Today I am welcoming Lucy Chan to the blog to talk about her amazing project, Supermarket Free Month. I was so excited to join in the cause and pledge to be a Superfreegan in April (and beyond). You might just want to do the same after you read her story!
Tell us about yourself….
I am a stay at home Mum of two beautiful children, a vibrant and bright 6 year old girl and a loving and sweet 4 year old boy. My fantastic, supportive husband and I live in an Ecovillage in South Australia. It is an amazing place to live and we often forget we live in this oasis and not everyone knows all their neighbours or can pick an apple for breakfast from the communal orchard at 6am in the morning!
What is your outlook on life?
I guess, that we all have the responsibility to do something about what we believe in. Nothing is going to change if you just sit around shaking your head, hoping someone does something about it. Be the change you want to see in the world.
What is Supermarket Free Month?
Supermarket Free month encourages people to avoid the supermarket and shop at the farmers market, butcher, fruit and veg shop and wholefood shop. It is about getting into your local community and getting to know the little guy and having a better idea where your food is coming from.
Why did you start Supermarket Free Month?
I have always tried to be aware of what I was eating and where it was coming from. I am constantly learning and it is a journey, so I don’t claim to be perfect. It started as a little personal challenge that I posted on Facebook a couple of years ago and I had a great reaction from friends and relatives. It started lots of conversations and got people thinking. I thought why not spread this, and get others on board, often a lot of people need that little nudge and a bit of support of others around them, to take that step.
What is a Super Freegan?
A Super Freegan is someone that has pledged not to shop at the supermarket for the month of April. It is someone that cares where their dollar goes and where their food comes from, it is someone that cares about the food that they put in their and their family’s mouths. It is someone who isn’t afraid of a challenge.
Why should we ditch the supermarkets?
Supermarkets have played a big part of our lives for a long time, they give us convenience of buying in one place, as life gets busier. In Australia we have two main players in the supermarket game, and they hold a 70% share of the grocery dollar. These companies not only own supermarkets, they have a huge list of subsidiary companies that we use everyday. A scary fact is that of every dollar spent in Australia, 23c of that dollar is spent in the companies owned by the big two supermarkets!
This really doesn’t leave much for the little guy, how can those small local shops survive with these big giants around.
Shopping locally is so much more fun. I love our farmers market, I meet so many friends and neighbours, I’m often so busy talking I miss out on the best stuff because I forget to shop! I’m the “lady that buys lots of chicken” at my local butcher and we always have a good laugh. The local shops are usually more helpful and are able to listen to suggestions on products you’d like to see in the shop.
What are your top tips for avoiding the supermarkets?
♥ Get organised! I know that isn’t always a fun word but it makes life so much easier. Before I go to the farmers market, I sit down over breakfast and plan the meals for the week. I then don’t have to think at 5pm what I’m going to make for dinner.
♥ Make a list of the items that you regularly buy, and visit your local shops and find out where you can buy them from. Some things are a little tricky but jump on to our facebook page and ask for help. We are also getting some great business’ on board to help you source those hard to find items.
♥ Farmers markets are a fantastic way of buying directly from the farmers and producers, finding out exactly where your food comes from.
♥ Start your own backyard food production. I love seeing my kids out in the garden picking tomatoes and eating cucumbers straight off the vine and sending them out for basil to make pesto for their lunch.
♥ Start talking to people in your area to find out where they get their favourite foods and new shops you can try.
How do people get involved?
Visit our Supermarket Free website and sign a pledge to become a Super Freegan. This allows access to our pledge area, where you can find a discount code for our supporters and hints on tips on how to go supermarket free. Jump on to our facebook page for up to date information and to share with other Super Freegans. You can download the poster Supermarket Free Poster A3 and start putting it up around your town!
Where can we find out more about Super Market Free Month ?
Visit our Supermarket Free website and our Facebook page, Supermarket Free.
Do you have a favourite inspirational quote?
“Never doubt that small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
Thanks Lucy – you are an inspiring mum who is changing the world! Who is ready to become a Superfreegan with us? I will be having some information on the blog and on my Facebook page during April, but please leave a comment with any ideas or links you might have so I can gather some more information for you.
I really love the idea and totally get it but while I am more likely to buy meat from butcher than at the supermarket, the fruit and veg at our local farm costs the absolute earth – there is just no way I can afford to shop there. I understand about helping the independents out but if it is a choice between my mortgage and theirs, I know what I must choose. My solution to avoiding the big guys is to try and become as self sufficient as possible. We recently got chooks and I am growing tomatoes, lemons, and passionfruit and trying to keep my herbs alive 🙂 And aiming for more home grown as time goes buy. All power to this initiative and all the best to Lucy and family.x
You can only do what you can do! Every situation is different depending on where you are based. It’s a shame, because our locals are usually comparable and often cheaper than the supermarkets!
I agree with Pam and to be honest I found this article quite condesending. Not everyone is in a financial situation to buy everything from their local wholefoods shop/organic farmer. We choose to buy organic fruit and veg which means cuts have to come from somewhere else. Those who shop at supermarkets out of neccessity are I’m sure not unaware of where their food comes from as she implies.
Oh I am so sad you thought this was condescending! That is not the intention at all. It’s more to give people information about alternatives. We buy organic produce too but try to get it from local farmers markets rather than the big 2. I find I can buy a lot of things online as well that if I buy enough, gets me free shipping, so it comes down to being a very similar cost to the supermarket. Joining a co-op also means I get really cheap organic dry goods much less than the supermarket. It all comes down to priorities, and it’s okay to have different ones. 🙂 🙂
i love this but there are things that i cant source locally so wouldnt be able to do 100% such as flour, yeast, oats etc..
That is where I find that online stores and co-ops come in useful!! I will do a blog post about our journey with avoiding the supermarket. It didn’t happen overnight, but it became more important to me that we try. 🙂
What a lovely idea! While I agree with the previous comments that it is not financially viable for many people, I love the idea of trying to avoid the supermarket for 1 month.
I am definitely going to give it a try. I have my son’s 5th birthday party in April so it will be a HUGE challenge but I will do the best that I can.
We get our fruit and veg delivered from the markets so at least that part of it is already taken care of!
I am so interested that people don’t think it’s financially viable. I will look into this for a blog post and see if we can’t find some cheaper options. Co-ops definitely are the one I am thinking where you can buy organic produce much cheaper than the supermarket.
I love this idea! I’ve been thinking I should try this for a while now…I have to admit that I do get lazy and find a ‘one-stop-shop’ convenient, but I always seem to regret it later as the quality of fresh foods just isn’t the same (and I get very tempted by all the prepackaged foods that I know aren’t good for me!). Having an auto-immune issue means that sometimes finding the energy to go to more than one place can be hard. But I do think that if I get more organised, I’ll be able to do it. Wondering if going to an independent like La Manna (who make an effort to support Australian grown produce) would be acceptable in the supermarket free month??
I don’t know why that link was attached to the bottom of my post! Um…not sure how to get rid of it either!! Help?
It’s comment luv! It’s to share your latest blog posts with us. I can get rid of it if you want??
No, that’s ok – I just don’t like sharing my bits without asking or being asked first…I feel a bit bad!
nah, it’s a standard blogger thing – it also encourages people to leave comments 😉
Fair enough – Hmmm, something I’ll have to look into as I get more confident in the blogging world!
I think this project is to start people thinking of alternatives. Sure, shop locally where you can, but next best is good too! I get a huge local organic delivery every week for fresh veg, fruit, meat, dairy and bread and they deliver to my door! Then I get a co-op order every few months – delivered to my door! Then I also get a few things online – delivered to my door. Hubby will go down to the markets on Sunday to pick up the in between. I think it’s also just doing a bit of research into what is available in your local area. 🙂
It’s a great initiative – now that I don’t work weekends, I’m really looking forward to checking out the local farmers markets! The idea of a co-op scares me a little – not sure why. I might have to look in to it 🙂
I would love to hear more about the co-op delivery.
I love this idea Sonia. It’d be tough because I am still making the transition out of supermarkets – I buy coconut milk there, frozen peas etc! But I get anxious when I can’t get to the market on the weekend or I’m waiting for my co-op order to come in and need a few staple top-ups because the supermarket is way more expensive and I hate blowing my food budget.
Aha! So it’s working out where to get those things you can’t somewhere else. We still get a few things like toilet paper from the supermarket – but I have found a GREAT alternative that I will share with you soon. It’s all about researching and hunting around. This will be a fun challenge but it will also require a bit of work!! I am up for it!!
I find buying what’s in season at the farmers markets things much more affordable. Cookng from scratch rather than buying packets of food from the supermarket also saves lots of money (not to mention health benefits) and I’m part of a co-op for all my dry goods (oats, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains) and it works out to be heaps cheaper than supermarket bought and it’s organic!!!!
Thanks for sharing your experience Brenda… I do also find that being in a co-op and buying in bulk eliminates the packaging… we just pop it straight in the glass jars, so it’s a lot more eco-friendly for us too.
I actually was surprised when, one day, I realised we actually hardly buy anything from the supermarkets any more. I think it happened so gradually, now it just seems like second nature. We save so much money living this way, and we seem to savour and enjoy our food so much more too. What a wonderful person with a fantastic world view, so inspiring!
Yeah, it sort of snuck up on us too.. it wasn’t really a conscious decision, it was more about sourcing good, local organic produce at a good price and it just happens to not be at our supermarket!!
Have to agree, id love to do this, but would need to jump on board with a Co-op. Sounds great.
Co-ops are the bomb!
Do you know of any co-ops Western suburbs of Brisbane ? Thanks
Check here Lara 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/notes/quirky-cooking/bulk-food-co-ops-in-australia/226374137379602
What about things like night pants, tissues and other supermarket things you can’t buy at a farmers market?
good question Theresa!! I will see what Lucy does 🙂
If you live in a small rural community like and cannot avoid a supermarket entirely then make sure you shop a the small stores first and ask if you cannot find something. The only way they will know there is a demand for a product is if people ask for it. Once you have purchased the majority of your shopping at the small stores you can pick up the small number of remaining items at the supermarket.
Great tip Fiona – the small stores are also much better with their customer service I find and want to help out their customers!
Such a great idea, and initiative, if we all just adapted a bit of supermarket free, the world would be a better place! Can be a huge task at first, but thanks to Lucy, and all those participating you dont have to do it alone!!!
You are right Jen, if the majority of your shopping dollars are spent on the little guys, it makes such a big difference!
We have been on this path over a period of time and in the long run it is cheaper than buying from the supermarkets. I think when people are first coming on board perhaps they are finding it more expensive as they haven’t sourced all of their options which does take a little time. We now rarely go to the supermarket for a shop and only really use it to top us up with a few items occasionally. Having a co-op (for organic drygoods) is an absolute must and we only get a delivery once a month so some forward planning is required. Meat is cheaper from the farmers in bulk and such better quality than the supermarkets. We cook from scratch and make large batches to freeze to help through the working week. Having your own small vege patch is quite productive and with a plethora of fresh herbs saves a lot. For a family of 5 and half (baby due soon) we manage on aprox 150 dollars per week averaged out from bulk orders and that covers everything for us and its mostly organic.(that also includes all cleaning products ingredients and toiletry items that we mostly make ourselves) From talking with friends they spend a lot more at the supermarket weekly and don’t get near the quality or the variety we do.
So it is possible to live cheaper without a supermarket but its a journey in itself and not everybody is suited to making that work.
We are all different and that’s what makes the world interesting. I personally enjoy the relationships we have with our local farmers and the vendors at the markets and I know that they appreciate our support. We have met some great people through our little path navigating to a world of better food and health.
Thanks for sharing your tips Amanda… can you share where you source your toiletries from?
I would love to try this idea, but the same town we live in doesnt have a lot of choice other than the supermarket. We only have a local market once a month, I think it would be a little hard for me having 2 young kids. My boss however is going to do it, so I hope she can succeed with the challenge.
* small town