The People's Supermarket:
It's a supermarket run by volunteers with low cost food.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturewise ... 779495732/
The People's Supermarket
-
southeast-isher
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 1206
- Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:41 pm
- Location: Great Britain
-
becks77
- A selfsufficientish Regular
- Posts: 1439
- Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:49 pm
- Location: Hailsham East Sussex
Re: The People's Supermarket
I caught the middle to end of this thought it was quite interesting and hoping he will be able to pull it together and make it work, thought there might have been abit more market research before he started the idea but seems to be going in the right direction. Awaiting next installment. 
"no-one can make you feel inferior without your permission"
-
anarchistinslippers
- Tom Good
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:20 pm
- Location: Near Ely, UK
- Contact:
Re: The People's Supermarket
Surprised this thread isn't bigger, to be honest.
I've caught onto it recently and I think it's a great show. Just a few things to rant about, in no particular order.
It's worth pointing out that I'm a department leader of a well-known supermarket (not T***o, I do have some principles, thank you) and have worked in food retail for well over 11 years.
* People complaining that it's the range isn't as big as T***o, or that the fruit/veg is mishapen Well, obviously, it's a smaller shop. As for the cosmetic stuff, so bloody what?! It's still food, it's still usable/edible. I blame the supermarkets for setting their standards so high, which in turn has lead to most people wanting to buy anything that's at the very least almost perfect. T***o and the like literally stipulate when they buy the stuff off farmers that apples are 33% green 67% red or whatever. When all this was raised by Joanne Blytham and co they answered that "We're only giving people what they want. BS, frankly. You're telling, nay, dictating what is acceptable which results in an insane amount of food being shipped from across the globe only to be thrown away.
* People who are complaining that "It ain't as cheap as Waitrose. Well, yes, again, obviously. Arthur doesn't have a team of buyers/negotiators/huge supply chain/market share/etc. to make things competitively priced. As gushy as it sounds, even if I didn't work where I do, I'd still shop there coz it's not T***o/Sainsbury's/etc. and I'd rather the extra money I'm paying went to the firm it does than one of the huge multinationals.
Rant over. For now. You have been warned.
I've caught onto it recently and I think it's a great show. Just a few things to rant about, in no particular order.
It's worth pointing out that I'm a department leader of a well-known supermarket (not T***o, I do have some principles, thank you) and have worked in food retail for well over 11 years.
* People complaining that it's the range isn't as big as T***o, or that the fruit/veg is mishapen Well, obviously, it's a smaller shop. As for the cosmetic stuff, so bloody what?! It's still food, it's still usable/edible. I blame the supermarkets for setting their standards so high, which in turn has lead to most people wanting to buy anything that's at the very least almost perfect. T***o and the like literally stipulate when they buy the stuff off farmers that apples are 33% green 67% red or whatever. When all this was raised by Joanne Blytham and co they answered that "We're only giving people what they want. BS, frankly. You're telling, nay, dictating what is acceptable which results in an insane amount of food being shipped from across the globe only to be thrown away.
* People who are complaining that "It ain't as cheap as Waitrose. Well, yes, again, obviously. Arthur doesn't have a team of buyers/negotiators/huge supply chain/market share/etc. to make things competitively priced. As gushy as it sounds, even if I didn't work where I do, I'd still shop there coz it's not T***o/Sainsbury's/etc. and I'd rather the extra money I'm paying went to the firm it does than one of the huge multinationals.
Rant over. For now. You have been warned.
"All I want is peace, to grow potatoes and to dream" Moomin (Tove Jansson)
Re: The People's Supermarket
I LOVE this programme. I really shouldnt be, but each week Im shocked that the general public just seem to be so conditioned by the big supermarkets to stock 20 varieties of each item you could possibly think of and that meat is so much part of each and every meal people cook. Im NOT a vegetarian but am trying to wean myself off meat every day (partly cost and partly for environmental reasons) and cook from scratch. In less than 40 years the Big 4 have taken us over so completely; mind, body and soul! Tonight I watched an average Mum (spending WAY too much on food per week -£200 for 6 of them) wander around and find NOTHING she could make her family for tea! She was looking for the supermarket to "lead " her to her next meal. Yet I was delighted when they discovered, having first laughed dismissively, crooked cucumbers with their amazing taste sourced from 20 miles away! Us Brits need to completely rethink our shopping and cooking habits and go for quality not quantity when we do buy. I DO hope it succeeds, like the New York example he visited in one of the early shows!!! 