Where can I get cheap food and eat well for less?
It’s the been story of this year (and sadly also the year before) that the cost-of-living crisis has hit households hard.
Winter approaches, and all too many people have to make a choice between food or heating.
Add to that, the extra costs usually incurred at Christmas, and the season is feeling less festive by the minute for those of us struggling with a low income.
The latest figures show that food prices fell in September for the first time in more than two years. However, prices are still almost 10% higher than they were this time last year.
So, what can we do to make our money go further when shopping for food?
There are a few things that can help but the number one under-utilised resource in our communities (in my humble opinion) has to be the Eco Shop. Often mistaken for a Food Bank, an Eco Shop is an entirely different entity.
A Food Bank is an emergency resource which provides food and household items to those who have no money to buy them. They generally consist of basic items that people need to get by, and are supported by organisations such as Trussell Trust and schemes such as Fareshare.
Eco Shops
What is an Eco Shop?
Be honest, have you even heard of an eco shop? It’s been my experience as a community worker that those that HAVE heard of it either think it’s a food bank or somewhere you go to eat a nut roast and gaze lovingly at posters of Greta Thunberg.
Let me set something straight. Eco shops ARE about sustainability. Did you know that ONE THIRD of the world’s entire food produce is wasted?
Do you have to be an eco-warrior to use an Eco Shop? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
However, in doing so, you’ll save yourself money AND support the environment as a consequence. So everybody wins!
When you’re asking yourself the question ‘where can I get cheap food and eat well for less’? this could be the answer you didn’t realise was literally around the corner.
So, let’s take the mystery out of them.
Eco Shops are stores and pop-ups in community venues and schools which sell good quality supermarket food.
Because of over ordering, limited shelf-life or incorrect printing on the packaging, the food would usually be thrown away.
An Eco Shop is able to sell the food and grocery products saving them from going straight to landfill.
Most Eco Shops charge between £2 - £4 for a standard number of items (around 10) and like all shops, they vary in how they look, and the goods they have in stock.
Some appear in the entrance hall to the local school once a week, and some have their own unit and serve the public 5 days a week.
A superb example of an Eco Shop success story is the one ran by The Genesis Project in Middlesbrough.
What started out as food parcels for the community at the onset of social isolating, became an incredibly busy and utilised local resource and asset, which recognises and addresses the need for low cost food distribution.
The project is delivered from St Oswald’s church hall by a team of paid worker and volunteers. Although ran by a faith-based organisation, it is open and welcoming to people of all and of no denomination.
As social isolation came to an end, the Project Lead at that time Reverend Kath Dean believed that the need to provide cheap food and household provisions would lessen.
Sadly, as the cost of living crisis tightened its’ grip on households all over the county, the provision grew to match the demand.
This BBC article from 2020 shows where the provision started Covid: Poverty and virus 'pushing families closer to the brink' - BBC News
Since the BBC article the Eco Shop has physically grown, been rebuilt and extended, and equipped with new white goods such as glass fronted fridge and freezer, donated by Social Landlord and Housing provider Thirteen.
Fast forward to the approaching conclusion of 2023 and the project has gone from feeding around 100 people to around 350 households per week. That’s HOUSEHOLDS folks, not individuals.
They receive income from their charitable status, funding activities and applications and local benefactors. This enables them to provide 10 food and household items plus as much fresh fruit and veg as required for the number of people in the household, all for £4.
Eco Shop manager Shaun Sidgwick is incredibly proud of the facility and hopes that local people will view it much the same way as they do when popping down to their local convenience store.
'The goal is to be able to provide high quality produce at affordable prices, without any stigma attached, like people sometimes feel there is with food banks. As much of the food that comes to us is on a limited shelf life, the larger space and equipment that we have now has almost instantly reduced the amount of waste going to landfill, so we can serve more people in the community. Our average shopper is usually getting between £20-£30 worth of goods for £4, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of that?’
So let's do the maths. If a customer does a weekly shop here throughout the year, and spends £4 per week instead of £20, that's a saving of around £832 per year.
Now THAT is something worth celebrating!
So with that in mind, maybe it's time to see if you have an Eco Shop near you? Why don’t you have a look on EcoShopFinder and see?
Food Waste Apps
If you’re in the business of grabbing some of your favourite supermarket and chain restaurant foods at a cut price, then a food waste app is a great choice for you!
Like Eco Shops, the premise of the apps is to promote sustainability by reducing waste.
Olio
Olio works in partnership with some of the biggest supermarket chains such as Tesco, Coop, Iceland, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and One Stop. Volunteers (just ordinary people in the community) ‘rescue’ unsold food and list the items on the app. You can then browse, and request to go and collect items that you want. There is no cost.
The app uses location technology to show listings closest to where you live, quite often they are in walking distance, so even if you don’t have transport, you can get access to good quality free food.
Non-food items often listed on Olio include books, clothes, and furniture.
Too Good To Go
If you are asking ‘where can I get cheap food’ but don’t want to have to give up some of your favourite shops and restaurants, then this is the app for you!
You simply order on the app, then call into shops and food outlets to buy your box or bag of unsold food at an extremely reduced price. For example, you could get a roast dinner from Toby Carvery for £2.99 instead of £6.99.
Here are some of the participating partners:
Why not download the To Good To Go app today and have a browse?
Slow Cookers
Finally, if you’re looking to make your food go further, then it could be time for you to dig that slow cooker out from the back of the cupboard!
Let’s face it, the temperature has dropped, the days are shorter, and now is the season for stews, soups, curries and hearty comfort food. But while those dishes are great, slow cookers are far more versatile than most people realise.
They are without a doubt one of the best ways to cook healthy food economically and their energy efficiency will help to keep your average household bills down. They’re easy to use and (here's something to celebrate) so easy to clean!
Did you know that you can make things like jacket potatoes, meatballs, cake and rice pudding in your humble slow cooker? You can use cheap cuts of meat and can even cook a whole chicken in there.
If you’ve utilised your Olio app and find yourself with a nice haul of vegetables, why not throw them into your slow cooker and make a nice casserole, ragu, rice or pasta dish?
You can feed several people, or batch cook and freeze for another day.
The recipes you can make in your slow cooker are endless, but if you want some top inspo, there are loads of tasty and easy recipes here: Healthy slow cooker recipes | BBC Good Food
Food For Thought
If you’re struggling to be able to buy food for yourself or your family at the moment, why not try out some of the suggestions we've chatted about, and let me know your questions and thoughts in the comments?
It’s also important to know that there is always help available in times of crisis. If you feel you need to access emergency food support please take a look at the resources available for immediate support here.
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One more thing, before you go...
Why not pop over and take a look at my recent short vlog 'Why You Should Try Triyit' before you go?
From Me to You - Jayne
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