Food for Thought

Everyone is afraid of something, aren’t they? Well, for as long as I can remember, I have had a phobia of supermarket shopping. Some people love to shop around - fruit from Netto, cheese from LIDL, basics from Tescos, organic from Sainsburys, desserts from MandS…. the list is long and varied. That is completely beyond my understanding: I couldn’t do that if they were giving the food away!

With a large family, supermarket shopping cannot be avoided. One thing worse than supermarket shopping is internet food shopping - too much broccoli; a tiny tin of peaches as dessert for the whole family; the nagging feeling that I am missing all the instore bargains; the weird and wonderful replacements sent instead of out of stock items…..(actually, I may have dreamt the last one…we have only attempted it twice and so are not really entitled to pass comment!)

Anyway, I do survive it by doing one really big shop once a week that usually requires two trolleys and the help of supermarket staff to get across the car park - and then bed rest until the kids come home from school!

Now to the point: twenty years ago, I would never have dreamt that we would have seen fair trade products in mainstream supermarkets. I remember the excitement when Cafedirect hit the shelves. My husband would spend an inordinate amount of time in the Beverages aisle surreptitiously rearranging the shelves to give Cafedirect more prominence. And now Sainsburys have switched ALL their banana sources to fair trade. Incredible! And so I can buy fair trade fruit, honey, hot chocolate, snack bars and so much more in my weekly shop. What a victory for all those who have tirelessly campaigned and pestered store managers across the land!

Of course, there is still more choice from specialist fair trade outlets. And there are no easy answers to the questions raised in our house when the shopping list is scrutinised later in the day. Is it better to buy supermarket own brand fair trade products to encourage the supermarket in their first steps towards fair trade? Or is it safer to stick to the renowned fair trade producers who have better guarantees of the difference they are making and a more personal relationship with producers? What is the environmental impact of flying in fair trade produce that could equally well be produced in this country?

Shopping is exhausting. Right now, even thinking about shopping is exhausting. More food for thought.

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