where sold, it will cost more, but offer higher returns for smaller farms." -read the full story at BBC News - Tesco to pay more to milk farmers

Simple idea, but it's being sold as if it's something radical! Presumably so they can charge more money for it! I also suspect it may have something to do with the current investigation by the Competition Commission on whether Tesco has too much of a stranglehold over food retailing.

Anyway, back to the blog. It’s been an interesting first week without the supermarkets, especially over bank holiday as most of the local retailers were shut from Good Friday to Tuesday, only reopening yesterday! The bread maker has been a lifesaver, although not having a cow on hand for milk has meant we have had to go without.

Our Veg box was still delivered on Good Friday which was a blessing – credit to Flights Organics there! The quality of the veg has been fantastic and having some of the more unusual veg that in season at the moment such as celeriac, jerusalem artichokes etc. has been great to cook with.

We try to cook from fresh almost every night and its been quite a challenge to plan ahead all the meals for the week. Trying to make sure we have enough of everything and avoid the emergency dash to the supermarket because of that missing key ingredient!

We also both work at out of town industrial estates so getting access to local shops can be difficult in a normal lunch hour. Gwilliams Farm Shop, off the A449 on towards Worcester is within a 5 min drive from where I work which has been handy but only having a small fridge at work has meant almost daily trips for food.

Another big gap in the market is the lack of a fish monger in Worcester. We've had to get friends who work in Bromsgrove to bring fresh fish back for us and we're thinking about using a local frozen fish supplier. The lack of choice means that supermarkets sometimes are the only option.

The other challenge has been sourcing 'pantry' items such as tinned tomatoes, breakfast cereals, pasta, flour, stock cubes, herbs & spices, beans etc. Rosemarys Health Foods on Meachalpen Street have been able to provide us with most items, however if you don't plan ahead and buy everything on a Saturday and don't fancy getting stuck in the traffic in Worcester on your lunch break it leaves little option than to go without as there aren't any (to my knowledge)local retailers that open outside of office hours.

The continental style of food retailing is far more appealing, closing for 2-3 hours in the afternoon and re-opening at 4pm to cater for people leaving work. This would help bring some of the supermarket spend back into the local economy. Perhaps the council should offer free parking after 4pm as an incentive too?!

I thought it might be useful if I list where we have got our produce from so far and if anyone else has any recommendations, please post a comment.

Flights Orchard Organics - Delivery Only
Gwilliams Farm Shop - Ombersley Road, Worcester
Jenade's - Barbourne Road, Worcester
Sid Smith & Son - Fish Market, Worcester
Ceci Paolo - Corn Market, Worcester
Rosemarys Health Foods - Meachalpen Street, Worcester
St. Peter's Garden Centre - Norton, Worcester
Mac & Jacs - Friar Street, Worcester
Worcester City Bakery - Broad Street, Worcester
Yum Yum Oriental Foods - Bank Street, Worcester