Buying Local & Riverford

Today’s prompt for Blogtember states, “Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.”  
Do not get me wrong, I love to shop.  Especially if it means I am shopping without the kids and with either my husband or friends.  I could spend hours just browsing the store, whether I buy anything or not.  However in our life as expats we are not doing all that much shopping like we used to do when we lived stateside.  As a mum I tend to feel guilty if I buy something for myself and not for my kids first.  I live in a house where someone is constantly outgrowing something or needs something for school.  With all the growing my sons do they equally do a lot of eating.  So when it comes to conversations about shopping in my house it usually has to do with food.
Living in England has made food shopping so much more enjoyable.  When we lived in Brighton we used to go to the grocery store once or twice a week to just pick up a few items that we would need for the next few days.  Whatever we bought we had to walk home with and so it made it really easy to stick to a shopping list.  Since moving to Bath we have discovered the joys of ordering groceries online and having it delivered. Genius idea! It is as simple as going on the computer or smart phone to make up your shopping list, pay, and then schedule the delivery date. 
We have recently stopped ordering our groceries from the chain stores and started ordering from local farms. We have tried out two different places and have decided we like to order different things from both places to fit our family’s needs and budget. It is organic from our local farms…what could be better?  I can even tell the quality difference in the meat from what we have gotten before.  I was a eating a mostly vegetarian diet in the US because I did not really care for meat, but here it just tastes so much better.  Plus the fact that we can get this quality food in our budget makes me want to do a song and dance. 
I had heard about Riverford from my fellow expat friend and had been wanting to try it for sometime.  I regret not ordering from there sooner.  Their service is amazing and when they delivered for the first time I got to meet both our driver and our local Riverford Vegman for Somerset. I love that the meat comes packaged nicely, lined in sheep’s wool with ice packs. Plus they ask for the packaging back so that it can be reused.  With your order comes a nice letter and recipe booklets for the food of that season.  It is like christmas morning opening up our veg box to see what is inside. It has made our cooking even that more interesting as we work around what comes in our delivery.
We found Somerset Local Food Direct online when searching for places that delivered raw milk.  If you have never had the very first sip from a newly opened jug of raw milk, you are definitely missing out on a taste of heaven.  We get two at a time, freezing one and putting the other in the fridge.  We have tried a few different other things from them as well, like venison burgers and were very pleased indeed!  We have decided to definitely continue ordering our milk and our bacon from Somerset Local Food Direct.  The bacon is the best I we have gotten from any grocery store, butcher, or online store.  It is thick and I actually find the fat edible and do not cut it off for being rubbery. Our delivery man is the sweetest and so friendly.  I was sad about not having my milk delivered like when I was a kid, so having my ‘milk man’ back has been a highlight for my expat life. 
If we were to go to the grocery store we would need to either walk thirty minutes or take the bus and pay per person that was going to the store with us. We then would have to fight through the crowd, deal with whatever mood our kids are in (because little boys love shopping for food), try to not put in anything that we did not initially come to the store for, and stay in budget. After waiting in the queue and paying we would then have to carry all our bags home.  Instead we spend about fifteen minutes online ordering the food to have it delivered.  I honestly hope we never live somewhere that I do not have this option.  It has made life so much easier.  I would not want to go back. 
We like to use Riverford and Somerset Local Food Direct.  
Q: Do you buy local? Where are your favourite places to do food shopping where you live?

*photographs  belong to Bonnie Rose of Bonnie Rose Photography © 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnie-rose.co.uk 


  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    Wow, I’ve never lived anywhere where ordering groceries online was an option! That’s cool! I’m a big believer in buying local when possible–we live in a farming community, and right now is prime time to buy as many fruits and veggies as you want from stands on the side of the road!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    This sounds lovely,however many of the Americans on the blogs I follow say that the beef in the U.S. is better

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    When I lived in New York, we had grocery stores that would deliver, but you’re getting fresh, organic, and grown local delivered right to your door! It looks absolutely beautiful, and I’m totally envious!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    We get out groceries delivered- it’s an absolute God send! And I agree with you about meat in England for the most part. The exception for me is bacon. I find American bacon to be more delicious. xx

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    This is such a cool concept… I would totally shop local farms online if we had it here. Another expat living in the UK told me about this awhile ago and I couldn’t believe how healthy, fresh and convenient it all sounded! xxx

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    Great post! We just recently got a Downtown Market in Grand Rapids. I’m so excited to go see what it’s like! They just had their grand opening last week and I’m so pumped to finally have fresh, local ingredients available at my fingertips. :)

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    This is awesome!! I need to look these up and see what’s available in our area.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    Thats so crazy, we have started using Riverford 3 weeks ago, my mother use to use them a few years back but because of all the travel and moving house we just haven’t been settled enough until now. Although today I swapped to Welsh Organic Box – a little cheaper and more local, will see how that goes :)

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    Awesome post!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    I’m sharing this on FaceBook. I still need to try my local organic produce business.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05022023043718407104 Bonnie Rose

    I love this so much! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all could do our shopping like this? x