Mom feeds family on $4/week. [video]

[oldjerry]

Having said that T£kso's does send us coupons for 'extra points' on fresh fruit and veg most times.[/quote

Yeah, but in order to do that some farmer's spent a long time growing something for nothing(or less)......I know,'Show me a farmer that isn't moaning and I'll show you one that isn't breathing', but even the those farming the largest acreages are dominated by the discounting whims of supermarket buyers,I rarely buy from them,and I sure as hell wouldn't supply them.

[Millymollymandy]

Just whizzed thru the video very quickly and I've got no sound working at the moment (probably a good thing!) but her store cupboard looked like a supermarket to me.

I much prefer to see a store cupboard/cellar like Oldfella's that he posted the other day (think it was on the What are your Harvesting thread).

[mrsflibble]

totally amazing, but i am concerned about quality too and also they do seem to get better quality offers in the states lol. over here theres normally a catch like "HALF PRICE CRISPS* *(if you buy 3 packets)"....

oldjerry, yes it's terrible for farmers, but firstly i dont need something else to be guilty about and secondly, for families on a tight budget some months T***o points and the vouchers they add up to are the difference between a decent week's food and cheap sh1t. so sorry, but I collect my points to save them for the harder times. been doing it ever since we had Sophie. 1 income + a growing child +(not a lot of growing space)= skint family who need their points!!!

also, local to us T***o is the only place with a decent amount of "free from" foods. we're a lactose-intollerant family so again i am sorry, but i need T***o for school lunchbox snacks, ice cream, chocolate buttons, soya yogurt, milk/lactose free cheese...etc if asda would pull their fingers out (and yes, i have written...LOTS) and widen their range of milk-free snacks, i'd be there in a flash lol!!!

[Cligereen]

Well, Oldjerry, I do use T£kso for some of the fruit and veg that I can't grow myself. I do try to grow as much as I can for ourselves but there is some stuff that just won't grow in these parts!

However, I don't usually end up getting much from T£kso because the quality of the fruit and veg in our local shop is very poor indeed. Often the oranges are covered in a fur coat, melons are way over-ripe, bananas are black. I have written to their head office and complained. They did reply and made an appointment with the shop manager for me. I duly met him and guess what...he offered me two bottles of wine for my trouble (which I refused as I found it insulting) but the rotten fruit is still there, week in, week out.

So basically T£ksos would not be my first port of call for any fruit or veg but very occasionally I use it.

[bonniethomas06]

That is pretty amazing, but what about the quality of food? We, of course, try to grow a lot of our own food, but for things like eggs, cheese, meat, we get organic, local stuff. I would be really interested to see someone who could do even anything near that and get all whole-grain, organic food! THAT would be super impressive! Has anyone ever heard of people who do that? Or do that themselves? Our food budget is what kills us every month and I fully admit that it's because we like to eat well. Growing our own helps, but not as much as I'd like!

I'm with you on this Bikil, I wouldn't touch half of that stuff even if it was free.

Until our veggie plot started producing, I managed to feed the two of us on organic, local stuff (plus cleaning prods etc from the market) for £200.

Now that the garden is being more productive and we started rearing our own meat, our food budget is a bottom-pinchingly tight £100 - mostly on things like pepper, cooking oil, milk, butter and cheese/bread flour etc.

We have never eaten so well though.

[oldjerry]

I'm completly totally and utterly behind anyone trying to feed a family on low income,last year I spent mostly in hospital,I got no sickness benefits,and We didn't even grow much,sold all the pigs,and 2 adults and 3 kids b----y struggled.And loads of people do that permanently.I just don't think that supermarkets are a good deal for anyone.Around here fruit and veg are cheaper in greengrocers than in any supermarket,and meat from a butcher is no more expensive.I know this runs contrary to everything we're led to believebut there it is.

[Susie]

Oldjerry I agree with you, that's been my experience. Fruit and veg are quite a bit cheaper on our market (they're not organic and I don't always know where they're from, but they are generally much better quality than the supermarket) and meat is cheaper at the butcher. I don't know if it's the same everywhere though, we may be unusually well provided with alternative shops/ markets and things.

[Cligereen]

Living in Ireland, we don't really have the choice of going to a market, because most towns don't have them. The only choice is GYO, Supermarket or greengrocers. The greengrocers here are extortionately expensive, much dearer than supermarket in nearly every case and no better quality.

Whenever I'm back in England, I do stock up at the markets big time for both veg, fruit and meat. Excellent quality and practically giving the stuff away compared with here. That's something I really miss!

[mrsflibble]

we don't have a greengrocer and the market is ok, but the veg isn't as good as I'd like and they can't tell me where it was grown so double

[Susie]

we don't have a greengrocer

I think we're much better provided for with independent shops than I realised. We have a local (by local I mean within 2 mins walk) greengrocer, butcher, general grocery shop with fruit & veg, and a baker, plus a chemist, newsagent, hairdresser etc. Then there are loads more in other parts of Cambridge. I'm really lucky!

[bonniethomas06]

we don't have a greengrocer and the market is ok, but the veg isn't as good as I'd like and they can't tell me where it was grown so double

Can Te$co though?

[Bikil]

Until our veggie plot started producing, I managed to feed the two of us on organic, local stuff (plus cleaning prods etc from the market) for £200.

Now that the garden is being more productive and we started rearing our own meat, our food budget is a bottom-pinchingly tight £100 - mostly on things like pepper, cooking oil, milk, butter and cheese/bread flour etc.

We have never eaten so well though.

That's very impressive! We have 7 of us total (4 adults and 3 kids sharing a house) so ours is quite a bit more than that. We're working on getting our bill down, but it's been hard. I also feel that I never want to see another courgette again in my life! Ask me again in December though, I may change my tune!

[Millymollymandy]

Is this per week or per month? Cos £100 per week is quite a lot!

[pelmetman]

I was wondering that too MMM.

Sue

[Bikil]

Oh, I guess I assumed week! Maybe I shouldn't be so complimentary! Hee!