go compare

I went to Peckham today on my way to meeting Alice and stepped into a fruit and vegetable shopper's paradise. Rye Lane has a fantastic concentration of greengrocers, all stuffed with tomatoes, plantains, mangoes, okra, bananas, aubergines, coriander, chillis (super-hot scotch bonnets), sweet potatoes and squash set out in generous and colourful  displays.

I spent a happy hour wandering up and down and in and out while trying to work out how eight Romano peppers can cost £1 here while Waitrose sell two for £1.79, and five mangoes which cost a pound on Rye Lane would set you back £7.50 in Sainsbury's. It's not a mystery, as I well know, but being confronted with fair prices for fresh food does make me wonder at the gall of the major supermarkets - and the compliance of the customer.

Comments

[Edwina]

But for some people of course, the big supermarket is their only option, so what are they to do? Not everywhere has a plethora of good greengrocers, farm shops, little corner shops. For those unfortunate enough to live on large council estates, with little or no access to public transport perhaps,and only bigger supermarkets to access anyway, the supermarket on the estate is all they have. And if they want to eat fresh vegetables, they pay the price. Which is one reason, presumably, why their diets are considered poor and lacking in fresh produce?

[Jane]

Edwina,

You make a good point, and it's exactly why I am so bothered by the fact that supermarkets get away with the prices they charge, particularly in areas where they have no competition, and that consumers and consumer groups are seemingly unable to persuade supermarkets to charge prices that are fairer to the customers and the producers.

Jane

[Fran]

Now I want ratatouille, and I blame your first photo! Fran

[Lydia]

How wonderful that the shipowners put so much effort into their displays….

[Clare Ferguson]

You can call that a fair price but I doubt very much if the people producing the fruit and veg are getting a fair price for their labour in either case. A fair return for them would mean higher prices for all of us (and lower margins for the supermarkets).