Guest blog by Michaela Lichten, the Green party candidate fro the Kenton By-election
On the
campaign trail one of the most common responses to a discussion on sustainable
and local/farmer’s markets food shopping is: that it’s all right for people
that have got money but that people living in the ‘real world’ have to watch
their budgets and that means a trip to one of the big 4 supermarkets.
Let me share
my response: if you use the small ‘local’, ‘express’ or convenience stores of
the big 4 you could be paying up to 40% more for your shopping!
Yes, in 2013
an orange in a Tesco Express shop cost 40% more than at one of their
superstores according to The Daily Mail (13/5/13).
Prices
analysis showed that Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco all put hefty premiums on
the limited stock in their smaller outlets.
The average
consumer doesn’t realise that there can be a routine difference of 11% in
pricing between Tesco Express and its superstores whilst a sample basket at
Sainsbury’s Local costs 10.2% more than at a larger store and Waitrose
downsized branches can be up to 7% more expensive.
What price
convenience indeed!
The second way
that these giants hit at the pocket of those on a budget is, that they are
often the only convenience store on estates, new builds, in poorer areas or in
areas poorly served by transport links and so the poorest often find themselves
paying the most for their food.
Plus we are
changing the way we shop with an increase in ‘top-up’ shops fuelling a surge of
almost 10% in the number of convenience stores owned by supermarkets in recent
years.
Therefore the
perception that these large companies offer the best value is one that is
costing us dear.
