Good mooooooorning. Or afternoon, or evening. It is currently 7.58am and the birds are singing. Spring is coming!
Well, a poem for you this morning. I hope it brings a smile to your face, in a strange kind of way.
The Weekly Shop
I drive to the prison farm shop
which is really a shed
just outside the gates.
I get carrots and parsnips
with three legs. Beetroot, squash,
whatever they’ve got.
The man behind the counter
tots it up then
rounds it down
and I pay
just a few pounds
for the whole lot.
I go out
put my three-legged veg
in the car then drive
to the supermarket
for the rest.
The lemons are rotting
in their box. A parsnip
is three times the price
and only has one leg.
I get rice, pasta, chopped tomatoes, cheese, beans.
I take it to the till.
The woman gives me the bill.
She doesn’t round it down.
Probably get the sack
if she did that. Or at least
called in, given a warning –
something about favouritism
and profit margins.
Anyway, she gives me the bill
and I leave thinking
this is criminal.
Love and courage,
Leah
P.S. Where do you do your food shopping? Is it easy to get fresh veg where you are? Do you grow your own? Does the supermarket depress you? Do you have lots of good, local independent shops? I would love to hear all your food shopping related thoughts in the comments below. As you probably know, food (and access to REAL food) is something I care a lot about. Read also: The Baby Spinach
Sarah Woffinden
Hi Leah
We do have 2 lovely farm shops nearby, but we just can’t afford to shop there, unfortunately. I’d love to be able to instead of the supermarket.
It just seems much nicer to buy things that you know have been grown ad nature intended, hehe.
I wish I was green fingered too because I’d love to grow my own, but I hate gardening and have not inherited any of my dad or grandads gardening talent whatsoever 😆
Loads of love as always
Sarah xx
Cheryl Woodford
I live in Pennsylvania, USA, and do almost all my food shopping at Trader Joe’s and Mom’s Organic. They are both chain stores but the prices are a bit lower and the quality is pretty good. Yes, it’s depressing to see prices go higher and higher and am unwilling to pay the price of some of these expensive items, like $3 apiece for an organic avocado or $4 a pound for organic broccoli where a third of it is inedible stalk. I have a very simple diet.
Leah Cox
Hello Cheryl! I’ve heard of Trader Joe’s but not Mom’s Organic. It’s good that you have those available and that the quality is at least pretty good. The options are very limited where we are and the quality is not at all good in the chain supermarket closest to us. Then again, as you know, we are working towards growing more and more of our own. Personally I hope to see more locally grown food options become available as the price increases make supermarket chains less attractive. We eat the stalk of the broccoli, but cut off the thick, fibrous sides, leaving a nice tender centre. It’s not a lot after cutting off the sides, but we get a little extra from it this way. A simple diet sounds good to me! Thank you for sharing this. It’s interesting to hear how things are for others in different parts of the world.