Not so long ago, every street had an independent greengrocer, with stalls piled high with fresh plastic-free produce, both inside the shop and displayed outside. But today (even though we should all be eating our ‘five a day’ fruits and vegetables), two-thirds of indie greengrocers have gone forever.
Avoid choking hazard fresh produce for children and people with swallowing difficulties (cherries, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks etc). Read more on keeping people & pets safe in the kitchen. If growing your own food, learn how to make your garden safe for pets (many plants and mulches are unsafe near animal friends).
People in the UK and Ireland eat more fresh produce than anyone, so how have we reached a point where nearly everyone (unless they can afford to visit swanky organic farm shops) ends up having to buy fresh produce from supermarkets? Not only is this produce often inferior, but mostly it’s never local. Even if you buy ‘local strawberries’, chances are they were harvested, driven a few hundred miles to a central distribution centre to be chilled for days or weeks, then driven back again to your local supermarket.
Buying local fresh produce is not just better for taste, health, cost and the planet, but also supports struggling organic farmers and uses no oil (no pesticides, chillers or lorry drivers). And less likely to be wrapped in plastic. It’s also more seasonal and tastes better, and is almost certainly cheaper.
East London’s Alexandra Rose Charity offers free ‘fruits and vegetables on prescription’ to local people, a great idea for people on low incomes who live in so-called ‘food deserts’, but it should not be needed. Having said that, the scheme has found that people eating more fresh fruit and veg had almost half the number of GP visits, and the scheme resulted in £222,000 funds invested back into the local economy. This is because unlike Healthy Start Vouchers, these ones are only allowed to be used to support local market traders and independent greengrocers.
Further north in Liverpool, a similar scheme is operating. The ‘Queen of Greens’ is a mobile greengrocer which delivers fresh fruit and veg from a local growing network, to supply local people with affordable produce, parking up outside schools and hospitals (40 stops each week). This avoids the need for the greengrocer to spend money renting premises, and means the van can access all areas of the community, without access to good local food.
Some independent greengrocers are thriving, showing that there is a market, when done well:
- Birmingham’s Borough & Fox sells locally-sourced fresh produce and store cupboard essentials, and also offers a delivery service to local workplaces.
- In London, Ben’s Grocers offers mostly organic produce sold in plastic-free compostable packaging, and makes deliveries in electric vehicles. He must be doing something right, as already he has five outlets in Primrose Hill, Chelsea, Westbourne Grove, Holland Park and Oxford Street.
- Just outside Manchester, Alberti’s Greengrocers in Saddleworth, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Founded by a woman and her two brothers, this shop is owned by an Italian family and is thriving, selling Italian staples alongside local fresh produce. It runs a delivery scheme and its own loyalty card for repeat customers. Many cafes and restaurants also order fresh produce from them.
a new independent mini-mall in Croydon
In Croydon, a site that had previously been an eyesore packed with litter from fly-tippers, is opening as a mini mall, with 40 small independent shops including a local greengrocer. The site had been called a disgrace, with the amount of litter being thrown there due to being near a major carriageway, even having been discussed in Parliament. A local businessman decided to buy the site and with help from other local entrepreneurs, the site is due to become a thriving local food hub.
The site is now being cleared of litter, with plans to charge far less than the normal £20,000 a year rent for shop owners, plus there will be free parking for visitors. The idea is to replace Starbucks and Costa with local cafes and greengrocers, with rents low enough to ensure companies can afford to stay. The site was previously owned by a major sports retailer that refused to help clear up the site. So now locals are doing the job instead, and the site will be boarded up once clean, to prevent further littering.
take your own reusable produce bags
To save your greengrocer money, take your own reusable produce bags. These enable you to say no to plastic bags or paper bags, and take home your produce and then just wash and reuse the bags again.
Plastic bags that are used in supermarkets take up to 1000 years to break down, and they are also made from oil, which just encourages more fossils fuels, which in turn creates climate change. Switching to reusable bags helps to save the planet, and saves you money too. These organic cotton produce bags are ideal to replace plastic and paper bags in the supermarket produce aisles. They weigh hardly anything (so won’t cost more at checkout) and the mesh bags enable the checkout operator to see what’s inside. Organic cotton also helps fresh produce breathe, so it’s likely to last longer in the kitchen, once you get home. You can even use them as ‘mini-colanders’ to wash fresh produce, before serving or cooking.
what happened to the Sunderland ‘metric martyr?
If you have a long memory, you likely remember on the news a few years back, of the Sunderland greengrocer who was prosecuted by the EU, over refusing to change to metric measurements, when selling bunches of bananas. Steven Thoburn was convicted for (twice) breaching the Weights and Measures Act 1985, after an undercover officer bought 34p worth of fruits at his shop. Dubbed the ‘metric martyr’ by the media, he faced financial ruin to appeal but was supported by the public (then lost the appeal anyway). He died just 39 after a heart attack (leaving three children and a partner Leigh, who also died some years later). Some believe the court case could have exacerbated his already high blood pressure.
Even today since leaving the EU, it’s illegal for greengrocers not to sell in kilogram and gram measurements. You are allowed to display pounds and ounces alongside (something older customers likely appreciate) but the gram measurements have to be bigger and more prominent. Of course one clever way to get around being told how to sell items, is simply to swap them or give them away for free (community gardens, food share systems etc).
