A recent television programme said that smaller retailers tend to source local more often than the large supermarkets. The programme also asserted that the produce was generally fresher and cheaper.
Such views runs counter to the messages we see in the advertisements where this supermarket trumpets they are cheaper than that supermarket on a specified number of products. Their claims to be cheaper than X or Y are repeated on the shelf tickets.
I decided to see how true this was for fruit and vegetables by shopping at the market in St Paul's Square on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised.
I found that lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, pears, peaches and eggs were all cheaper at the market. I found the fruit less damaged than at the supermarket and I was pleased by the marked absence of needless packaging.
It's true that I had to pay for parking. After all, this is the centre of town and our wonderful Borough Council is determined not to encourage inconvenient and unnecessary things like shops and shoppers. At least, not without claiming much of the credit whilst it simultaneously makes a fast buck itself. However, the savings made at the market easily exceeded the cost of parking.
Give yourself a treat and your hard-pressed finances a rest. Try the Saturday market before paying up to 50% more for the dubious privilege of accumulating "points" at your favoured local Leviathan.
